what is the purpose of parking lights?
- Thread starter NAYo2002
- Start date
I turn them on most of the time.
It makes my car slightly more visible to other drivers. Hopefully no dumb ass will crash into me when I'm stopped or if I drive under a tunnel/underpass.
I'm not sure if it makes other drivers see me better when I come up behind them.
It makes my car slightly more visible to other drivers. Hopefully no dumb ass will crash into me when I'm stopped or if I drive under a tunnel/underpass.
I'm not sure if it makes other drivers see me better when I come up behind them.
I've always wondered what the purpose is for parking lights too. Who uses them and for what? Is it that hard to turn the switch one more notch to put the lights on all the way? It's like someone said "It's not quite dark enough for me to make the effort to turn the switch all the way."
anarchistchiken
Member
- :
- 03 Silver Protege5
pingdum said:
Hahahaha, you sound like George Carlin. Of course you must remember, the US (and possibly canada too, I really dont know) is the only country in the world where a pizza can get to your house faster than an ambulance.
I'm not exactly sure why, but I am 100% positive that it is ILLEGAL in the state of California to drive with the parking lights only. A friend of mine actually was pulled over for that single offense.... Why there is the option to have them on? Who knows.
I really don't understand why. But then again, why does Mazda wire our foglights to work only with the regular lights on? If we have the regular lights on, we can be seen by other cars in when in fog, and thus eliminating the use for the fog lights. Crazy engineers.
I really don't understand why. But then again, why does Mazda wire our foglights to work only with the regular lights on? If we have the regular lights on, we can be seen by other cars in when in fog, and thus eliminating the use for the fog lights. Crazy engineers.
I was just thinkin' the same thing Cesar...I had heard it was illegal here in CA, but I've never heard anyone say they got pulled over just for that. I used to do it when I was younger(like nate said, when I had fogs on my Civic) but I guess I just grew out of it. My buddies do it all the time though, and never get pulled over.
ghetto waggon
Member
- :
- 2003 Protege5, Yellow.
I can't imagine that to be true.
Look at the corvette's and firebirds that have parking light DRL's which don't activate the Low, Hi or fog lamps.
Look at the corvette's and firebirds that have parking light DRL's which don't activate the Low, Hi or fog lamps.
ok, I found some info on parking lights..
Here is a snipet from what I found..
Parking lights "needed and justified," or "a relic from the past?" Both! As defined in the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) in Surface Vehicle Standard J222, 2.2.1 "Parking lamps, whether separate or combined with other lamps, are located on both the front left and right of the vehicle which show to the front and are intended to mark the vehicle when parked. In addition, these front lamps serve as a reserve front position indicating system in the event of headlamp failure." Here's a little history: The parking lamps used to work independent of the headlamps, so you could have the headlights on without having the parking lights on, too. But back in 1968, cars were first required to have "side marker lamps." The side marker lamps were to be lit up in both the "parking" mode and the "headlamps on" mode as a way of making the vehicle more visible from the side in the dark. So, to accomplish this as simply as possible, the side marker lights were wired into the parking light circuit and the parking lights were simply set up to remain on when the headlamps were turned on. So, the parking lights lost some of their uniqueness. But, as an added benefit (by design or default?) the parking lights then provided a reserve means of position indication in the event a headlamp burns out.
Here is the link to the page..
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/1995/July/07.html
Here is a snipet from what I found..
Parking lights "needed and justified," or "a relic from the past?" Both! As defined in the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) in Surface Vehicle Standard J222, 2.2.1 "Parking lamps, whether separate or combined with other lamps, are located on both the front left and right of the vehicle which show to the front and are intended to mark the vehicle when parked. In addition, these front lamps serve as a reserve front position indicating system in the event of headlamp failure." Here's a little history: The parking lamps used to work independent of the headlamps, so you could have the headlights on without having the parking lights on, too. But back in 1968, cars were first required to have "side marker lamps." The side marker lamps were to be lit up in both the "parking" mode and the "headlamps on" mode as a way of making the vehicle more visible from the side in the dark. So, to accomplish this as simply as possible, the side marker lights were wired into the parking light circuit and the parking lights were simply set up to remain on when the headlamps were turned on. So, the parking lights lost some of their uniqueness. But, as an added benefit (by design or default?) the parking lights then provided a reserve means of position indication in the event a headlamp burns out.
Here is the link to the page..
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/1995/July/07.html
Well, lets follow some logic here...
if you park in a drive way...
and drive on a parkway
then you must be able to drive with your parking lights
and park with your driving lights?
right??
PS: I wouldn't try this logic if you get pulled over by a cop...he might not find it very amusing.
if you park in a drive way...
and drive on a parkway
then you must be able to drive with your parking lights
and park with your driving lights?
right??
PS: I wouldn't try this logic if you get pulled over by a cop...he might not find it very amusing.
