Question: why aren't cars generally built so that the headlights turn off whenever the car isn't running?

matt said:

This is actually the case in many European countries. In Sweden for example, it goes both ways: the law states that the headlights always have to be on while the car is running.

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

That was like a crazy challenge gone wrong. "How many orgers can CarrieMpls fit into her car?"

catharsis said:

Canada requires all new cars to have daytime headlights ("DRL's"). A few cars in the U.S. also have DRL's... I think the reason is laziness. Since cars bound for the U.S. and Canada generally come off the same assembly lines, putting DRL's in all the cars eliminates one step in "customizing" each individual car for its destination country.

Still, I've driven various late-model cars here in the U.S., and none of them have had DRL's. In fact, I can remember driving only one car with DRL's: my ex-wife's 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva (the epitome of automotive mediocrity).

For the life of me, I can't seem to routinely remember to turn my headlights off on my car. The little ding-y sound that's supposed to go off when you leave your lights on does not work for some reason and I've left them on at least 12 times in the last year. Sometimes more than once in the same week. I'm really not an airhead (I swear!) but I just can't seem to consistently remember to do this ONE thing. I've already replaced the battery once. The last time was just yesterday when I got home from work. I left to go to work this morning and discovered a dead battery, yet again. Now, I have a Triple A membership, but even with the expensive level you only get 4 free service calls a year and I've already used up 2 in the first few months. So I decided to suck it up and walk down the block to take the bus to work. Which I actually don't mind, cause it gave me time to stop for coffee, walk around downtown a tiny bit, it's quite a nice morning, etc.

But how am I ever going to remember to turn my lights off???
[Edited 2/25/05 7:41am]

matt said:

Really? I actually didn't know that Canada requires all new cars to have DRLs. In that case there must be a lot of old cars around here (Vancouver) because I'd say the majority don't have any headlights on whatsoever in the daytime.

In Sweden, they not only have DRLs (I assume that you by this mean those smaller lights, usually slightly to the sides) but actual full headlights on all the time. It's apparently considered a safety issue. It looks a bit ridiculous though on a sunny day.