The Mechanic wrote:How close does a car DRL have to be to affect the iris in broad daylight? Since this is a "medical fact" I assume someone must know the "facts"
Not very close - I get badly dazzled by them at 100m range...
Agreed that they are far too bright and unnecessarily so. A friend of mine who has them, has more than once started to drive his vehicle at night because they gave sufficient light for him to assume headlights were on, which indicates they are excessively bright.
Of course there are daytime running lights on some bicycle lights.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
Totally agree that DRL's are a nuisance - some are brighter than others, most obscure the (often badly located) indicators, and ALL cause your eyes to register the lights, but not the vehicle- nor vehicles without lights (vehicle in this context includes cars, bikes and cycles. And wheelchairs!)
Why do I mention indicators - how many times have you approached a traffic island, looked for the indicators for a car coming around the island to see if it's going to turn - and simply couldn't see the damn things even if they are being used? Means you have to stop even if sometimes it shouldn't be necessary, not much fun if you've got to pedal uphill to get going again.
Brompton, Condor Heritage, creaky joints and thinning white (formerly grey) hair ""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
661-Pete wrote:I wouldn't know which cars are equipped with DRLs and which are not - as far as I know it's compulsory to have them switched on in daytime, only in the Scandinavian countries and Poland. Personally I deplore the trend because, obviously, I want motorists to stay in the habit of keeping an eye open for everything on the road, not just lit up objects...
DRL lamps in the UK, IIRC, are exempt from cars marketed as 'Super efficient' or ULEV. Ultra Low Emission Vehicle.
One of them is the Ford Focus Ecoboost 1.0 litre 3 cylinder turbo, variable valve timing, direct injection stratified engined car.
rmurphy195 wrote:Totally agree that DRL's are a nuisance - some are brighter than others, most obscure the (often badly located) indicators, and ALL cause your eyes to register the lights, but not the vehicle- nor vehicles without lights (vehicle in this context includes cars, bikes and cycles. And wheelchairs!)
Why do I mention indicators - how many times have you approached a traffic island, looked for the indicators for a car coming around the island to see if it's going to turn - and simply couldn't see the damn things even if they are being used? Means you have to stop even if sometimes it shouldn't be necessary, not much fun if you've got to pedal uphill to get going again.
When you approach a traffic island on a bicycle, you DON'T trust the indicator lamps on ANY car. They may as well not exist. You visually observe the car turning off or passing you before you move onto the traffic island.
The Mechanic wrote:How close does a car DRL have to be to affect the iris in broad daylight? Since this is a "medical fact" I assume someone must know the "facts"
Not very close - I get badly dazzled by them at 100m range...
Agreed that they are far too bright and unnecessarily so. A friend of mine who has them, has more than once started to drive his vehicle at night because they gave sufficient light for him to assume headlights were on, which indicates they are excessively bright.
Of course there are daytime running lights on some bicycle lights.
Yup. The dyno lamps on my Raleigh 20 are on all the time, night and day.
Ayesha wrote:DRL lamps in the UK, IIRC, are exempt from cars marketed as 'Super efficient' or ULEV. Ultra Low Emission Vehicle.
One of them is the Ford Focus Ecoboost 1.0 litre 3 cylinder turbo, variable valve timing, direct injection stratified engined car.
Are you sure? It seems anomalous to me. Could it be that the Focus was type approved prior to 2/11 as below? (Quote from AA site)
Note: This does not mean that every new car first registered after February 2011 will have DRL fitted. The requirement only applies to models that go through the European whole vehicle type approval process after that date i.e. new or substantially facelifted models.
Ayesha wrote:When you approach a traffic island on a bicycle, you DON'T trust the indicator lamps on ANY car. They may as well not exist. You visually observe the car turning off or passing you before you move onto the traffic island.
I guess I'm wise to that one, whether on 2 wheels, or 3, or 4, or none, with or without motor!
What I'm trying to say is that indicators are often designed to be not seen at certain angles, or are not at all clear in bright sunlight. Where a quick glance could tell you if the indicator is going (among other indications of a vehicles intended direct of travel), now you have to look at it for a few seconds which can be a bit of a bother when there are other things to look out for. It means you pretty well always have to stop at traffic islands, the concept of the "Give Way" is rarely valid.
Brompton, Condor Heritage, creaky joints and thinning white (formerly grey) hair ""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
