running lights on cars and trucks

[tomman58]

We have driven the USA many, many times in good weather and bad, day and night. There is one thing that really bothers me while doing what I like ....rving. The thing is the lack of cars and trucks that have running lights on in the daytime. I am not sure but seems like GM is the only one that has daytime lights. Point being while on the roads of our country sometime you need to pass a really slow car or truck. I do it often when I want to do the 55mph speed limit as that is slow enough. The problem is the on coming traffic and visibility.
We all know that passing can be doable but we need all the road we can get. The downside is seeing others coming our way at dusk, early morning, or in rainy weather.
The absence of running lights seems to me to be a real and present safety issue.
What do you think ? Should there be a national law to make people safer? Jus' wondering.

[JnJnKatiebug]

RoyB wrote:
You have to cautious adding ADDITIONAL lights on the front and rear of US vehicles... It seems there are SAFETY laws on how many lights can be ON at the same time. There is also laws on when a light comes on and in most case must be done in conjunction when one turns on the vehicle lights. Cannot be a separate toggle switch somewhere. The lens all have be US DOT approved and will have a DOT number stamped into the lens. Adding lights under the front and rear bumper frames etc also falls into this category. Adding the fancy LED LIGHTS BARS mounted into the front grill also falls into this category.

We OFF-ROAD Truck and Jeep guys knows too well about all of this when it comes to passing SAFETY INSPECTIONs. For years we all got away with it by placing socks over the additional lights - Don't think that is allowed anymore now...

Adding additional lights to the side of the trailers is not a problem.

Chances are very high you will have problems passing State Safety Inspections doing this... You need to check with your local State inspection Station before dumping a bunch of money into additional lights for the front and rear of your units.

Running your OEM installed safety lights during the daylight hours is not a problem. I run my lights during the daytime hours alot when I feel they are needed.

Just saying

Roy Ken

Just move to Arkansas. No such thing as safety inspections. Cops are supposed to stop and inspect any vehicle they think is unsafe but I have only heard of this happening a couple of times in the last ten years.

[donn0128]

GordonThree wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
DRLs are an option on Ram trucks. All an owner needs to do is have the dealer turn the feature on.

Do you have any supporting documentation on that?

DRL was not an option on my 13 Ram, had two dealers check. The only option they could find was to reflash the computer with Canada set as the sale country.

Not totally sure about your truck, but my 07 DRL could be turned on by dealer using starscan tool. One simple switch. Same for a couple of other options.

[fj12ryder]

^^^^^^^^^Not me, I hate the bikes that run high beams in the daytime, very annoying to me. Almost as bad as those flickering headlights, those are really annoying.

I agree with the study that was done that came to the conclusion that lights in the daytime make it more difficult to accurately judge distances.

[Chuck_thehammer]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

2oldman wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Having ridden motorcycles for most of my life I always rode with headlight on....on HIGH BEAM. Anything to be more noticeable.

I hope you dimmed it when approaching an oncoming vehicle. Those things are blinding. I see many who do not.

Not during DAYTIME....

Same. High Beam. 55 watt HID... true hi/low. daytime only... Night blindness prevents after dark riding.
Light Blue, not purple.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

This thread reminds me of George Carlin.

He ask the question: "Why does everybody drive like A** H**** except me! :B

[ScottG]

I think they're very noticeable. I always notice GM trucks and how they all only seem to have one DRL 😉

[fla-gypsy]

Not needed, just more visual noise that no one pays attention to.

[PAThwacker]

I hate Dlr lights and disable them on day one. I hate cars that don't turn headlights on during the rain (law). Many rely on dlr only when it's raining. You could crash into them in heavy spray.

[tomman58]

There was another interesting point for having DRL's There are many, many fools out there that believe if they can see you, you can see them in late dusk or sunrise. I hate it when you see someone at almost total darkness with any lights on at all, an accident waiting to happen.

Safety should always be a concern of any RVer. We practice the rules of the road like the big rigs and move over for anyone disabled along side the road. Safety should n't need a law but then we'd have to write a law for stupid.

[Old-Biscuit]

2oldman wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Having ridden motorcycles for most of my life I always rode with headlight on....on HIGH BEAM. Anything to be more noticeable.

I hope you dimmed it when approaching an oncoming vehicle. Those things are blinding. I see many who do not.

Not during DAYTIME....

[Horizon170]

We have many laws in the US that we don't need, however, I'm all for LIGHTS ON 24 hrs a day for several reasons.
1. Easier to see some color vehicles are in an area with a similar background color.
2. To make up for fools that don't know the law about headlights on before sunup and after sundown.
3. The other fools that don't know the in-climate weather rule.
I have driven with lights on 24 hrs for years and think it should be an ENFORCED law.

[2oldman]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Having ridden motorcycles for most of my life I always rode with headlight on....on HIGH BEAM. Anything to be more noticeable.

I hope you dimmed it when approaching an oncoming vehicle. Those things are blinding. I see many who do not.

[AdirondackJack]

It's getting to where a majority of drivers don't even use turn signals so I doubt if another law is the answer. We can only hope that life might come full circle and people will start growing up with common sense again. It may take awhile now that texting while driving has added to the fun of driving defensively.

[fj12ryder]

97chevor wrote:
I turn on mine while driving. And I'll turn my high beams 4 ways on passing non lit vehicles in bad weather.

A holes wanting to get hit if you ask me.

Sounds like a plan: hit your high beams and blind them so they can't see where they're going at all. Good thinking. Just hope that your car won't be what they hit.

[ChooChooMan74]

GordonThree wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
DRLs are an option on Ram trucks. All an owner needs to do is have the dealer turn the feature on.

Do you have any supporting documentation on that?

DRL was not an option on my 13 Ram, had two dealers check. The only option they could find was to reflash the computer with Canada set as the sale country.

Just ask the dealer to turn them on. Depending on the package, there are different sales codes. I had mine done by my tune shop. They showed me all 3 options (Turn Signal Amber 100%, Low beam 60%, High Beam 60%.)

PDF From Ram Trucks web site.