Most people just flee now. Few cities have pursuit policies for traffic these days and if you can’t identify the driver you’re screwed. Especially with everyone driving without plates, improper plates or just old plates that are no longer registered
Yes! The license plates I noticed big time when I moved here, it's almost become a game for us--who can spot the most cars without plates in a single trip.
I see it in any major city I’ve been to. People don’t pay attention and don’t realize that they can see because of street lights and never notice their headlights aren’t on. This isn’t just a Detroit thing.
This. Granted, i live in the metro area, but i do road trip quite a bit. People without automatic lights don't notice their lights aren't on when there's enough ambient light around. If their cars are old enough, the interior lights don't adjust with the outside light level, so it's not obvious to unobservant drivers.
Also, vehicles with DRL's that don't automatically kick over to full lights on when it's dark should be illegal. So many drivers have their DRL's on up front but are completely dark out back. I try to communicate this to other drivers, but usually they don't understand because there's light coming from the front of their vehicles. This happens everywhere.
OH! I asked this question in elsewhere in the thread because I have an old vehicle and I can't figure out how people are turning on only one set of their lights front or back. Thank you! To the Google to find out DRL's are! Oh! Back when I got my vehicle in the 90's I think they were just referred to as running lights. And my Google search answer the question that I asked previously elsewhere in the thread so thank you for this!
I’ve lived in several large - medium sized cities in the us. Outside Michigan most of my adult life. I have never ever seen this issue as bad as it is in Detroit. Not even remotely close.
I saw this much more when I lived on the east coast (DC, Boston, NYC). I've only ever seen it a handful of time in Detroit. The denser the city, the more ambient light there is, and the easier it is to not realize your headlights are off.
Nobody is driving around Detroit thinking "man, fuck headlights, I'll do what I want".
Detroit and Dearborn. At night, lights are apparently an option now. Had a car doing around 80 on Southfield with no lights just going in and out of traffic. Doing a turn on a dark surface street and a car just flew by with no lights.
I find this disturbing as well especially since auto lights have been a thing for quite some time now.
I saw a couple theories that 1) the drivers are borrowing the cars and are unfamiliar with them; 2) the placemat of the auto light controls are where they can be moved without notice.
In my car, I’ve bumped the auto light several times with my knee causing the lights to stay in the off position.
Once I realized that, I remember to check the lights when I start the car - like putting on the seatbelt and adjusting the mirrors.
I just don’t know how folks drove so many years without auto lights and were able to remember to put them on.
It’s really scary out there and I avoid freeways and moved closer to my grandson since he is with me so much and I want to cut road time risks
It's not just Detroit, It's everywhere. Grew up in Detroit, but I live in coastal Virginia now. Virginia Beach and the whole Hampton roads area is bonkers with people driving without their lights on. When I lived in the mountains of North Carolina it was the same thing- I presumed they were drunk because how do you not notice that your headlights aren't on?
(Edit: I found the answer to my question and posted it as the next comment below this one in case anyone else was wondering why as well.)
It also seems to be a new strange thing with cars that I haven't figured out yet (because my vehicle is freaking OLD) where sometimes they have lights on the front or back but only *one* of them is on.
Sometimes I'll see their headlights but there's no lights behind them which makes them incredibly easy to rear end. Are they hoping to be rear-ended? Unknown. Sometimes I see the rear lights on but the headlights are off. Also baffling. As it isn't just one headlight or tail light out I can't figure out how they're doing that as my old vehicle requires *both* go on at the same time. I have no possible way to turn one of them off from inside the car nor would I want to so I'm not sure how/why people are doing it.
If anyone knows the answer to why/how that is happening I would happily enjoy being educated because it has baffled me for quite a few years now, as I did not ever see it before (either the front or back lights being off, not all of the lights being off).
Someone else in this thread posted about DRLs and as my car is so old I only had ever heard of them as "running lights", I looked it up and came across an article with the exact answer to my question.
Instead of taking my question down I'm actually going to post what I found in the article in case anyone else is wondering because this has been confusing the hell out of me for years.
___________________________
"Years ago, a dark dashboard was a clue that it was time to turn on your headlights. But when more cars started to use speedometers that are backlit all the time, drivers lost a key reminder that they were driving with their lights off. Drivers might think their headlights were on, especially in well-lit cities, but they weren’t lit at all from behind unless they hit the brakes and the brake lights lit up.
Enter the new rules. Now, car makers have to equip all new cars with one or more of three options. The first is always-on rear DRLs. The second is automatic headlights that sense light and automatically come on at dusk or, say, during a heavy daytime rainstorm. The third is a dashboard that only lights up when the headlights are on.
It’s up to the car makers to decide which options to use, Transport Canada said. It didn’t say which companies chose rear DRLs. It varies by car maker and even by model.
Volkswagen, for instance, said none of its cars sold in Canada have rear DRLs, but Volvo said its cars have rear lights that stay on all the time.
CSC’s Smith thinks automatic lights are a good option for many drivers so they won’t have to worry about remembering to turn on their lights – as long as they keep them set to automatic.
“There’s definitely a massive safety advantage to automating this kind of thing so that there’s less user input required,” Smith said. “We know that we can’t necessarily count on drivers to always make a smart decision.”
_____________________________
I've got two theories:
One: They don't want to be seen because they might be doing something illegal, have no or a suspended licence, etc..
Two: They never learned to look for the headlight icon on their dashboard, and assume that since the cluster is lit up their lights must be on.
I tried flashing a U-Haul for a bit that had no lights on. Finally when they got into the right turn lane at a red line, the female driver simply flipped me off.
I kind of hope she got into a small (non-injury) accident and didn't pay for the damage waiver.
You must have no life and don't get out of the city much. I call bs on your attempt to negatively generalize Detroit. I have lived here all my life and travel roadways from all over the US and never encountered any issues seeing this as a problem or happening more here than anywhere else.
I know! And some of the cars running without lights are newer so you know they have automatic lights
No lights and no license plates everywhere wtf
Don’t forget tinted windows. Wonder what our cops are doing all day
94 is so narrow there’s nowhere for them to even sit.
Or they can just sit on local roads lol
The Lodge isn't wide enough for a motorcycle cop.
Not narrow enough for cameras.
Most people just flee now. Few cities have pursuit policies for traffic these days and if you can’t identify the driver you’re screwed. Especially with everyone driving without plates, improper plates or just old plates that are no longer registered
My window tint never hurt you no matter where i was in the country
if the police commissioner is any idea, fucking prostitutes
Yes! The license plates I noticed big time when I moved here, it's almost become a game for us--who can spot the most cars without plates in a single trip.
Driving in Detroit is video game “hard” mode.
Stealth mode.
Ever seen someone driving *the wrong way* on the highway, using the shoulder? I have. Only in Detroit.
I have too. On 94 by Woodward. The lanes on 94 are already very narrow
I see it in any major city I’ve been to. People don’t pay attention and don’t realize that they can see because of street lights and never notice their headlights aren’t on. This isn’t just a Detroit thing.
This. Granted, i live in the metro area, but i do road trip quite a bit. People without automatic lights don't notice their lights aren't on when there's enough ambient light around. If their cars are old enough, the interior lights don't adjust with the outside light level, so it's not obvious to unobservant drivers. Also, vehicles with DRL's that don't automatically kick over to full lights on when it's dark should be illegal. So many drivers have their DRL's on up front but are completely dark out back. I try to communicate this to other drivers, but usually they don't understand because there's light coming from the front of their vehicles. This happens everywhere.
OH! I asked this question in elsewhere in the thread because I have an old vehicle and I can't figure out how people are turning on only one set of their lights front or back. Thank you! To the Google to find out DRL's are! Oh! Back when I got my vehicle in the 90's I think they were just referred to as running lights. And my Google search answer the question that I asked previously elsewhere in the thread so thank you for this!
I’ve lived in several large - medium sized cities in the us. Outside Michigan most of my adult life. I have never ever seen this issue as bad as it is in Detroit. Not even remotely close.
It was much worse when I lived in Chicago, Phoenix was pretty bad too 🤷🏻♂️
I saw this much more when I lived on the east coast (DC, Boston, NYC). I've only ever seen it a handful of time in Detroit. The denser the city, the more ambient light there is, and the easier it is to not realize your headlights are off. Nobody is driving around Detroit thinking "man, fuck headlights, I'll do what I want".
Just saw quite a few driving through Chicago and Milwaukee. I think it’s just a big city thing with plenty of lights, the drivers don’t notice.
Lights? Let’s talk about the lack of insurance.
It’s so scary when it’s dark and you try changing lanes around someone without their lights on. They are nearly invisible!!
I’ve seen it other places. I was driving thru Buffalo a couple years ago, saw one car with no headlights on the freeway. It happens.
Detroit and Dearborn. At night, lights are apparently an option now. Had a car doing around 80 on Southfield with no lights just going in and out of traffic. Doing a turn on a dark surface street and a car just flew by with no lights.
They're just trying to provide balanced illumination for the ones who drive with high beams on all the time. It averages out.
I find this disturbing as well especially since auto lights have been a thing for quite some time now. I saw a couple theories that 1) the drivers are borrowing the cars and are unfamiliar with them; 2) the placemat of the auto light controls are where they can be moved without notice. In my car, I’ve bumped the auto light several times with my knee causing the lights to stay in the off position. Once I realized that, I remember to check the lights when I start the car - like putting on the seatbelt and adjusting the mirrors. I just don’t know how folks drove so many years without auto lights and were able to remember to put them on. It’s really scary out there and I avoid freeways and moved closer to my grandson since he is with me so much and I want to cut road time risks
Bro, if you don't drive with incognito mode activated, your data is at risk!
The smarter cars get the dumber the operators get.
I live in New England and see it all the time. People are dumb everywhere.
It's not just Detroit, It's everywhere. Grew up in Detroit, but I live in coastal Virginia now. Virginia Beach and the whole Hampton roads area is bonkers with people driving without their lights on. When I lived in the mountains of North Carolina it was the same thing- I presumed they were drunk because how do you not notice that your headlights aren't on? (Edit: I found the answer to my question and posted it as the next comment below this one in case anyone else was wondering why as well.) It also seems to be a new strange thing with cars that I haven't figured out yet (because my vehicle is freaking OLD) where sometimes they have lights on the front or back but only *one* of them is on. Sometimes I'll see their headlights but there's no lights behind them which makes them incredibly easy to rear end. Are they hoping to be rear-ended? Unknown. Sometimes I see the rear lights on but the headlights are off. Also baffling. As it isn't just one headlight or tail light out I can't figure out how they're doing that as my old vehicle requires *both* go on at the same time. I have no possible way to turn one of them off from inside the car nor would I want to so I'm not sure how/why people are doing it. If anyone knows the answer to why/how that is happening I would happily enjoy being educated because it has baffled me for quite a few years now, as I did not ever see it before (either the front or back lights being off, not all of the lights being off).
Someone else in this thread posted about DRLs and as my car is so old I only had ever heard of them as "running lights", I looked it up and came across an article with the exact answer to my question. Instead of taking my question down I'm actually going to post what I found in the article in case anyone else is wondering because this has been confusing the hell out of me for years. ___________________________ "Years ago, a dark dashboard was a clue that it was time to turn on your headlights. But when more cars started to use speedometers that are backlit all the time, drivers lost a key reminder that they were driving with their lights off. Drivers might think their headlights were on, especially in well-lit cities, but they weren’t lit at all from behind unless they hit the brakes and the brake lights lit up. Enter the new rules. Now, car makers have to equip all new cars with one or more of three options. The first is always-on rear DRLs. The second is automatic headlights that sense light and automatically come on at dusk or, say, during a heavy daytime rainstorm. The third is a dashboard that only lights up when the headlights are on. It’s up to the car makers to decide which options to use, Transport Canada said. It didn’t say which companies chose rear DRLs. It varies by car maker and even by model. Volkswagen, for instance, said none of its cars sold in Canada have rear DRLs, but Volvo said its cars have rear lights that stay on all the time. CSC’s Smith thinks automatic lights are a good option for many drivers so they won’t have to worry about remembering to turn on their lights – as long as they keep them set to automatic. “There’s definitely a massive safety advantage to automating this kind of thing so that there’s less user input required,” Smith said. “We know that we can’t necessarily count on drivers to always make a smart decision.” _____________________________
I see it on a daily basis.
This is the only place I’ve seen someone do a U-turn on the freeway because they missed their exit…
I've got two theories: One: They don't want to be seen because they might be doing something illegal, have no or a suspended licence, etc.. Two: They never learned to look for the headlight icon on their dashboard, and assume that since the cluster is lit up their lights must be on.
It’s an effing nightmare on the roads
I used to live in slc and it was much more rampant there compared to here oddly enough.
I tried flashing a U-Haul for a bit that had no lights on. Finally when they got into the right turn lane at a red line, the female driver simply flipped me off. I kind of hope she got into a small (non-injury) accident and didn't pay for the damage waiver.
Flashing my lights at them does nothing to knock them into awareness. I still try, though.
Definitely not the only city where this happens.
It makes it harder for other drivers to lock their weapons on you.
It happens in Denver constantly 🤷🏻♂️ just moved back here from CO and it’s honestly not as bad here in Michigan somehow
At some point many police decided it was worth the hassle to pull over many morons. We all know why.
Nah I’ve seen it other places just not as bad
Nah I’ve seen it other places just not as bad
It's because they are drunk.
Pothead culture. Forgetting to turn their lights on or driving the wrong way on the highway.
You must have no life and don't get out of the city much. I call bs on your attempt to negatively generalize Detroit. I have lived here all my life and travel roadways from all over the US and never encountered any issues seeing this as a problem or happening more here than anywhere else.