Driving lights on pickup - truckers don't like em?

I've noticed the last couple of times while driving, if I have my driving lights on truckers will flash their highbeams at me. Do these annoy truckers somehow? I thought they would be low enough that it wouldn't bother anyone.
I'll stop using them on major highways (or at least turn them off for oncoming trucks) but on smaller roads I like the light it throws on the sides.

I'm not a trucker but I sure hate when people turn them on in town.

I only use them on the highway. They make no difference on well lit roads.

I'm with you there summiteer. WTF do the driving lights need to be on for when it isn't foggy and its a clear night/morning while driving down the hwy. Them lights are friggin bright on the new chev's and ford's and it feels like your getting the brights. To top it off and make it worse is when there is a load in the box of the vehicle changing the angle of the lights and really blinding a driver who has to deal with them. Man could the rants go on about other driver's on the road...

What else pisses you off while driving down the road???

it is annoying. I'm a truck driver and see it all the time, but I don't blast guys with my 350W driving lites like some truckers do to let you know they're choked. the GM and Ford pickups aren't too bad with their fog lites on but Dodge fog lites are crazy bright. anything with a lift kit seems to make it worse as well, no matter what brand (90% of them do it seems). I think it is against the law to meet another vehicle with more than 2 beams on.

thanks for asking mac900, I am sure most drivers don't know that it is not courteous to leave them on while meeting oncoming traffic.

crazy_wheeler said:

What else pisses you off while driving down the road???

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lol....I could go on and on.....there isn't much I haven't seen in 20 yrs of driving truck

On a related note, clutch went on the bucket truck last week on the way home from Slave, we were pulled over and had flashers on, headlights off and the amber beacons on the roof on(night time). Almost all the truckers that came down the highway turned on their brights as they approached. Just wondering why.

i've never been flashed. the fog lights are nice because they seem to light up the area just in front of the truck that the head lights overshoot.

Summiteer said:

On a related note, clutch went on the bucket truck last week on the way home from Slave, we were pulled over and had flashers on, headlights off and the amber beacons on the roof on(night time). Almost all the truckers that came down the highway turned on their brights as they approached. Just wondering why.

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I do it too, just to make sure there's no shrapnel or people standing on the road in case a guy has to lay on the binders. usually in an accident or road mishap there will be unseen obstacles on or blocking the road. I always slow down, though some don't.

sorry guys but the dodge head lights SUCK so bad i need to run the fogs to see anything. high beams are the Sh!ts you cant see a damn thing. BUT AT LEAST I TURN THEM OFF WHEN FOLLOWING SOME PEOPLE. like some others ride right up your A#$ and you cant see a damn thing in front of you. please guys when comming up to people turn them off, expecially when following. not trying to be rude here please do not take it that way. just pisses me off.


thanks

It's ok to be rude if you're preventing the death or injury of you or others.

'SOME' is the key word in this reply!!!

Just giving you the gears, we didn't think they were that bad!

shiznitt100 said:

sorry guys but the dodge head lights SUCK so bad i need to run the fogs to see anything. high beams are the Sh!ts you cant see a damn thing. BUT AT LEAST I TURN THEM OFF WHEN FOLLOWING SOME PEOPLE. like some others ride right up your A#$ and you cant see a damn thing in front of you. please guys when comming up to people turn them off, expecially when following. not trying to be rude here please do not take it that way. just pisses me off.


thanks

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BIGFOOT said:

Get the flash from others.... Don't seem to matter if the SD stock driving lites (foglites) are on with the low beam or not. I know a guy with a Dodge & he gets it all the time.... Even people driving the same units ?????? Wondering in some cases (not all) if this has become a habit ??

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You are confused ? No doubt! Here's why...

/RANT ON BABY....

You can all thank DOT and Industry Canada for this. In the UK, lights shine on the road. On the road, where you need em, that's it, not in people’s eyes. In north America, DOT and IC mandate something like 27% spill light from all on road lighting. That's so the overhead signs and everything can be lit up. But that 27% goes everywhere, including in people's eyes. Really peeves me off. Some of the new lighting could probably have the spill light ratio lowered because they are so bright now, but the old 27% rule is still there. That's why there is all that fluting and what not on the lenses and reflectors, to scatter the light everywhere.

In the UK the law is the other way around. In fact they even have a different setting on the light switch for when you are in town or own of town. It's illegal to pollute the area with light – it’s illegal to have certain types of lighting even on in town. Search google for “light pollution” – they are very sensitive to this. In the UK they have these amazing lights that light up just what you want see and that’s it, nothing else and they work well – been doing it for years.

But around here, even our driving lights and fog lights have to spill light everywhere. How contradictory is that? You want light way far on the road only or down low only, but you have to spill it everywhere you don’t want it making the light ineffective for its role.

So everyone says, "hey! there is not enough light on the road dang it", and people get brighter and brighter lighting, or add more lighting, or run with more lighting on, end even the car makers make brighter lighting, cause everyone keeps complaining, which makes more and more spill light because of the spill light ratio that no one cannot comply with, I think you can see the problem now. In north America, you can’t buy good lights even if you wanted them and understood what a good light was.


This is obviously one of my pet peeves. I don't like it from the point of view of trying to get enough light on the road to see the road, and I don't like it from the point of view of getting light in my eyes. Both are a problem.

I hate that I have to run lights in my truck that bother people - I know they bother people. But then I also want to live, I already smaked one deer this year that was standing on the road licking salt and I was not able to recognize it till it was too late.

So I am constantly turning my fog lights, and driving lights on and off, trying to see and trying not to bug people.

It's even worse if you are in a small car, last night (that's why this is so long ) I was dring the wifes care and being blinded by some a** h*** in the pickup beind me. When you sit in a car, you are down low, and you get the truck light right in the mirrors. When he drives up beside me I can see a shadow of my own car on the road right in front of me where my own lights are shining. Petty bad eh? What kinda frikn truck is this? I got all my rear views turned away because my eyes hurt. I wanted to pull behind him and set my lights on high and follow him for a while.

Hey, it's an 03 dodge, that's what I drive.

Grrrr.

The one thing I can suggest, I know people like to run with the fog lights on, but when you are behind someone, at least turn some of the lights back off. Like if we had two dimmer switches.

sorry about the prev. post on sunday we had a guy in a dodge with a sled in the back and 2 on a trailer,, he was 2 feet off the bumper fog lights were pointed right at the top of mirrors, he passes us and rides another 2 feet off the guy in front.. why... are we in that much of a hurry.. dont understand way overloaded and dangerous to boot. my two cents

i see no need for them either but i sure get in trouble lots now on the hi way with my HID lights, i get flashed all the time and then i get annoyed so i show them what bright really is.. and they sure turn off their brights in a hurry lol

when I have a sled in the back I am always getting flashed.... so I decided to try my high beams and I never get flashed, they must point right over everyone and I get better light, its a win win
try it out

Hey All,

I drive A 05 Dodge with a lift and spend quite a bit of time driving being an Operator/Consultant. I agree with all the ppl who do not like driving light on all the time. They are not supposed to be on all the time, ppl use them like thier daytime running lights.... I only use mine when they are needed and backroads and very rarely on any stretch of highway. On the other hand i know that the Stock dodge headlights aren't the greatest but still very annoying when you come head on to a truck with thier driving lights on.

I run a lifted dodge, and the head lights AND fog lights are all converted to HID, and never get flashed, its all simple geometry, the lift kit raises the front about 2 inches more than the back, so your light are pointing higher, then add a load, and its even worse, all you need to do is adjust the angle of the lights to compensate for the lift, and I use air bag helpers in the rear to maintain ride angle when loaded. And when there is no oncoming traffic, I turn on the 4, 120 watt PIAA's, then night turns into day. I can see bambi from at least a mile away.

Hey Dean: What did those piaa set you back?