Automatic 'indicators' on vans & cars

[Allen M]

Hi all
A few days ago I was asking my neighbor about his new works van. As he drove it up our road between the parked car there were lights coming on & off each side as the direction changed. He said it was supposed to add light to the corner when turning.
However we concluded they are on vans and up market cars it is to help the drivers who have forgotten how to use the turn indicators after passing their driving test.

Regards
Allen


Sorry meant to put this in hairy Bikers & petrol heads but don't know how to move it..

 

[daifly]

Hi all
A few days ago I was asking my neighbor about his new works van. As he drove it up our road between the parked car there were lights coming on & off each side as the direction changed. He said it was supposed to add light to the corner when turning.
However we concluded they are on vans and up market cars it is to help the drivers who have forgotten how to use the turn indicators after passing their driving teat.

It probably needs correcting rather than moving. I have such an upmarket car and find the turning lights (which do not flash) extremely useful when negotiating twisting, unlit or poorly lit country roads. They come on as the steering wheel is moved more than a set amount and extinguish when the wheel is straightened.

And I never had a driving teat - whatever that is!

Dave

 

[jcm@gwr]

And I never had a driving teat - whatever that is!

Dave

I've never heard of one either, but I bet it sucks!

 

[LarryG]

They sound to me like the front fog lights with cornering function. Had them some years ago on a Ford Mondeo and found them very useful. None of the BMW's seem to have them although they will be on my next car, a plain 'ol Focus. Ford seem to have cornered the market on useful things including heated windscreens and electrically heated interiors which come on immediately until the engine warms up.

 

[John Duffy]

The more unnecessary crap they add to cars the worse they become. Most of the junk extras on mine don't work properly. Get rid of it all and force the driver to pay attention and drive.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

All reflects today's approach. Increase the number of gimmicks, increase the propensity for failure.

 

[Mike Walker]

I have a Focus which has LED headlamps that automatically dip if it detects oncoming vehicles. At least that's the theory but they don't always dip when they should. The issue is made worse by the fact that, unlike conventional headlamps, the transition between high and low beam and vice versa is gradual rather than instant and therefore less obvious. As a result I've been flashed numerous times by oncoming drivers I'm blinding (the LED lights are incredibly bright at either setting) as the blue repeater light is tucked away at the bottom corner of the instrument panel and not obvious and not helped by having a very useful head-up display on the windscreen that does not include it. Many's the time I've been dazzled and cursed other drivers but perhaps they are in the same boat.

Now, when I go out at night the first thing I do is to override the automatic function and only use high beam when I want to.

 

[simond]

The more unnecessary crap they add to cars the worse they become. Most of the junk extras on mine don't work properly. Get rid of it all and force the driver to pay attention and drive.

I don't wholly agree, nor completely disagree.

Safety belts, airbags and ABS have proven their worth in lives saved many times over, and I certainly appreciate ABS on my new bike though I've only triggered it once on a patch of grit on a single track backroad. I'm not Mark Marques, and a front wheel skid means picking up a quarter of a ton of best Bavarian iron, steel, ally and plastic, assuming I haven't hurt myself.

I don't know what "junk extras" you have but I sympathise if they don't work - they should - the car business is very good at making things that work, affordably.

I think it might be a good idea if the driving test were repeated as frequently as the MOT test. After all, faulty cars very rarely cause accidents nowadays.

 

[Osgood]

Someone told me they don't need to worry about paying attention to the car in front 'cos if they get too close their car will brake automatically.

I guess that would be the same new genre of driver who, as I followed them up to a roundabout on a dual carriageway with a totally clear view of all approach roads displaying a COMPLETE ABSENCE of any other traffic, promptly stopped to check for traffic......


Lets face it, just like driver-based automotive design is in its final stages, the whole human experiment is drawing to a close - not sure yet what conclusions are likely to be drawn, or by who, but for those jam-spangled ones born at the right time and seemingly covered in teflon it's generally been a blast and we've managed to grab a few laughs along the way.

BTW has anyone found a 12V sandwich toaster that fits the dash space where the radio used to go?

 

[TheSnapper]

As with many things automotive, Citroen were pioneers.
My 1968 DS had headlights that turned with the steering - all done by cables in those days.
Sounds gimmicky but it worked.
Tim

 

[oldravendale]

This item as probably been done to death now but... The bells and whistles on my car all work as well as they did when the car was bought eighteen years ago. As for headlights that light up the edge of the road as you turn - sort of gutter lights - living in deepest, darkest Buckinghamshire where the verges of most lanes are ill defined and street lighting appears to not be a priority I'd not be without them.

Brian

 

[LarryG]

When considering a new Ford Kuga, driver-assist was firmly pulling the steering while I was overtaking at 70mph, but the salesman told me to "Simply disable it on the steering column stalk each time you switch on the ignition". To me it was Driver-Distraction, not Driver-Assist.

BMW were able to disable it on BMW's.