Nasty weather is what got me started ...

[MobileGlances]

You might say that the following clip is where the dashcam "bug" first bit me. It was videotaped on an handheld iPhone as we drove into the "atmospheric event", so to speak... on our way to a sunny ending !

 

[Gibson99]

for some reason i thought of one of those russian videos where people are driving through a forest fire... like it's something they do every day. but then someone put it to music - apparently one of the most popular russian lullabyes... OMG that was scary as hell!

also - how did that truck in front of you not have his lights on? i thought canadian vehicles always had all lights on any time the engine is running - not just the front DRLs like US cars...

 

[MobileGlances]

Let's just say that if we hadn't already paid for the camp site, we may have opted to change plans. But everything worked out fine !

As for daytime running lights, the federal government in Canada which overseen motor vehicle safety standards has put forward proposal for upgrading the the daytime running lights regulations to include tail lights (which the current regulations do not require). In the meantime, they publish a publication called "SEE and be SEEN" which you can search on-line to have a glimpse if you want. Include Transport Canada with those key words and you be able to find it. It give you an example of their public information campaign on the subject, which for that matter technically applies to anyone driving a vehicle.

 

[kamkar]

Rear lights "just" came off the list for daytime running here, EU figure with those off a lot of gasoline / pollution will be saved.

I remember the good old days where you dident have to have the light on unless it was getting dark, that seemed to work fine back then.

 

[GTA Driver]

I think its possible in some cars to turn off the DRL's as its been a requirement since '89 (perhaps earlier) and I see few cars withOUT them. I like the DRL's but its not enough in some conditions in days time hours in some condition. When its bright and there is a glare, some vehicles are hardly visible. I also notice the Ontario Provincial Police do NOT always have lights on when driving. Those are dark cars which are hard to see on the asphalt in some light conditions.

I story I heard before DRL's came in place here in Canada, is that when an army (I think British) started putting lights on during the day, there were fewer head on collisions.

 

[SawMaster]

I'm like Kamkar1 in remembering the old days. I am totally against daytime vehicle lighting laws as they do not create a safer system. What happens is that people will no longer be looking for anything except lights so they will not see the child or animal running into the roadway or the broken-down unlit vehicle in their path. Sadly many (if not most) drivers disregard those smaller than themselves already, knowing that the smaller one will get out of their way to stay alive regardless of what laws may say about it. Lighting the small vehicle will not change that.

What is needed is not more visibility but a mandate of looking for hazards more effectively, then making the penalty for not doing that more serious. That will increase safety for everybody a lot more than lights can

Phil

 

[Rajagra]

I nearly always have my headlights on so I can be seen. BUT in bright sunlight - especially when it is low - I turn them off.
I remember an article from years back on how lights can be used as a form of camouflage. E.G. If a tank is rolling over a hilltop the outline is easily seen. But stick lights on it and it blends in with the sky and you can't see it.

Same thing happens with vehicles on the roads. I'm pretty sure it's widely known, but I can't find links atm. I've observed it myself quite often.
Black vehicles may be immune to this problem, because there's contrast between the lights and the black paint. But with white vehicles ... you need to think it through.

I do try to leave sidelights on though, for one reason. It's a PITA mistaking a queue of stationary cars with no lights on with parked cars, then going to overtake them and realising they aren't parked at all, just stuck in a jam. Sidelights prevent that confusion.

 

[Module 79L]

I drive a black car and after too many close calls and near head-on collisions, I decided to ALWAYS have the headlights on during the day. I found out it's much harder to spot dark vehicles on the road, even if they're alone, than lighter colored ones. What I also found out was that in bright sunlight it's even harder to spot dark-colored vehicles, so I thank whoever invented DRLs.

 

[Module 79L]

Rear lights "just" came off the list for daytime running here, EU figure with those off a lot of gasoline / pollution will be saved.

Yeah, we all know the "smart" people they have in Brussels...

I remember the good old days where you dident have to have the light on unless it was getting dark, that seemed to work fine back then.

In the "good old days" there were less vehicles on the roads and a LOT less things to distract drivers while driving.

 

[GTA Driver]

In 2013, we went from 2008 Civic to a 2014 Honda Crv. Surprised the insurance went down. We were informed it was because of the new safety features.

One I noticed was the automatic head lights that turned on low light conditions were some drivers wouldn't bother to turn their head lights on. I liked that feature.

I would imagine in the video that @MobileGlances posted, the lights would go on for a 2014 CRV.