Cars With No Lights at Night.

Look hard enough and you'll notice the absence of any tail lights on the truck.

We can all agree technology is great.  Without it, we would still be stuck in the stone age.  However, while technology has made life easier, it can make some people forget how to perform a task that used to be routine.  One of these tasks is on the road with drivers forgetting to turn on their headlights at dusk. 


During an evening commute earlier this week, in a span of less than 10 minutes, 3 drivers were spotted driving without any lights on.  I lost count after 8.  It is difficult enough to see the silhouette of a car at night, but even more so when it is raining.  The ironic part was when one driver cut in front of one of the cars with no headlights, the driver of the non lighted vehicle went into a rage and honked the horn.  The angry driver's car was mere inches from the bumper of the car in front.

It's scary for the driver in the next lane when a car doesn't have it's lights on at all.  Especially in the dark and rain!

This does not seem to be an isolated event because I have seen it occur with greater frequency in the last few years during my commute home.  In particular, drivers with cars that have led back-lit dashboards seem to be the worst offenders.  What that means is that the car automatically has the dashboard gauges light up once the vehicle is started, as if the driver had flipped the switch to turn on the parking lights.  I suspect that most drivers are conditioned to think that a lit up gauge cluster means the parking lights/head lights are already on.  I don't think it's a great excuse though, as any driver paying attention would notice their car not lighting up the road in front of them.  Perhaps it's just too much work for them to twist a switch to turn on their lights.   Has the general public really gotten to the point where they cannot even do such a simple task anymore? 

I have also noticed the same can be said for some drivers with daytime running lights.  On those cars, only the front headlights are lit up, but the taillights and parking lights are not illuminated. 

So what can be done?  I think that led gauge clusters should have a dimmed out feature if the headlights are not on which would make the gauges harder to read at night.  That might prompt the driver to realize the lights need to be turned on.  Or maybe a warning light can be illuminated on the dash to tell the driver the obvious.  It seems that in the auto manufacturers in pursuit of trying to make cars more stylish or safe, can have some unintended side effects from drivers either too oblivious to their surroundings, or too lazy. 

What are your thoughts on cars with gauge clusters that automatically light up, or day time running lights?  Are we better off with them, without them, or is there some kind of compromise that can be made?  Happy motoring and keep on driving!  Be safe! 

Here you can see the truck without its lights on, but what you can't see is the car without its lights on in the side view mirror 2 cars back.

Do you have a damaged glass headlight lens? Click here to see our tutorial on how to remove and replace it.  DIY How to remove and replace glass headlight lens