Sometimes I have to drive after dark in my city, and it never fails that if I drive any appreciable distance that I always see at least one person (often more) driving with their lights off. I do not need to tell y’all why this is dangerous. We’re a community of enthusiasts. We know. Plenty of us are driving older cars that predate the tech.
It’s not like they don’t mandate lots of shit already. Seatbelts, head restraints, airbags, and backup cameras are some of the most sensible things ever required for cars to have. Why are automatic headlights not on this list? There also needs to exist a mandate whereby the lights turn on if the driver turns on the wipers. Because if you need your wipers, you need your lights too. It’s common freaking sense.
Your headlights aren’t just for seeing, but for being seen. Ambient light sensors are so cheap that they end up in midrange TVs all the time. I blame the backlit gauges and myriad other interior lights. Ergo, it’s time to mandate automatic headlights. There’s no reason not to.
I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Except for all the twats in my neighborhood that drive around town with full beams on permanently.
Occasionally they turn then off when you flash them, but most are just oblivious. Automatics would at least solve that…
The stock needs a small solenoid that can kick the high beams off when the system sees another car, but cannot turn the manual override back on. You’d have to push the stock back again yourself. I love it. I don’t even think the people who drive with their high beams on all the time would know. If they can’t notice you flashing them, they sure as shit ain’t noticing their lights suddenly dimming
Stalk*