night drive warning!!

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:34 am

"Nissan enema!" I like that term. Mind if I swipe it for future use?

TOM R · Post by **TOM R** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:29 am

places like pep boys and summit racing sell led bulbs that go into standard bulb socketd if you use 12 v, i am sure someone carries 24v, my vehicles original lites are bright, the key is solid clean grounds

tmbrwolf · Post by **tmbrwolf** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:48 am

In Germany we put 6"X6" or 10"X10" square red reflective decals in the rear of all our trucks the lower corners of the reflecters nearest the body sides were yellow, you think 75+ MPH is bad try 100+ speeds!! I was rear ended driving my wrecker there twice, both times I was towing another truck with my warning / convoy lights ON, once was at night, the second time during the day. IMHO it may be legal to only have the lighting as manufactured, but not very smart to be driving at night that way on the freeway.

rixm37 · Post by **rixm37** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:58 pm

Man I like your choice of words Nissan Ennema

The sad part of this is there is a large portion of the driving public who just don't give a s%^&t about what they are doing.

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:17 pm

...and there's an equally large portion of the driving public that doesn't know what they're doing. Nobody teaches kids to actually "drive" these days. I think they just let 'em "aim" the car in the general direction of where they want it to go and step on the gas.

N1VSM · Post by **N1VSM** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:35 pm

Josh wrote:this is exactly why I'm going to be putting LED lighting in mine, along with bixenon HID headlights!

I tried LED's (the 24V ones) and only noticed a change in color, not brightness. Thankfully I saved the receipt. I'm interested to see if this was just my experience ...

This is an important thread, as at some point we will all deal with this issue.

I repainted the inside bucket of one of my marker lights with a shiny silver - noticed that the light is brighter than that with the (stock?) white.

I've been thinking of putting together a magnet-mounted set of tail lights that can plug into a yet-to-be-designed socket in the wiring harness. I'm sure this could be done using the trailer socket, but it seems like a bulky (and not so easy to find) plug for only using a few wires.

As for rules of the road, here in Taxachusetts, the only non-stock item required is a light over the rear license plate. I guess it is Darwin's theory at it's best.

rixm37 · Post by **rixm37** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:55 pm

I was thinking the same thing a light bar for the rear that maybe hangs on the tailgate and plugs into the trailer plug. Or how about running a jumper to the battery box ?

rixm37 · Post by **rixm37** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:58 pm

I am surpised at the LED lights being dim. When I see them on big rigs they look real bright. Could you use 12v ones and just hook up to one battery?

Nickathome · Post by **Nickathome** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:37 pm

Glad you guys liked that one. It just came to me while I was typing the thread. Feel free to use it as you wish!!!

m-37Bruce · Post by **m-37Bruce** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:08 pm

If I have an MV that may be out at night, I make sure and put moderen reflective tape on the back, usually in the shape of a delineator plate. Tom[/quote]

I like this idea! Thanks for sharing that one Tom!

ELBUFO · Post by **ELBUFO** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:09 pm

I have a set if magnetic trailer lights that I stick on the rear of my "M" for night driving.Pigtail them into the trailer light plug, and away we go. "Whats behind is not important", until it crawls up your a##...John

Rusty S. · Post by **Rusty S.** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:04 pm

Hi. I am a long time listener, first time caller. I agree about the military lights being inadaquate for night time driving in these moder high speed highway days. You need added safety protection because of this.

My take on the subject of orange triangles is this. If people are regularly driving 10, 20 or 25 mph over the speed limit these days and for the most part getting away with it, having an orange triangle on the back of my M37 will not bother me one bit, motor vehicle laws or not. I would rather err on the side of safety rather than the letter of a law that probably would not be enforced anyway.

Thanks for the opportunity to speak out...

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:20 pm

We could easily solve the problem of people constantly abusing the speed limit and conserve valuable fuel resources at the same time. All we would have to do is mandate cars with smaller, less powerful engines that were incapable of exceeding the speed limit. We'd get safer highways and better fuel economy with one simple act of congress. Anybody want to buy such a car? I didn't think so.

m-37Bruce · Post by **m-37Bruce** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:02 pm

Rusty S. wrote:Hi. I am a long time listener, first time caller. I agree about the military lights being inadaquate for night time driving in these moder high speed highway days. You need added safety protection because of this.

My take on the subject of orange triangles is this. If people are regularly driving 10, 20 or 25 mph over the speed limit these days and for the most part getting away with it, having an orange triangle on the back of my M37 will not bother me one bit, motor vehicle laws or not. I would rather err on the side of safety rather than the letter of a law that probably would not be enforced anyway.

Thanks for the opportunity to speak out...

We're glad that you took the opportunity to voice you opinion, it seems a lot like mine & others. I am planning on mounting the triangle on my bed mounted spare.

Again Welcome Aboard,

Rusty S. · Post by **Rusty S.** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:56 am

No, we dont want to have to drive Privias or what ever car has been designed to save the earth. Perhaps the police could take the novel approach of enforcing the laws that are in place...

I have an orange banner on the back of my truck to help break the drab pattern and thus hopefully, make the rear more visible to approaching traffic. It isnt reflective as I try not to drive at night. It just happens to be orange and in the shape of a triangle (the shape of the armored division emblem the truck was assigned to) and it is about 14 inches long on each side. It has "max speed of 45mph" stenciled on it for those who venture close enough to read it. It may emulate the DOT triangle, but it isnt one. At that point, it is outside any regulation that may be in place. I have been working on a auxilliary lighting system that would plug into the trailer plug at the back. This way I could have a removable system that would use the current wiring.

The sad part (my glass half empty opinion) is that the guy who is speeding, will probably be yakking on his cell phone, reading business documents, shaving or texting someone, so even if your truck is lit up with an exploding five kiloton nuclear device, they are still going to rear-end you no matter what. Just be careful out there.

Thanks for the opportunity to discuss this

Safety is of first importance.

night drive warning!!

LED's

Nissan Enema.

MAG LIGHTS

Welcome Aboard Rusty