Car Lighting Etiquette (or lack thereof)

[Dangermouse]

When is it appropriate to tell a car owner that his lights are faulty??

Yesterday I took the car to work and backed it into a parking spot that has a plate glass window, so I could check out my rear. Rear lighting that is. And I noticed that my drivers side brake lights are out (happens occasionally – the board needs to come out again for a good clean). Anyway twice after that I was followed by a (different) co-worker out of the parking lot (at lunch and then going home) and neither one came to me and told me half my brake lights were out (no CMHSL). Is this over-politeness? It’s a small office so I know both these people. Is it too much to expect?


Personally I would be happy if someone points this out, even in my DD. I think it is the helpful and safe thing to do, but now that I think about it, I realize that I have pointed this out to others a half dozen times or so, but never had it happen to me. Is it rude for me to point it out? Is the correct approach “F%$# him, he still has one working light. Hope he isn’t rear ended, but I don’t give a sh1t “


So when is it appropriate to tell a co-worker that one, two or all of his/her brake lights are out?

What about a stranger you are following in traffic – should you pull up beside him/her and point it out?

What about the guy with the semi-automatic lights, the sort that turns on just the headlights and leaves the tail in darkness?

[LordFly]

I tell people all the time. For my sake more than theirs really. I don't want to be stuck behind some jackass with NO brake lights. It annoys me, plus there is a small chance I'll wreck the front end of my car because of their lack of general maintenance.

[Farrar]

I always tell people when their brake or reverse lights are out. I'm saving them a ticket and/or rear-end collision. They're usually grateful for the knowledge.

(Except for the bottle-blonde twentysomething in the Nissan Maxima who ignored me because she thought she was gorgeous, which she wasn't, and I must have been honking my horn at her for six blocks only to attract her attention, because presumably that's how guys get girls' phone numbers now in the 21st century and it couldn't possibly have to do with a matter of someone driving a rolling road hazard down a crowded thoroughfare at night. I actually hope she got a ticket and/or rear-end collision.)

[Bitsyncmaster]

I always tell people at work if I see something wrong with their car. Just the other day, I went to Arby's to eat and saw a car outside with a sidewall 'balloon". Wife and I anounced the problem and the owner thanked us.

[Jonathan]

Except for the bottle-blonde twentysomething in the Nissan Maxima who ignored me because she thought she was gorgeous, which she wasn't, and I must have been honking my horn at her for six blocks only to attract her attention, because presumably that's how guys get girls' phone numbers now in the 21st century...

This monologue was either from the original pilot episode or the second or third show. He's totally right about it though.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffk00ULeEEM


When is it appropriate to tell a car owner that his lights are faulty??

Is this over-politeness? It’s a small office so I know both these people. Is it too much to expect?

Personally I would be happy if someone points this out, even in my DD. I think it is the helpful and safe thing to do, but now that I think about it, I realize that I have pointed this out to others a half dozen times or so, but never had it happen to me.

I think it is the right thing to do. Never a bad idea to be courteous or considerate.

I'd also say that it is quite possible that these folks from your office never even noticed your tail lights. I find most people in life are far more concerned with themselves than paying much attention to anyone or anything around them. I wouldn't take it as a personal slight or insult in anyway. From my experience, Joe Public is so wrapped up in himself that he doesn't even notice these kinds of things involving other people.

If it makes you happy to let someone else know about their tail light problems, go for it. I know I do the same. I stopped worrying about why people do these silly things we all see each day after realizing nothing I am going to do is bound to change it.

Farrar made a very astute comment not long ago when he said he had learned that "most people don't want to be corrected in life." Very, very true. So when I see stuff that defies some rational explanation, I just give 'er the ole WalMart explanation. Which is: as soon as I enter the WalMart perimeter, I don't question anything I see there. I keep this in mind from the parking lot, into the store, through the aisles, past the check out, and finally leaving the parking lot again. This "no explanation required" reasoning for the idiocy in life is getting applied to many things way beyond WalMart unfortunately too.

[Farrar]

Farrar made a very astute comment not long ago when he said he had learned that "most people don't want to be corrected in life."

Not only are you quoting me, you're parodying my tagline about miles driven in 2013! I'm flattered, but I'm not sure I'm someone you want to emulate, Jonathan... Advice from anyone must be weighed against the life they lead. Have you seen my life? It was a wreck until relatively recently. :lol:

[Roman Legion]

I check all my lights on both my vehicles at least once a month. Between monthly checks a few months ago, my third brake light burned out and nobody said anything, I found it at the next check and replaced it. I don't see it as being rude, it's kind of like telling someone their fly is open, you can let them go around lookign silly or just be nice and give them a heads up.

[Notifier]

I just find it interesting that the vehicle manufacturers haven't made it standard equipment a warning light telling the driver that one of their brake lights are out. A simple circuit measuring the current draw is all that's needed.

My Saab would indicate whenever any exterior light was malfunctioning. And they had it built in somehow if one of the rear brake lights went out, an adjacent bulb in the housing would take over! Every once in a while I would get behind the same car and the rear lights would be a little off. That was the alternate brake light taking over for a burnt out bulb.

But one of my biggest annoyances is the guy who hooks up his trailer and is too lazy to connect it up to the wiring harness. So now he is driving around by sheer ignorance without any brake lights or signals. Probably figures you can see the lights on the back of his pickup through all the crap he is hauling. I don't think he needs a friendly reminder, more of a friendly beating!

[Jonathan]

Not only are you quoting me, you're parodying my tagline about miles driven in 2013! I'm flattered, but I'm not sure I'm someone you want to emulate, Jonathan... Advice from anyone must be weighed against the life they lead. Have you seen my life? It was a wreck until relatively recently. :lol:

Hey man, no worries. The best part about making a change in your life is that the people who get to know you from that point only know you with that best foot forward. I don't think any of us would want to be judged based on the poor stuff in our past, whether it's a couple years ago or a couple decades ago. I know I wouldn't. Even in the 6 or so years I've been doing DeLorean stuff, a lot of the people on here have changed over time. And it's almost always a change for the better.

Ever seen that image of the boat motoring away and you see the wake behind it and the caption is something about "just like the wake of the boat behind it doesn't dictate where the boat goes next, your past doesn't dictate where you go in the future." Every time any of us get out of bed in the morning, we get the opportunity to try again today and do it better than yesterday :)

Haha, hope you don't mind me using the "miles driven" thing?! My annual winter angle drive adjustments didn't even give me the customary 300 yards of functional speedo this year. So I'm not looking at it again, and will continue to "hypothesize" how far it is I have driven this season, lol.

[Farrar]

True enough... I for one am glad the friends I have stuck with me through when I was a miserable sod and get to enjoy me being happy now. :lol:

You're at least a hundred miles ahead of me... I guess when I get the car going, I'll have to drive to Houston and back to make up the difference. ;)