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i wonder when all governments will finally legislate that all new vehicles must have DRL's on them and that all vehicles that don't must turn on their lights during the day for safety. it only make sense that they look long and hard at the problem. the stats are there that show the number of accidents is greatly reduced when lights are on. here's hoping that they finally make the right decision. nice to see that some cars are coming that way from the factory now. maybe it will wake some people up. (in government). all in my humble opinion naturally!

Hoeboe, please don't take the following personally or as an attack on you.I wonder when all governments will finally legislate that driving while using the cell phone is illegal. It only make sense that they look long and hard at the problem. The stats are there that show the number of accidents is greatly increased when a driver is talking on the cell phone. Here's hoping that they finally make the right decision.And if talking on the cell phone is illegal then using the radio should be made illegal, too. So should talking to a passenger.I hope the governement requires all cars be equipped with 5-point harness seatbelts and requires all occupants to wear helmits. Stats show that head injuries are greatly reduced if you are wearing a helmit in an accident.Yes, all the above is crazy. I say it only to make a point: we don't need more goverment regulations, we need better drivers. The more you allow governments to regulate your life and tell you how to live, the more freedom you loose.Someday a government will legislate to us that only whites with blonde hair and blue eyes are valuable and be allowed to live. Gee, I hope that never happens.

Well Nova with more and more drivers driving these days the better driver is never gonna happen. So the only way to some what try to make things saver is going to be with more laws and different safty equipment showing up in new cars.

you are right nova on few of those points you make but as i have learned in management you can't expect everyone to see things the way you (or i do). so what is left? take the option away and make it a no brainer. if you cut out the need for people to think about the easy stuff, they can focus on the bigger picture (like driving). this is just my opinion but also from my experiance. if the lights are too hard for people to grasp (especially in twilight) and a 5 dollar part will fix the problem then go for it is my thought.us canadians are known to be a bit passive when it comes to minor issues like this, and maybe it will be our un-doing, but we tend to pick our battles wisely and when we see our rights taken away to a much larger extent we will act. it just seems silly to have to worry about turning on a bloody switch. funny enough i turn that switch on every time i get in the car so that the fogs and lights are full on. go figure!

Technology and more regulations don't make better drivers. Things like traction control and ABS actually make worse drivers because it "dumbs-down" the driver from actually learning how to operate the vehicle correctly. Even automatic transmissions and cruise control turns "drivers" into just someone steering the car. Driving no longer requires concentration and that makes bored and unfocused drivers. All these things now allow people who wouldn't normally drive (because they can't drive a manual) on the road when they probably shouldn't be.Look, I'm all for safety. Seatbelts are a must. Talking on a cell phone while driving is not a good idea. But I'm not for a government trying to protect me from myself. If the government wants to regulate something how about yearly testing of drivers. We have to get our cars inspected every year (or every other year) to make sure they are safe why not "inspect" the operator as well.You bring up some good points and I just want to say that I'm not trying to argue, just point out other ways to look at the subject.Peace.

totally agree nova, and that was my point. let the drivers focus on driving rather than tinkering and taking their eyes off the road and such.i myself drive stick and love it because of the control you have. my wife on the other hand as well as most drivers today can't be bothered trying to learn. if i had my way everyone would have to learn and take their driving test with a manual transmission, with no power anything before they got their licence. all the power features in a vehicle are a luxury that most mfg's have exploited as needs.but alas our liberal type governments would not want people to learn anything. just give it to them is their motto. so we have to go to the other extreme and say... if we can't make them do what should be done, then we will do it for them. it might not be the right attitude but it's the one that is needed for the people that cannot do the simplist of tasks like reaching up and flipping the light switch.funny that you and i are so close to each others views yet on the other side of the spectrum.that's what makes the world go around. nothing better than a good debate.hope i didn't offend anyone here with my opinions. it is written fairly carte blanche and as usual are just my opinions. i could be wrong. toyota4evrhoeboe

I'm gonna throw my 2 cents out here at the risk of being flamed.I don't think mandatory DRL's are the answer. In a society looking for excuses for their own stupidity they would sue the mfgr's as soon as they failed and they got into an accident.As for cell phones, I refuse to answer mine even if I am stopped at a light. If somebody needs to talk to me so urgently that they can't wait until I get where I am going, then I don't think me sitting in a hospital would be very convenient for them either. As for the ones that disagree on this, you have the option to pull over.There will always be bad drivers out there. And drunk ones, and ones who are too old to see or react well enough to drive. Most of us could survive without driving if we really don't want to put up with it, but all of us can take the attitude that every other car on the road is going to do something stupid and put us at risk.Options to reduce the bad drivers? Sure there are tons of them. Mandatory re-testing every few years. Better drivers training courses. Stricter enforcement of moving violations. However, no politician is going to push these options because they come at a hassle and/or added cost to their voters.The only real solution is for those teaching their children, nephews, neices, siblings, parents, or whoever! should not just teach them how to operate a car to get from point A to point B and pass a road test. They should take the time to teach them how to do it not just safely, but defensively. If you are putting your kids through an actual driving school make sure they go beyond the basics and teach proper braking, acceleration, and steering on a variety of surfaces (dry/wet/icy pavement, gravel, etc). If you can afford it, put them through a basic performance driving school as well. If you notice your own bad habits, you might consider it a good way to break yourself of them too.There's my opinion. You can debate all day on whether luxury features make a better or worse driver, but it all comes down to the attitude and effort of the person sitting in the seat.

No flames here. I totally agree.

totally right ghostdev. now we just have to convince the world funny how we all think that all the other drivers suck. i wonder what all the other drivers think of us? hmmm?

I'm pretty sure they think I am terrible. I drive aggressively (at least when the wife isn't with me).

Article about DRL's.... http://www.lightsout.org/disable.html Thought I'd share....

WHY is the "better driver" never going to happen? I wish that driver education and licensing was HALF as rigorous as learning to fly a plane, for example. Would you try to fix airplane crashes with more required safety equipment on planes, or better training of the pilots? It actually takes some of both.

quote:i wonder when all governments will finally legislate ... I, for one, do NOT want to live in a world where everything good is required and everything bad is forbidden and SOMEONE ELSE is making those decisions for me.

quote:Article about DRL's.... http://www.lightsout.org/disable.html Thought I'd share.... That group and their site infuriates me. They seem to claim in one section they are merely fighting any legislation mandating the use of DRL systems -- when in fact, they state on another page, they want a full-out BAN on DRL systems!I like DRLs. Whether or not they come with benefits doesn't matter to me. I just like having my lights on during the day. My first car was a 89 Bonneville, had no DRL system, but I still drove with my lights on.I find they do help.And shame on anyone who tries to have them banned because THEY don't like it.Hell, why don't we start burning books again while we're at it!

Sadly there seem to be more and more rules to save the idiots from themselves.DRLs during the day are useless, in my opinion. If you can't see the car ahead of you, then you have no business driving on the road because you either: 1) Can't see or 2) Are not paying enough attention to be wielding a 2,000lb blunt object traveling at 40mph.DRLs only help save us from the asshats who don't turn on their lights in the rain, or during the twilight hours. But again, DRLs are just making it easier to drive for those that, in my opinion, shouldn't be driving if they can't do these simple things.I'm going to take a quote from Bash.org, it sums up my feelings on "stupidity legislation" for the most part: The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?Anyways, I disabled my DRLs not only because I dislike them in general (as noted above), but I tend to be a responsible driver (sunset = lights, if my windshield wipers are on, my lights are on) and it'll probably double the lifetime of my Silverstars compared to those that are running DRLs - I'm saving $$$