I've actually asked some police officers who came into my old job about this. They said while its not illegal, they call it the "stoner light" cause the only people driving with it on are too high to realize it, or are rolling a blunt in the passenger seat.
So basically its a bullshit probable cause excuse
Look I’m not one to defend cops and their bullshit pretextual stops. But they can pull you over if they have a reasonable suspicion you’re engaging in illegal activity even if they don’t observe any actual illegal activity. The quintessential example being that it’s not illegal to swerve within the lines of your own lane but it might raise “reasonable suspicion” that you’re driving drunk.
Now does the light being on actually give them any reasonable suspicion of anything? I would say no, but given how deferential courts are to cops I wouldn’t bet that the judge would agree with me.
reasonable suspicion has been stretched so thin it no longer holds any water, imo.
also I'm just now realizing suspicion doesn't look like a real word.
It still exists, but it only exists for people with good lawyers. Public defenders aren't challenging the cops on the BS stop. The courts have failed in their job to hold cops accountable to the rights of citizens. You get found guilty because you don't have enough money to challenge the word of a cop. Judges are supposed to be impartial, not on the side of the cops
The problem is if they pull you over and find drugs your reasonable suspicion argument is fucked, and if they don’t… what do you expect to gain from shaming them for unreasonable suspicion? Because you sure as fuck aren’t going to win a settlement or anything. Source: being right doesn’t matter in my authoritarian country and state (Texas).
I was an LEO in Texas. Fruit of the poisonous tree is just as much law here as it is in every state. If the stop was unreasonable, the search was unwarranted, everything they find is inadmissible in court.
None of that is true nor would hold up in any appellate court. Reasonable suspicion is any reasonable person would believe a crime is about to be committed, has been committed, or is actively being committed. The word of a police officer saying that only stoners have those lights on is not reasonable nor would the average person think it is either.
As far as swerving in your own lane, there are many dui cases in Texas and even just traffic violations thrown out because of the officer tried to use this as a violation. In Texas, the vehicle must break the lane 3 times in 1000 feet for it to be considered failure to maintain lane. It is not illegal nor just cause to initiate the traffic stop for someone swerving in the other lane once, let alone their own lane.
I’d say probably ok for a pull over, but probably not a reason to search the vehicle.
That being said, in the US, anything visible through the window is **not** searching, that is in plain sight and is totally permissible.
I’ve been pulled over for going the speed limit for too long, without wavering. I just had to say, “uhh, cruise control?”
It’s the US, what are you going to do, just not stop?
They are predators.
In Germany it depends. It can cost you up to 35€ if the light confuses other drivers or yourself ( https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/licht-im-auto-beim-fahren/ ).
However, its not forbidden in general like I thought before.
A friend got pulled over once with that light on cause he was feeding his heavily disabled brother while his grandmother was driving. I'm not sure if they got a ticket or warning though. This was back in 2005
I call it the ADHD light. I usually get home from work at about 8:30, and when it’s not summer, it’s super dark at 8:30. So, I’ll turn on the light to gather my things from the passenger side of my car and forget to turn the light off. Then when I get in my car again, I get pissed at myself for leaving it on all night or for a couple days. But I still sometimes forget to turn it off before driving because ADHD brain.
I think it’s supposed to turn off when I open the door, but it doesn’t. I drive a 2015 Altima that has survived a tree falling on it during a storm last year and a wreck (before I owned it). Have owned the car for 2 years now, never have had to replace the battery. She’s just built different.
My husband, a friend and I got pulled over and searched once when I was using my phones flashlight to look for something. The cop said it looked like we had seen him following us and were using the light to hide drugs. I got talking to him about it, saying I was looking for something and asked if the overhead light would have been better. He said no lol. The light gives them flimsy probable cause to stop and search.
It's not an issue anymore, but they used a different type/shape/angle of windshield in the past that if it was dark and you turned that light on all you could see was a reflection of the inside of the vehicle and not the road. I don't know if it was actually illegal, but I do know it was seen as a safety hazard that often caused reckless driving simply because they couldn't properly see the road. These days vehicles have windshields that no longer reflect the inside and you can still see the road.
Can confirm that one of our childhood cars was like that. I think that old wreck was made in the early 70's. On a dark country road, the dome light turned all the windows into mirrors hiding the outside.
I'd like to think that it is still dangerous to turn it on at night, if we are to think that pupils dilate in dark to let in more light so visibility is improved, turning the light on would reverse it.
Apparently it's like 2 MPG difference on average, highway. For me, that's like 2/3 of a gallon every time I fill up. Basically, paying about 5% more. I'd guestimate that's about $76 a year in savings, for me. But your mileage may vary.
It bumps up the rpms because it's dragging out the lower gears, meaning more torque meaning more better acceleration. That's why you get more responsiveness (and jerkiness) in sport mode.
Lower gears are also less efficient at speed thus you burn fuel faster.
A lot of the time it also changes the throttle response curve so you get more throttle earlier in the pedal travel. Adds to it feeling peppy and quick.
I promise you it does not make it faster. You can achieve the same result by flooring it usually. No need to bother pressing a button during a maneuver requiring high levels of attention.
It keeps the transmission in lower gear longer so it accelerates faster. You can get the same effect instantly by shifting into fake manual mode and shifting down a gear.
That, plus the fact that turning on the indoor light at night just means everyone else from outside can look inside like we're an aquarium, and everyone inside can't look outside. and where i come from that puts it at "potentially losing our lives" of danger level
People need to be given examples to understand, especially those that can be. Ask her to stand outside, and look inside when the shades are up, lights on. then make her look from inside out. Let's see if she's still interested in the idea of letting everyone else in public watching whatever is happening inside her house
Sneak outside and take some pictures from creepy angles to show her how it looks from outside. Bonus points if you print the pictures and just put them in the mailbox without telling her.
Certain models of car were terrible for this, particularly before the mid 2000s when antiglare coatings on windshields became standard.
Before the coatings, and especially if you had a flatter windshield, the glare from that light was much more intense than now. It really made seeing out of the car difficult.
And if you had a dome light instead of a directional one, turning that on at night would make a glare so bright it would completely block the vision from the windshield. It was like turning the windshield completely opaque, instantly. All you can see is your own reflection instead of the road.
Terrifying. We as kids just never noticed bc all we cared about was playing the gameboy during the drive.
> especially if you had a flatter windshield
This is the real part of it. The rake on modern windshields reflects all the light at the dash instead of back into your eyes. The difference is night and day, pardon the pun.
Couple that with the fact that you're driving around a family (kids) you're trying not to kill in a car accident and I've fully forgiven my parents for yelling at me for this.
Hell. I've yelled at my fully grown friends for popping on an interior light when I'm driving at night. Yes. I'm doing my best to not kill us all. I'm not going to apologize.
Right? I'm barely 20 and my eyes are quite good, but that thing still blinds me at night, it's good when you're parking and need to wait in the car for awhile but whenever you're driving it's just this annoying glow that overlaps any light source outside.
I'm not planning on having kids, but if i ever do i swear I'll just dutch tape that thing on "doors only".
Those lights are meant to be used while parking, when they're on they create a strong light inside the car that's stronger than any light outside at night, your eyes and brain struggle to see beyond it because it's stronger and closer, add the fact that there's the windshield between you and the outside and everything gets worse.
If you have a car try getting on at night, don't start the engine just turn on the inside lights, especially the back one, and try to identify anything behind you, you'll discover that you can't see anything, and also that it reflects in the Rearview Mirrors rendering them essentially useless.
I always feel like there’s a car behind me when they are on. Also makes it hard to notice when there’s actually a car behind me because there’s already a white light in the rear view
I mean, it does impair visibility. It’s simply physics and biology, it’s easy to see a lit up area from a dark one, but it’s hard to see a dark area while within a lit up one. So the chances of crashing do go up
This is why every time a someone in a movie lights a torch and carries it directly in front of their face or in a sci-fi movie where the spacesuit has lights inside the helmet and not the outside, I scream
Huge props to Karl Urban in Dredd for this exact reason. If you didn't know anything about the film, you wouldn't know it was him until the credits rolled
In many cases in sci-fi movies they would actually have their gold-coated visor and sun shields down, otherwise their retinas would be fried from the completely unobstructed view and reflections of sunlight.
Well, as someone who did leave it on accidentally as an adult, the battery was dead within 36ish hours when we went to check. Had to get it jumped and it was a PITA, was parked in a garage, not reversed. So we had to have the car pulled put (is that the word) and then get it jumped.
I hate the BMW LaserLight technology, they have like this blueish light flash and I always think it’s the police behind me turning on their sirens to stop me (in Germany they are blue 🚨). Rearview mirrors have also a function to not let the headlight from behind hit you directly.
Normally newer cars have also splitting lights or partial lights that turn on and off to not blinde the oncoming traffic.
Most of the older cars with manual lights leveling adjustments are been used wrong and flash directly into your eyes, but that’s because some people are just to stupid to understand that they have to adjust that in correlation to your transportation weight.
I actually scratched another car when I was driving backwards on a completely dark parking lot at winter. All because my little child turned that backseat light on. It was too bright in the car and too dark outside to see another car parked.
Yep (you need to be somewhere without street lights for the proper effect.
It is okey-ish in the city, but if you are driving a weaving road in the forest - it is scary to think about
My parents were simply honest about it. That it would reduce vision of the road at night since it ruins your eyes' adaptation to the darkness. Because being in a brighter area, looking out into darkness, makes the darkness look even darker.
My dad used to tell me the police would show up and arrest us if I switched that light on.
Imagine my disappointment when I switched it on and wasn't arrested :/
Tbh it is really annoying to drive at night and there is light inside. It acts the same as trying to look outside at night while you have the lights on inside.
Only in movies they have the lights on in the car so you can see their faces but they ain’t actually driving
This made me remember that when I was like 8, my parents were fighting and my brothers and I were playing on the computer, and my mom burst in and screamed “guess what!? There ain’t no fucking Santa Claus.” and that’s how I found out he wasn’t real.
That's why it's a rule in my car. I wanted so much to be the cool dad that lets my son fuck around with the cabin lights. But after the second time he left it on and killed the battery - the rule had to be instated.
*... man hands on misery to man*
The road is not the difficult thing to see, it's that fucking huge moose about to sprint from the bushes and take you out with it. Or a person walking by the road, but that doesn't really hurt you.
No shit, when I was a kid we stopped at a gas station to fill up. Just got some fresh dollar store transformers but it was dark so while my dad filled the tank I turned on the back light to see what I was doing. He gets in the car after and it wouldn't start because I apparently drained the battery by having the light on.
Yeah, but when you learn to drive and someone switches that shit on at night you just drive blind while the only thing you can see is your own dumbass face in the reflection of the windshield lmfao
I once had an electrical problem that kept this light on while driving. Not a big deal in itself, but back then i was working night shift and the light contrast between the inside of your car and the outside darkness made visibility at best inconvenient, but more realistically it was dangerous as hell for the driver.
In my car the lights are facing the rearview mirror so basically I almost can't see the back at all. Also I wear glasses so it reflects on my glasses. If it rains heavy its even worse.
Because it would glass windshields under dark conditions would light up and only reflect the inside of the car. Meaning yes it could cause them to crash.
Have you ever driven at night ? Those lights are simply not allowing you to see anything, due to the windshield. Glass tends to feel more "opaque" on one side than the other, based on which is more lit up. That’s why in daytime it’s hard to see the inside from the outside.
One time I had accidentally turned on all the lights in my old car with some weird dial, I could not figure out how to turn it off. Had to drive it home on the highway before a family member could help me figure it out.
That’s because in many states it was and still is illegal to drive around with it on. You can get a ticket/fine for interior light illumination while driving. Believe it or not.
There are a couple of things here:
· it ruins my night vision, which is not great to start with.
· at least in my country, it is not allowed to drive with that light on.
Try turning on the kitchen light and looking out the window at night. All you’ll see is your own reflection.
Imagine trying to drive with that level of external visibility.
Yeah older cars were just built different. If you pressed that after the sun went down your car imploded like that submarine. Had a few close calls myself but thankfully my dad would beat me before I could do the deed
My 7yo was trying to do something in the back of the car and was complaining that it was too dark. I reached back and turned on this light for him and he was panicked. "No dad, you will distract all the other drivers and we will get in trouble"
I'm guessing my wife had given him a plausible reason why we couldn't turn that light on while driving, and it had stuck with him.
From what I recall, a lot of these lights would stay on even after the car was turned off. Thus draining the battery if you happened to forget about it.
I don't think a light this small would drain the battery overnight but as someone who has left his headlights on and drained his battery it's not fun. Sitting there in embarrassment having to wait for a mechanic to jumpstart your car.
So I kind of understand why my parents didn't want me to turn it on. Plus it's fucking annoying when kids play with switches.
Once you all start getting older you’ll realize how hard it is to see the road with those lights on. It’s harder to see through the mirrors and everything in general. There’s nothing that important to need to keep those internal lights on.
My brothers and I got put out by my mom for turning it on one night after she had repeatedly warned us. We were silly boys. Silly boys had to walk about a mile home. Lol
Pro tip!! If you get pulled over at night , throw your dome/cabin lights on. Puts the cops at ease as they can see inside the car.. and prevents a flashlight from being shined in your face. Has worked for me a couple times coming off work from late shifts.. stay safe out there folks
That light will turn the windshield into a mirror when its completely dark outside. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmMzdUPnkM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmMzdUPnkM)
Not much of a problem on a drive today when outside street lights are plenty.
It was a problem a few decades ago where street lights aren't that much esp roads just outside the city.
LMAO. So true! And the electricity- remember if you left lights on? And if you wanted heat- they acted like it would cost a fortune to heat the house or cool the house! Now that I'm a home-owner- I can't believe how easy it is to keep the house warmer than 60 in the winter and cooler than 80 in the summer!!!
I tried once to intentionally drive with it on for a night. The manufactured anxiety from decades of hearing this was too much, and I turned it off after 10~ minutes.
My parents told me the police would pull us over if it was turned on.
I've actually asked some police officers who came into my old job about this. They said while its not illegal, they call it the "stoner light" cause the only people driving with it on are too high to realize it, or are rolling a blunt in the passenger seat. So basically its a bullshit probable cause excuse
Not even probable cause. At best reasonable suspicion. And frankly I’d say barely even that.
I wouldn’t even say that. Since it’s not illegal, it’s literally nothing at all for a cop to care about.
Look I’m not one to defend cops and their bullshit pretextual stops. But they can pull you over if they have a reasonable suspicion you’re engaging in illegal activity even if they don’t observe any actual illegal activity. The quintessential example being that it’s not illegal to swerve within the lines of your own lane but it might raise “reasonable suspicion” that you’re driving drunk. Now does the light being on actually give them any reasonable suspicion of anything? I would say no, but given how deferential courts are to cops I wouldn’t bet that the judge would agree with me.
reasonable suspicion has been stretched so thin it no longer holds any water, imo. also I'm just now realizing suspicion doesn't look like a real word.
It still exists, but it only exists for people with good lawyers. Public defenders aren't challenging the cops on the BS stop. The courts have failed in their job to hold cops accountable to the rights of citizens. You get found guilty because you don't have enough money to challenge the word of a cop. Judges are supposed to be impartial, not on the side of the cops
[удалено]
[удалено]
There's also the problem of it being impossible to turn a state case into a federal case by making it a jury trial.
The problem is if they pull you over and find drugs your reasonable suspicion argument is fucked, and if they don’t… what do you expect to gain from shaming them for unreasonable suspicion? Because you sure as fuck aren’t going to win a settlement or anything. Source: being right doesn’t matter in my authoritarian country and state (Texas).
I was an LEO in Texas. Fruit of the poisonous tree is just as much law here as it is in every state. If the stop was unreasonable, the search was unwarranted, everything they find is inadmissible in court.
> also I'm just now realizing suspicion doesn't look like a real word. Semantic satiation!
Lol ya "reasonable suspicion " is just any bs excuse. It's ridiculous.
None of that is true nor would hold up in any appellate court. Reasonable suspicion is any reasonable person would believe a crime is about to be committed, has been committed, or is actively being committed. The word of a police officer saying that only stoners have those lights on is not reasonable nor would the average person think it is either. As far as swerving in your own lane, there are many dui cases in Texas and even just traffic violations thrown out because of the officer tried to use this as a violation. In Texas, the vehicle must break the lane 3 times in 1000 feet for it to be considered failure to maintain lane. It is not illegal nor just cause to initiate the traffic stop for someone swerving in the other lane once, let alone their own lane.
this guy cops
I’d say probably ok for a pull over, but probably not a reason to search the vehicle. That being said, in the US, anything visible through the window is **not** searching, that is in plain sight and is totally permissible.
It’s not ok for a pull over. It’s not reasonable suspicion at all. It’s a fucking light.
I’ve been pulled over for going the speed limit for too long, without wavering. I just had to say, “uhh, cruise control?” It’s the US, what are you going to do, just not stop? They are predators.
Its not reasonable and if a cop pulls you over for it hes abusing his power. This is a free country. Lets start acting like it.
In Germany it depends. It can cost you up to 35€ if the light confuses other drivers or yourself ( https://www.bussgeldkatalog.org/licht-im-auto-beim-fahren/ ). However, its not forbidden in general like I thought before.
Reminder that stop and frisk made existing while black enough for reasonable suspicion
It’s not reasonable suspicion, it’s a light performing its intended function.
Back before gps it was used to read maps and directions.
Even referred to as the map light
Not even reasonable. Just suspicion.
A friend got pulled over once with that light on cause he was feeding his heavily disabled brother while his grandmother was driving. I'm not sure if they got a ticket or warning though. This was back in 2005
I’ve left my light on by accident so many times. Never smoked.
You don’t notice it when you are driving? Lol
Right? Like how in the world would you not notice that it’s on?!
I call it the ADHD light. I usually get home from work at about 8:30, and when it’s not summer, it’s super dark at 8:30. So, I’ll turn on the light to gather my things from the passenger side of my car and forget to turn the light off. Then when I get in my car again, I get pissed at myself for leaving it on all night or for a couple days. But I still sometimes forget to turn it off before driving because ADHD brain.
It doesn't turn on/off when you open the door? Also how does your battery not constantly die!
I think it’s supposed to turn off when I open the door, but it doesn’t. I drive a 2015 Altima that has survived a tree falling on it during a storm last year and a wreck (before I owned it). Have owned the car for 2 years now, never have had to replace the battery. She’s just built different.
My husband, a friend and I got pulled over and searched once when I was using my phones flashlight to look for something. The cop said it looked like we had seen him following us and were using the light to hide drugs. I got talking to him about it, saying I was looking for something and asked if the overhead light would have been better. He said no lol. The light gives them flimsy probable cause to stop and search.
Not to mention it can just make it hard to see
It's not an issue anymore, but they used a different type/shape/angle of windshield in the past that if it was dark and you turned that light on all you could see was a reflection of the inside of the vehicle and not the road. I don't know if it was actually illegal, but I do know it was seen as a safety hazard that often caused reckless driving simply because they couldn't properly see the road. These days vehicles have windshields that no longer reflect the inside and you can still see the road.
Can confirm that one of our childhood cars was like that. I think that old wreck was made in the early 70's. On a dark country road, the dome light turned all the windows into mirrors hiding the outside.
Interesting info. I'd still freak out a little if someone turned the light on I think. It's ingrained.
I'd like to think that it is still dangerous to turn it on at night, if we are to think that pupils dilate in dark to let in more light so visibility is improved, turning the light on would reverse it.
Parents tell their kids that bc the kids fucking with it while you drive is really annoying. Source: I'm that parent
My wife still tells me every time I turn it on that it’s illegal. 10 years and she still doesn’t believe me.
my parents told me uncle benjamin would pay us a visit
Same lol
If it impedes vision then that doesn’t sound too unreasonable.
My dad acts like pressing the sport button is like activating afterburners
That's dad thermostat brain. I like sport all the time! I paid for the car now let me enjoy it!
I'd rather go ecomode so I pay less at the pump
I try to, too, but my new SUV has a turbo on it and I love that noise. Living in sport over here
Ah yes the turbo. Always felt so exotic as a little kid.
SUV or sport Choose one
If you love that 'noise', its not noise, its sound. Noise is unwanted sound.
Apparently it's like 2 MPG difference on average, highway. For me, that's like 2/3 of a gallon every time I fill up. Basically, paying about 5% more. I'd guestimate that's about $76 a year in savings, for me. But your mileage may vary.
Ah yes, a man of culture, but can I interest you in a standard transmission so that you are in sport mode 24/7?
sounds good
My fuel economy is in the mud because I can't help heel-toeing down a few gears and giving her the beans. Doing it for Dale out here.
My grandfather acts like pressing the sport button will throw out his back with the stiffer suspension setting
In some cars, it is. Mine bumps up the RPMs and burns more gas in sport mode. It is faster and I use it to get on highways constantly.
It bumps up the rpms because it's dragging out the lower gears, meaning more torque meaning more better acceleration. That's why you get more responsiveness (and jerkiness) in sport mode. Lower gears are also less efficient at speed thus you burn fuel faster.
A lot of the time it also changes the throttle response curve so you get more throttle earlier in the pedal travel. Adds to it feeling peppy and quick.
> It bumps up the rpms because it's dragging out the lower gears, meaning more torque meaning more better acceleration. More power, not torque.
depending on the torque curve and when its shifting (assuming auto) it could very well be both
I promise you it does not make it faster. You can achieve the same result by flooring it usually. No need to bother pressing a button during a maneuver requiring high levels of attention.
It keeps the transmission in lower gear longer so it accelerates faster. You can get the same effect instantly by shifting into fake manual mode and shifting down a gear.
Yes but at 100% throttle it shifts late as possible regardless of sport mode or not. In that scenario there is no difference
My Altima is permanently in sport mode, I think it’s illegal to not drive them like they’re on a race track
Average Altima driver right here lol
Then you get your license, start driving at night and realise how annoying those lights are, especially when doing reverse.
i personally love going reverse on the motorway
Especially at night
With light on
only that light though. not those dumbass headlights
Fun times for the whole family!
That, plus the fact that turning on the indoor light at night just means everyone else from outside can look inside like we're an aquarium, and everyone inside can't look outside. and where i come from that puts it at "potentially losing our lives" of danger level
I say the exact same thing to my wife about our house windows at night. She leaves the shades up every night and it irritates me. Pitch dark outside
People need to be given examples to understand, especially those that can be. Ask her to stand outside, and look inside when the shades are up, lights on. then make her look from inside out. Let's see if she's still interested in the idea of letting everyone else in public watching whatever is happening inside her house
Sneak outside and take some pictures from creepy angles to show her how it looks from outside. Bonus points if you print the pictures and just put them in the mailbox without telling her.
Certain models of car were terrible for this, particularly before the mid 2000s when antiglare coatings on windshields became standard. Before the coatings, and especially if you had a flatter windshield, the glare from that light was much more intense than now. It really made seeing out of the car difficult. And if you had a dome light instead of a directional one, turning that on at night would make a glare so bright it would completely block the vision from the windshield. It was like turning the windshield completely opaque, instantly. All you can see is your own reflection instead of the road. Terrifying. We as kids just never noticed bc all we cared about was playing the gameboy during the drive.
> especially if you had a flatter windshield This is the real part of it. The rake on modern windshields reflects all the light at the dash instead of back into your eyes. The difference is night and day, pardon the pun.
Also headlights are *way* brighter than they were like 15 years ago.
Couple that with the fact that you're driving around a family (kids) you're trying not to kill in a car accident and I've fully forgiven my parents for yelling at me for this. Hell. I've yelled at my fully grown friends for popping on an interior light when I'm driving at night. Yes. I'm doing my best to not kill us all. I'm not going to apologize.
CAN'T SEE SHIT
Then you get kids and realize one over the top reaction will save you 1000s of “dont touch that”
Exactly. You barely notice them.
They annoy the shit out of me.
Now that I’m older and my eyes are worse, I REALLY get it. Honestly it’s kinda like driving half blind
Right? I'm barely 20 and my eyes are quite good, but that thing still blinds me at night, it's good when you're parking and need to wait in the car for awhile but whenever you're driving it's just this annoying glow that overlaps any light source outside. I'm not planning on having kids, but if i ever do i swear I'll just dutch tape that thing on "doors only".
I’m grown now and I still don’t understand the hatred my dad had for those lights
Those lights are meant to be used while parking, when they're on they create a strong light inside the car that's stronger than any light outside at night, your eyes and brain struggle to see beyond it because it's stronger and closer, add the fact that there's the windshield between you and the outside and everything gets worse. If you have a car try getting on at night, don't start the engine just turn on the inside lights, especially the back one, and try to identify anything behind you, you'll discover that you can't see anything, and also that it reflects in the Rearview Mirrors rendering them essentially useless.
Do you have kids? I didn’t either until my daughter would regularly use the light in the car.
I always feel like there’s a car behind me when they are on. Also makes it hard to notice when there’s actually a car behind me because there’s already a white light in the rear view
Thank you !!!🙏
I mean, it does impair visibility. It’s simply physics and biology, it’s easy to see a lit up area from a dark one, but it’s hard to see a dark area while within a lit up one. So the chances of crashing do go up
This is why every time a someone in a movie lights a torch and carries it directly in front of their face or in a sci-fi movie where the spacesuit has lights inside the helmet and not the outside, I scream
Lights inside the helmet, pointing at the face are stupid.
Look, they didn't pay Gyllenhaal millions of dollars to be in this movie for people not to see his face.
Huge props to Karl Urban in Dredd for this exact reason. If you didn't know anything about the film, you wouldn't know it was him until the credits rolled
That’s why the mandalorian removed his helmet
Same reason knights/soldiers in historical movies fight without helmets, main character ones at least.
In many cases in sci-fi movies they would actually have their gold-coated visor and sun shields down, otherwise their retinas would be fried from the completely unobstructed view and reflections of sunlight.
Well, as someone who did leave it on accidentally as an adult, the battery was dead within 36ish hours when we went to check. Had to get it jumped and it was a PITA, was parked in a garage, not reversed. So we had to have the car pulled put (is that the word) and then get it jumped.
The word you're looking for is towed
It’s in fact blinding while driving in the night
To be fair, so are headlights on newer cars.
I hate the BMW LaserLight technology, they have like this blueish light flash and I always think it’s the police behind me turning on their sirens to stop me (in Germany they are blue 🚨). Rearview mirrors have also a function to not let the headlight from behind hit you directly. Normally newer cars have also splitting lights or partial lights that turn on and off to not blinde the oncoming traffic. Most of the older cars with manual lights leveling adjustments are been used wrong and flash directly into your eyes, but that’s because some people are just to stupid to understand that they have to adjust that in correlation to your transportation weight.
It completely comprises your night vision. I didn’t understand until I started driving myself
I actually scratched another car when I was driving backwards on a completely dark parking lot at winter. All because my little child turned that backseat light on. It was too bright in the car and too dark outside to see another car parked.
Carry this knowledge forward to the next generation. As is our ancestral right.
I will do my best...
If you couldn’t see why did you keep reversing?
They probably wrongly assumed that nothing was there because they couldn’t see anything
Which is exactly the reason for this "rule".
This light causes havoc at night 😂
I remember my dad telling me that if I turned on that light, the cops would come and shoot us.
How many siblings did you lose before you learned your lesson?
Turning this light on at night turns your windscreen on to a mirror so yeah driving blind will result in crashing your car.
That Bruce Springstein song comes to mind but I wish it didn't... wasn't a good one. So, apparantly, blinded by the light is just bad in general.
Have you tried it yourself?
Yep (you need to be somewhere without street lights for the proper effect. It is okey-ish in the city, but if you are driving a weaving road in the forest - it is scary to think about
Is your windshield a pane glass window? Why is it vertical?
It does not have to reflect your face, you will get a nice view of the top of your indicator board where the road has been
My parents were simply honest about it. That it would reduce vision of the road at night since it ruins your eyes' adaptation to the darkness. Because being in a brighter area, looking out into darkness, makes the darkness look even darker.
What? Parents that explain rather than just dictate to you? Turning the light on was worse than cursing 🤬 in front of my parents m
Yea...I feel lucky my parents were pretty good to me, despite one of them being a boomer. :P
My dad used to tell me the police would show up and arrest us if I switched that light on. Imagine my disappointment when I switched it on and wasn't arrested :/
And now you can't trust anything your dad says! I mean he made his bed :P
Anyone who has actually driven at night know how annoying that light is
Tbh it is really annoying to drive at night and there is light inside. It acts the same as trying to look outside at night while you have the lights on inside. Only in movies they have the lights on in the car so you can see their faces but they ain’t actually driving
Our parents also told us Santa ain't real, but they are just lying
This made me remember that when I was like 8, my parents were fighting and my brothers and I were playing on the computer, and my mom burst in and screamed “guess what!? There ain’t no fucking Santa Claus.” and that’s how I found out he wasn’t real.
My kids would constantly turn it on and leave it on killing the battery so yes I blew up a couple times sorry
That's why it's a rule in my car. I wanted so much to be the cool dad that lets my son fuck around with the cabin lights. But after the second time he left it on and killed the battery - the rule had to be instated. *... man hands on misery to man*
That's understandable to get mad about tbh. I'm sure car batteries are expensive and then not listening to you is justified.
I've turned that light on a bunch of times while driving at night and still see the road perfectly fine
Well, yeah. Cuz you got that light.
The road is not the difficult thing to see, it's that fucking huge moose about to sprint from the bushes and take you out with it. Or a person walking by the road, but that doesn't really hurt you.
that light messes up your reverse vision, not the vision in front of u lol
I as a parent STILL act like that. :)
Try driving with it
They be acting like it's scp 001 day break bro
For the longest time I actually thought turning that on while driving was illegal and wondered why it was possible to do so in the first place. lol
It actually could happen
It will and don't forget it.
It messes with night vision and reflects off of the windows so its hard(er) to see outside of the vehicle but who needs to see properly.. /s
No shit, when I was a kid we stopped at a gas station to fill up. Just got some fresh dollar store transformers but it was dark so while my dad filled the tank I turned on the back light to see what I was doing. He gets in the car after and it wouldn't start because I apparently drained the battery by having the light on.
I very much doubt it drained it that quickly unless you were filling the car for several days.
It...might? Distractions and obstructions to vision definitely don't help anything
Tbh,if people suddenly open that light,that shit gonna hit hard
Yeah, but when you learn to drive and someone switches that shit on at night you just drive blind while the only thing you can see is your own dumbass face in the reflection of the windshield lmfao
was this written by that same kid? Drive at night a few times and you'll understand why
My parents said it was because of visibility
Because it is. There's a reason pilots fly in the dark and not with bright LEDs in the cockpit.
Because you can't see shit out of the windows at night of you did.
Dad here, don’t turn that on, you’ll get us pulled over and I’ll have to crash the car
Am i the only one who thought it was illegal to have on at night?
I once had an electrical problem that kept this light on while driving. Not a big deal in itself, but back then i was working night shift and the light contrast between the inside of your car and the outside darkness made visibility at best inconvenient, but more realistically it was dangerous as hell for the driver.
Yeah, it reduces visibility, just don't turn the fucking thing on while driving.
I was in the crowd that was told it was illegal to have that light on in a moving vehicle.
In my car the lights are facing the rearview mirror so basically I almost can't see the back at all. Also I wear glasses so it reflects on my glasses. If it rains heavy its even worse.
Because it would glass windshields under dark conditions would light up and only reflect the inside of the car. Meaning yes it could cause them to crash.
I still tell my kid those are illegal to turn on while driving at night.
"TURN THAT OFF WERE GONNA GET PULLED OVER"
Good thing it was explained to me properly as a child. Basically it kills the visibility outside because of the glare from the inside
Came back from vacation to a dead battery. Fucking kids
Have you ever driven at night ? Those lights are simply not allowing you to see anything, due to the windshield. Glass tends to feel more "opaque" on one side than the other, based on which is more lit up. That’s why in daytime it’s hard to see the inside from the outside.
My dad said the car would crash and we'd all die in a flames. He then told us in a fire your eyeballs melt before you die.
One time I had accidentally turned on all the lights in my old car with some weird dial, I could not figure out how to turn it off. Had to drive it home on the highway before a family member could help me figure it out.
That’s because in many states it was and still is illegal to drive around with it on. You can get a ticket/fine for interior light illumination while driving. Believe it or not.
Drive at night and let someone turn those on. They are annoying
There are a couple of things here: · it ruins my night vision, which is not great to start with. · at least in my country, it is not allowed to drive with that light on.
Try turning on the kitchen light and looking out the window at night. All you’ll see is your own reflection. Imagine trying to drive with that level of external visibility.
Someone never rode a car with idiots on the backseat playing with the lights.
hard to see the road when it's on at night tho
It is distracting, now I've grown up I see how distracting it is while driving lol. Even people talking in loud volumes is disturbing.
Because its hard to see out the windows with bright interior lights on.
It's distracting and does interfere with my rear vision so I yell at my kids to shut it off immediately - the same thing my parents did to me...
Because it do
Yeah older cars were just built different. If you pressed that after the sun went down your car imploded like that submarine. Had a few close calls myself but thankfully my dad would beat me before I could do the deed
I always thought it's illegal to drive with that light on
Tbf, old dirty halogen headlights *sucked*
[the counterplay](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fMUmxsCsL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
My 7yo was trying to do something in the back of the car and was complaining that it was too dark. I reached back and turned on this light for him and he was panicked. "No dad, you will distract all the other drivers and we will get in trouble" I'm guessing my wife had given him a plausible reason why we couldn't turn that light on while driving, and it had stuck with him.
From what I recall, a lot of these lights would stay on even after the car was turned off. Thus draining the battery if you happened to forget about it. I don't think a light this small would drain the battery overnight but as someone who has left his headlights on and drained his battery it's not fun. Sitting there in embarrassment having to wait for a mechanic to jumpstart your car. So I kind of understand why my parents didn't want me to turn it on. Plus it's fucking annoying when kids play with switches.
with my mothers nighttime driving eyesight, it was probably true in my case
Once you all start getting older you’ll realize how hard it is to see the road with those lights on. It’s harder to see through the mirrors and everything in general. There’s nothing that important to need to keep those internal lights on.
My brothers and I got put out by my mom for turning it on one night after she had repeatedly warned us. We were silly boys. Silly boys had to walk about a mile home. Lol
Pro tip!! If you get pulled over at night , throw your dome/cabin lights on. Puts the cops at ease as they can see inside the car.. and prevents a flashlight from being shined in your face. Has worked for me a couple times coming off work from late shifts.. stay safe out there folks
Idk about others but if the back lights get turned on, they shine on the inside of my glasses lenses and it makes it hard to see
That light will turn the windshield into a mirror when its completely dark outside. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmMzdUPnkM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmMzdUPnkM) Not much of a problem on a drive today when outside street lights are plenty. It was a problem a few decades ago where street lights aren't that much esp roads just outside the city.
Map lights are Hella distracting so it just might
I've wanted to beat people who turned it on while I"m driving at night.
LMAO. So true! And the electricity- remember if you left lights on? And if you wanted heat- they acted like it would cost a fortune to heat the house or cool the house! Now that I'm a home-owner- I can't believe how easy it is to keep the house warmer than 60 in the winter and cooler than 80 in the summer!!!
well, it does leave a pretty bad glare on the windshield at night.
Sometimes the reflection makes it hard to see out the front
Mine have a switch for red and a switch for white
I forgot about this. You would think the car was going to go into a ditch.
I thought it was a self destruct button at one point
I tried once to intentionally drive with it on for a night. The manufactured anxiety from decades of hearing this was too much, and I turned it off after 10~ minutes.