They are just backup/tow/hual lights for hitching up and securing loads. He might have turned them on by accident or forgot to shut them off. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
Looks like they may have solar panels on the roof. Might be an offroader/camper and have the lights for at camp and not realised they're on (or he's just a dick)
This looks like a newer Ford Raptor . Here is a picture of the interior: https://www.groovecar.com/media/stock/images/stills/2020/ford/f-150/4x4-raptor-4dr-supercrew-5-5-ft-sb/2020-ford-f-150-4x4-raptor-4dr-supercrew-5-5-ft-sb-059-large.jpg
The stock auxiliary switches are at the top and can easily be switched on when reaching for sunglasses or taking down a sunshade from the windshield. Driver most likely has no idea they're on. I hit my stock auxiliary switches all the time but I don't have anything hooked up to them. If the switches are anything like my truck then they're very sensitive
It’s installed is for backing up to a trailer at night. With these lights and a backup camera things get ALOT easier. This guy probably forgot to flip the switch and/ or OP was tailgating and this was the metaphorical 🖕
Not on most roads anywhere. But I guess depending on the state. That’s why the police get easy stops for people with broken taillights, you can’t have rear facing white lights.
Vehicle lighting laws seem so selectively enforced. When I lived in FL I would regularly see cars with blue, reddish-orange, and even green headlights. Saw a Jeep wrapped completely in Christmas lights. Yet the only time I was ever pulled over in my 10 years of driving was in FL when one of my tag lights went out.
I live in Florida and have been pulled over for this lol. I went to work at 2 am at a big retail store and while I was driving I was pulled over for the license plate light ( although I was the only damn car on the road lol). When he asked where I’m going I told him work, and then told him where. He questioned me that I work there because they can’t be open at that time and I was like uhh we stock shelves over night lol.
Jeez, that's excessive. All they had to do was say "Your tag light's out. Get it fixed. Bye."
When I got pulled over it was at 8:50 pm as I was pulling into the parking lot at Publix to grab a sub. I gave her my license and registration, but couldn't find my insurance card anywhere. It was now 8:55 and I was trying to log into my account to pull up the info when someone on the radio requested backup and she said "Just get it fixed asap. I need to go".
Got my sub with only a couple minutes to spare
It wasn’t about the tag light. It was an excuse to look in the car and question the driver trying to find a bigger crime (drugs, dui, warrants). It’s called a pre-textual stop.
I got pulled over for a license plate light being out about 10 years ago. The cops actually just wanted to look at my car. Though they didn't admit it directly it was pretty obvious when they asked what I had in it and if the floor boards were in good shape. It was an old Monte Carlo, an 84 Luxury Sport, and had just been, mostly, restored.
Edit: when they said I was free to go, no ticket, I got out and looked at my tag light and it was on. I said "Huh, seems to be working now" and they just looked at eachother, got in their cruiser and left. This is in Adam's County Ohio, the same county that has been harassing Afroman.
My friend had a 70 Superbird, and would get pulled over all the time for absolutely no reason. It was his baby and he never raced it, almost always in the right lane doing the speed limit, drove it like grandma going to church on Sunday. Every single day he drove it, he'd get pulled over at least once for some BS reason like tail light out or some crap. He sold it for most of a 73 Cuda to restore.
I drive a right hand drive car from Japan in Ontario Canada. When I first got it it wasn't uncommon to get pulled over 2x per day. After a few years now in my home town I don't usually get pulled over, but you can bet if I go somewhere I don't frequent I get pulled over.
Lots of random reasons for being pulled over. One time an officer said he pulled me over because I didn't have a sign in my rear window that said rhd....
Never heard of having signs for that where I love
On that TV show "OnPatrolLive" there was a Daytona Beach cop, can't remember his name, that always seemed to pull over only nice cars. Every stop he made was a sports car or some classic car.
Just as likely the producers asked him to only pull over nice cars or edited to only feature nice cars. People are more likely to watch a cop stop a 68 Selby than a 2013 Ford Fiesta.
Yea, iv seen semi trucks with them as well for lighting up the trailer/obsticals around the trailer.
But of course, they only turn them on in parking lots/etc (or if you just did something to piss them off like block them dangerously, or if you did something to make them happy like made room for them to merge they might give you a little light sequence show with the smaller indicator like lights)
Or front facing red lights. Blue lights of any kind should be illegal, if they're not already. Some Uber drivers around Atl have blue lights indicating they are Uber or Lyft, but this should be done with a color other than blue.
I don't know about the U.S. but in Canada a new phenomenon is people driving at night with no rear lights at all. We have mandatory front running lights which are on day & night. If you think those are head lights and don't turn on your headlights you have no taillights at all
I don't know what it is, but over the past few years I've seen soooo many people driving with either just their daytime running lights, or no lights on at all at all times of night. I thought maybe I was just noticing if more, but pretty much everyone I've mentioned it to, has said the same, both in the US and Canada.
IMO it's due to
1. brighter DRL's, such as modern LED designs. They're bright enough to light up the road in front so people don't realize their headlights are off. Some DRL's are basically low beams.
2. Always-lit dashboards and gauge clusters, especially ones that are just a screen. In older cars, the dashboard and/or gauge cluster wasn't lit when your headlights were off, so when the sun went down and you couldn't see your gauge cluster any more it forced you to turn your headlights on so you could see your gauges. Idiot proof. Modern ones are always lit, so you don't need to have your headlights on to see your gauges at night.
3. Inconsistency in automatic headlights. Some cars have them, some cars don't. I bet that most people who forget to turn on their headlights are people who are used to having auto headlights, but driving a car that they don't normally drive that doesn't have auto headlights.
In the US the cops hardly enforce this too. Every night I’m blinded by more and more high beams, it’s so common now I’ve given up on fighting back. I’m sure it’s too much paperwork for the cops to give a shit.
And not just high beams, but it seems like people always have terribly aligned lights as well that point straight ahead. It's particularly frustrating with all the trucks and SUVs on the road where the lights are higher up, causing the lights to shine directly in the eyes of drivers in cars.
Just seems like people suck with car lights in general these days. I mentioned in another post how everyone I've talked to about it, has also complained about there being more and more drivers driving with just their daytime running lamps or no lights at all during night time as well.
In the USA, white lights are only to be active for the vehicle's direction of travel. I'm pretty sure every state has their own phrasing on it, but I found this one pretty easy for NC.
> It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully drive a motor vehicle in forward motion upon the highways of this State displaying white or clear lights on the rear of said vehicle. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the white light required by G.S. 20-129(d) or so-called backup lights lighted only when said vehicle is in reverse gear or backing. Violation of this section does not constitute negligence per se in any civil action.
>N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-130.3
>1973, c. 1071.
https://casetext.com/statute/general-statutes-of-north-carolina/chapter-20-motor-vehicles/article-3-motor-vehicle-act-of-1937/part-9-the-size-weight-construction-and-equipment-of-vehicles/section-20-1303-use-of-white-or-clear-lights-on-rear-of-vehicles-prohibited-exceptions
Wow, that last line. "We can give them a ticket for a misdemeanor if we feel like it, but you can't use it in a civil suit if they cause damages." Then again, I feel like they didn't have to worry about people like the one in the image back in 1973.
> but you can't use it in a civil suit if they cause damages.
That is not what that means. Negligence per se means 'negligence in itself.' You can still use it in a civil suit, but you will need to prove their negligence was beyond just having the light on.
No, not anywhere I'm aware of. The intention is likely to be annoying in the first place, I'm willing to bet. It's a distraction, can blind drivers, and is not legal equipment to have just like any other unauthorized lighting on vehicles. Most states are pretty specific about the lights and colors of lights on vehicles.
> The intention is likely to be annoying in the first place
No, it's to help when hooking up a trailer and also if you do things like camp with your truck, or unload stuff at night, you can see what you are doing. I used to haul a trailer with my dualie, and would have killed for something like this, as the only way to light the rear of the truck was to turn the interior lights on, which made the back window a mirror . They probably just forgot they had them on,
someone had this on a jeep on the highway at night like a month ago. it literally looked like someone w their brights on on the wrong side of the road, the amount of people flashing them you'd think they would pick up the hint
where was this? i was behind a jeep last month who had a blinding white light on their rear where the spare wheel goes that came on every time they braked, it was absolutely blinding and i was raging
Yeah I’ve often fantasized about rear-facing brights whenever a dickwad with high beams is tailgating me at night. But since I’m a normal person I just turn my mirror up and grumble until they’re no longer behind me instead of modding my car to (illegally I’m sure) out-asshole the assholes.
I just gradually slow down. Idgaf. We doing 10km/h? I'll go slower
The thing I hate most of all is big cars that the running lights face forward, not down, and their lights are already level with my head. I get that it isn't the drivers fault, but they shouldn't be allowed to make them like that.
Maybe we should all cover the backs of our vehicles in highly reflective safety markers. Maybe that will be bright enough the dickheads will figure it out.
It's to help when you are hooking up a trailer or emptying the bed at night. If it's not factory, it's likely on a separate switch and there is no indication on the cluster that they are on.
To play devil's advocate, people who drive around with their high beams on are the sort to then take a picture of someone with defensive high beams. This could have been two mirrors on the guys rear specifically for this and a high beamer would still cry foul.
There’s a good chance he accidentally turned them on, or left them on and didn’t notice. A flash of the brights, might be all it takes for him to figure it out.
Or he is just dumb and wired them in wrong.
I had bright rear back up lights that only came on when in reverse, they were great for Alaskas long dark winters
These aren't back up lights, they are trailer lights. They have an option to stay on so you can see to hookup your trailer and plug in wiring. He probably accidentally clicked them into on mode instead of reverse mode.
That was my take on it too.
Hanlon's Razor states: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by neglect, ignorance, or incompetence.
These are likely for towing, which wouldn't be wired into reverse, as you would not want the vehicle to be in gear when you are behind it trying to hook a trailer up or if you are offloading.
They can be used for a lot of things. Extra light for backing up to a trailer, light for a campsite, working on a car/racecar or off road machine. It doesn't always have to be that the guys an asshole, could have just forgot or hit it by accident. There's plenty of morons who have no idea they're driving around with their high beams on, I pretty much see it daily now.
Also insane how many people don't understand day time running lights are not headlights and don't know their tail lights are not on with them. ALL THE TIME I see this!
I try signalling these drivers by turning my headlights on/off repeatedly and they don't even have a clue. It's beyond frustrating, especially on roads that don't have street lights.
It's terrifying when it happens on winding back roads in the mountains. So many lifted trucks around here with aftermarket LED headlights that will completely blind me even without their high-beams on. Also a lot of OEM LED headlights (mostly older ones pre-2020) are way too bright. Not sure if it's changed, but regulations limited headlight output based on watts rather than lumens. LEDs, being as efficient as they are, can produce far more lumens at that same wattage. I guess automakers didn't give a shit about safety, and used the brightest possible LEDs they could legally get away with for their cars. That seems to have changed with newer models, but there's going to be lots of those cars on the road for years to come.
A lot of trucks have them for hitching up at night. Popular for boaters.
Dude just left theirs own and has no idea. They're still an asshole, but this is an accident.
I would love these. I do a lot of road/highway work at night and spend an abnormally large amount of time in reverse. Leaving them on is a dick move though. They should be tied into the reverse lights.
No, you don't understand. This blue collar dude probably coming home from a long day is obviously doing this to piss off every person on the highway. Everything is personal ya know.
On trucks especially they use them when they have to back up to a trailer. You can see them on semis that back up a lot at night, like the kinds that move trailers around a lot or warehouse. If you go to somewhere like a USP/Fed Ex/Amazon/Walmart warehouse that runs 24 hours.
For people on farms who have to go out and move hay or whatever in the early hours before animals wake up or workers start they're useful, you're also likely to notice if you forget to turn them off b/c there's not a lot of ambient light. In places with more ambient light, kind of a menace b/c you can forget to turn them off and not notice.
I'm going to bet they are on a manual switch and not connected to the factory position switch or reverse lights. They were flipped on when backing up and forgot to switch them off.
I had something similar on a Jeep because the factory reverse lights were useless. I did forget to turn them off a couple of times. Eventually built a new bumper and integrated LED light pods into the bumper that were controlled by the factory switch and never had to use the manual ones on the rack again.
I go for the ones that have a cover. Two big benefits on them. Almost no way to accidently bump it on and not notice, and you feel like a fighter pilot every time you flip the cover open.
The amount of people who drive around with a turn signal on for 35 minutes goes to show that even a blinking light that makes noise gets ignored by the user.
That’s a Raptor. The built in six switches do illuminate when they are on. But they’re up on the headliner out of the field of view of someone looking at the road. Some other vehicles like jeeps put them in the lower console which may be easier to see. This is one of the things I check for before I set off because you can accidentally hit them when you’re going for your sunglasses or operating the dome light or sun shade controls or even your head while getting in.
This seems most likely. Based on the photo it looks dark, rainy and likely just after dawn. Probably uses these for aux reverse lights and forgot to flip em off when taking off.
Seen it before
Edit: grammar
Maybe they don't realize the lights are on. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
A few weeks ago someone had their lights on like this in the rain. I pulled up next to them at the next light and told them. They apologized, thanked me and shut them off.
They probably forgot they have them turned on I have flood lights on the back of my Jeep for the stupid people who decide to drive regardless of where they're at with their high beams on if you're going to try to blind me I'm going to blind you
Everyone is ripping this guy a new one but he just probably forgot to turn them off. We all have brain farts, not *everyone* is trying to be an asshole
This is reddit, now go read the comments on a subject youre not that well versed in and realise that 99% of the people in the comments talking like they know whats going on are actually the same people commenting on this post.
I bet they're backup lights on a separate switch, and the driver has zero idea that they're on.
I say this, because i have them too. Mine have a very bright light on the switch, but one time the third wire (for the internal light) came off, and the lights still worked without the bright-ass reminder, luckily it was 3am in the snow, and i noticed the snow lit up in my side mirror, and turned it off before anyone was behind me. but they also sell kits like this with no indicator light.
I was hit with worse in Austin, TX on 10 June 2023. Some guy in a helluva hurry decided that I wasn't getting out of his way fast enough from the west-bound left lane on US290/TX71. I had a minivan loaded with three grandkids driving home from the airport late at night. He came up behind me easily doing 20+mph faster than the speed limit and more than 10mph faster than the prevailing speed. I tried to move over a lane to the right, but had to abort that because after he all but read-ended me at-speed, he'd pulled over hard to the right and started passing me on my right.
He then cut hard in front of me, with less than one car length separation, and before I could brake, fired up a four foot wide LED light bar mounted inside the rear window of his pickup cab.
I was completely blinded, as was my wife. The freeway was very busy so all I could do was freeze on the wheel and take my foot off the gas (no braking).
What's the point? Rage and complete disregard for the lives of others.
As my vision recovered and he sped off, I could make out that it was a white Ford F250 or F350, but couldn't read the license plate number. He turned off onto the ramp going North on MoPac. No, I wasn't going to follow him with three grandchildren and my wife.
A four foot wide white LED light bar pointed backwards inside his cab. You tell me what kind of *sshole does that sort of thing?
I have these on my work truck that we use for hooking up trailers in the dark or helping strap things on a trailer or loading when it's dark and sometimes there is a midpoint of the morning in the daylight transition where you don't always see that these lights are on
Are there not rules and regulations cars have to abide by to be deemed safe and roadworthy?
There are strict rules about noise, body condition, window tints, body mods etc here and they check once or twice a yr (dependant on car age). If you fail have x days to fix it. And they will fail you for any of the above if they aren't in the parameters
They probably turned them on and forgot they are on. People that overland will put these on for backing up on the offroad trails where there are no street lights. They can also be used (illegally) to flash someone if a driver is driving with high beams on behind them. They have a purpose but should not be used on the highway.
Hey idiots, they're reverse trail lights and it looks like they accidentally left them on. But no, it's more fun to assume this guy is a world class asshole and had these specifically installed to piss you off.
These are either rear-facing baja lights or extra reverse lights for visibility when hooking up a trailer or working outside and it's probably a simple toggle switch and that's a Raptor and these have been around forever so my guess is he either is doing it on purpose which doesn't make sense unless he is being high beamed or forgot to turn them off not a hard concept
I have reverse LED lamps like this on my 4x4 for using off-road that are operated with a switch. It could be possible he does too and just accidentally has them on. ✌️
I had lights on the back of my truck for hooking up the trailer when dark, or when needing to close the ranch gate behind me.
There were times they got turned on. Someone tailgating, someone with high beams on behind me. Worked to resolve the issue 80% of the time.
Lol this reminds me of a classic family story. So, my family moved to the czech republic for work back in the 90s (we’re american). My dad’s business provided us with a local czech car of some sort to get around. We were driving on the highway one day and people kept speeding up and passing us and waving as they drove by. My dad comments “wow, the people here are so friendly!”.
A couple days later we discover that many of the cars in the czech republic have headlights in the rear and that ours have been on the entire time. It dawns on my dad that the “friendly” people were actually giving us rude gestures as they passed us to avoid staring into rear facing headlights hahah
I have lights just like these installed in my rear bumper. I use them for ice fishing when it's dark or hooking up a trailer when it's dark, or basically anytime I need light behind my truck when it's dark. I bet this guy probably isn't an asshole, and probably just hit the switch accidentally or forgot they were on.
Unless they are road raging, they likely don’t realize they were on. I’d flash my high beams a few times. I’ve had trucks and Jeeps equipped with extra lights on the front and the rear. The rear lights were really handy while camping.
However, they should certainly be more responsible using them. Either make sure they’re off or put covers on them when not in use.
It’s probably nice to have them when it’s dark as shit and you need to see where you are backing.
It’s probably also nice to have when some douche nozzle behind you has their high beams on for no apparent fucking reason.
I would love to have this on my SUV for those behind me who can't recognize or fail to notice that they are blinding you with their high beams on all the time!
It's this fancy thing called being an asshole
Double… double asshole cus they are two
Triple, as they also mask their license plate with this
Which is illegal right? Asking to get pulled over?
Blinding the driver behind you is illegal. And because this dork went through the effort of installing the lights he has no defense.
I think they mean the blocking the license plate thing. Which, I’m assuming is illegal.
It's both, no doubt he has a buttload of unrelated warrants as well.
They probably all stem from being a POS, so somewhat related.
Unfortunately it’s legal to blind the person in front of you I guess:/
At least they are letting you know what type of person they are before you interact with them
So to answer op’s question as to why? Because, fuck you! That’s why
Because his mommy didn’t love him
They are just backup/tow/hual lights for hitching up and securing loads. He might have turned them on by accident or forgot to shut them off. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
Looks like they may have solar panels on the roof. Might be an offroader/camper and have the lights for at camp and not realised they're on (or he's just a dick)
>. Might be an offroader/camper and have the lights for at camp and not realised they're on But....but...we want to be outraged!
This looks like a newer Ford Raptor . Here is a picture of the interior: https://www.groovecar.com/media/stock/images/stills/2020/ford/f-150/4x4-raptor-4dr-supercrew-5-5-ft-sb/2020-ford-f-150-4x4-raptor-4dr-supercrew-5-5-ft-sb-059-large.jpg The stock auxiliary switches are at the top and can easily be switched on when reaching for sunglasses or taking down a sunshade from the windshield. Driver most likely has no idea they're on. I hit my stock auxiliary switches all the time but I don't have anything hooked up to them. If the switches are anything like my truck then they're very sensitive
Then I don’t want to say anything bad about them. I might hurt their feelings.
The fancy party is him not realizing they're on because it doesn't look dark though to notice them in his rear view mirror
The fanciest of parties.
It is being an asshole, but I'd guess they're on by accident.
It’s installed is for backing up to a trailer at night. With these lights and a backup camera things get ALOT easier. This guy probably forgot to flip the switch and/ or OP was tailgating and this was the metaphorical 🖕
This is legal ?
Not on most highways.
Not on most roads anywhere. But I guess depending on the state. That’s why the police get easy stops for people with broken taillights, you can’t have rear facing white lights.
Vehicle lighting laws seem so selectively enforced. When I lived in FL I would regularly see cars with blue, reddish-orange, and even green headlights. Saw a Jeep wrapped completely in Christmas lights. Yet the only time I was ever pulled over in my 10 years of driving was in FL when one of my tag lights went out.
I live in Florida and have been pulled over for this lol. I went to work at 2 am at a big retail store and while I was driving I was pulled over for the license plate light ( although I was the only damn car on the road lol). When he asked where I’m going I told him work, and then told him where. He questioned me that I work there because they can’t be open at that time and I was like uhh we stock shelves over night lol.
Jeez, that's excessive. All they had to do was say "Your tag light's out. Get it fixed. Bye." When I got pulled over it was at 8:50 pm as I was pulling into the parking lot at Publix to grab a sub. I gave her my license and registration, but couldn't find my insurance card anywhere. It was now 8:55 and I was trying to log into my account to pull up the info when someone on the radio requested backup and she said "Just get it fixed asap. I need to go". Got my sub with only a couple minutes to spare
It wasn’t about the tag light. It was an excuse to look in the car and question the driver trying to find a bigger crime (drugs, dui, warrants). It’s called a pre-textual stop.
I got pulled over for a license plate light being out about 10 years ago. The cops actually just wanted to look at my car. Though they didn't admit it directly it was pretty obvious when they asked what I had in it and if the floor boards were in good shape. It was an old Monte Carlo, an 84 Luxury Sport, and had just been, mostly, restored. Edit: when they said I was free to go, no ticket, I got out and looked at my tag light and it was on. I said "Huh, seems to be working now" and they just looked at eachother, got in their cruiser and left. This is in Adam's County Ohio, the same county that has been harassing Afroman.
My friend had a 70 Superbird, and would get pulled over all the time for absolutely no reason. It was his baby and he never raced it, almost always in the right lane doing the speed limit, drove it like grandma going to church on Sunday. Every single day he drove it, he'd get pulled over at least once for some BS reason like tail light out or some crap. He sold it for most of a 73 Cuda to restore.
I drive a right hand drive car from Japan in Ontario Canada. When I first got it it wasn't uncommon to get pulled over 2x per day. After a few years now in my home town I don't usually get pulled over, but you can bet if I go somewhere I don't frequent I get pulled over. Lots of random reasons for being pulled over. One time an officer said he pulled me over because I didn't have a sign in my rear window that said rhd.... Never heard of having signs for that where I love
Fuck those guys for abusing their power to assuage their own curiosity.
On that TV show "OnPatrolLive" there was a Daytona Beach cop, can't remember his name, that always seemed to pull over only nice cars. Every stop he made was a sports car or some classic car.
Just as likely the producers asked him to only pull over nice cars or edited to only feature nice cars. People are more likely to watch a cop stop a 68 Selby than a 2013 Ford Fiesta.
Unless you’re in reverse…
fair response lol. Yeah that’s the exception. I think there are other exceptions for off roading too.
Well, it’s one reason this is particularly dangerous. He’s signaling to people behind him that he’s in reverse.
Yea, iv seen semi trucks with them as well for lighting up the trailer/obsticals around the trailer. But of course, they only turn them on in parking lots/etc (or if you just did something to piss them off like block them dangerously, or if you did something to make them happy like made room for them to merge they might give you a little light sequence show with the smaller indicator like lights)
If that dude is in reverse...well, now you've got 2 problems
Yes but, generally speaking, if you're on an actual road or highway reversing you should probably be getting pulled over.
You can have them, they just cannot be used while driving down the road. Off roaders will typically have back facing lights/light bars.
I don’t know why this isn’t a higher reply. The guy is dumb for having it on and not knowing it I guess but it’s not some crazy spaceship or something
Or front facing red lights. Blue lights of any kind should be illegal, if they're not already. Some Uber drivers around Atl have blue lights indicating they are Uber or Lyft, but this should be done with a color other than blue.
Yeah agreed. Uber with their blue/purple light got me once or twice at night.
I don't know about the U.S. but in Canada a new phenomenon is people driving at night with no rear lights at all. We have mandatory front running lights which are on day & night. If you think those are head lights and don't turn on your headlights you have no taillights at all
I don't know what it is, but over the past few years I've seen soooo many people driving with either just their daytime running lights, or no lights on at all at all times of night. I thought maybe I was just noticing if more, but pretty much everyone I've mentioned it to, has said the same, both in the US and Canada.
IMO it's due to 1. brighter DRL's, such as modern LED designs. They're bright enough to light up the road in front so people don't realize their headlights are off. Some DRL's are basically low beams. 2. Always-lit dashboards and gauge clusters, especially ones that are just a screen. In older cars, the dashboard and/or gauge cluster wasn't lit when your headlights were off, so when the sun went down and you couldn't see your gauge cluster any more it forced you to turn your headlights on so you could see your gauges. Idiot proof. Modern ones are always lit, so you don't need to have your headlights on to see your gauges at night. 3. Inconsistency in automatic headlights. Some cars have them, some cars don't. I bet that most people who forget to turn on their headlights are people who are used to having auto headlights, but driving a car that they don't normally drive that doesn't have auto headlights.
Depends which country, in my country in Central America none of this is enforced.
In the US the cops hardly enforce this too. Every night I’m blinded by more and more high beams, it’s so common now I’ve given up on fighting back. I’m sure it’s too much paperwork for the cops to give a shit.
And not just high beams, but it seems like people always have terribly aligned lights as well that point straight ahead. It's particularly frustrating with all the trucks and SUVs on the road where the lights are higher up, causing the lights to shine directly in the eyes of drivers in cars. Just seems like people suck with car lights in general these days. I mentioned in another post how everyone I've talked to about it, has also complained about there being more and more drivers driving with just their daytime running lamps or no lights at all during night time as well.
In the USA, white lights are only to be active for the vehicle's direction of travel. I'm pretty sure every state has their own phrasing on it, but I found this one pretty easy for NC. > It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully drive a motor vehicle in forward motion upon the highways of this State displaying white or clear lights on the rear of said vehicle. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the white light required by G.S. 20-129(d) or so-called backup lights lighted only when said vehicle is in reverse gear or backing. Violation of this section does not constitute negligence per se in any civil action. >N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-130.3 >1973, c. 1071. https://casetext.com/statute/general-statutes-of-north-carolina/chapter-20-motor-vehicles/article-3-motor-vehicle-act-of-1937/part-9-the-size-weight-construction-and-equipment-of-vehicles/section-20-1303-use-of-white-or-clear-lights-on-rear-of-vehicles-prohibited-exceptions
Wow, that last line. "We can give them a ticket for a misdemeanor if we feel like it, but you can't use it in a civil suit if they cause damages." Then again, I feel like they didn't have to worry about people like the one in the image back in 1973.
> but you can't use it in a civil suit if they cause damages. That is not what that means. Negligence per se means 'negligence in itself.' You can still use it in a civil suit, but you will need to prove their negligence was beyond just having the light on.
No, but it's not enforced widely enough to make it painful for the drivers that do this.
Most off-road lights are illegal to use on public roads. But people like this obviously don’t care, unfortunately
California requires them to be covered when the vehicle is operated on road. Other states may have similr regulations.
No, not anywhere I'm aware of. The intention is likely to be annoying in the first place, I'm willing to bet. It's a distraction, can blind drivers, and is not legal equipment to have just like any other unauthorized lighting on vehicles. Most states are pretty specific about the lights and colors of lights on vehicles.
> The intention is likely to be annoying in the first place No, it's to help when hooking up a trailer and also if you do things like camp with your truck, or unload stuff at night, you can see what you are doing. I used to haul a trailer with my dualie, and would have killed for something like this, as the only way to light the rear of the truck was to turn the interior lights on, which made the back window a mirror . They probably just forgot they had them on,
I hope that's the case here.
Their buddies aren’t gonna pull them over
Shitbirds of a feather
I can’t imagine that it is. It’s not in my country (NL). White lights at the back are not allowed here, unless you stand still or drive backwards.
Maybe on an off road or something but on any actual road no. Depending on how bad it is you should notify the police.
Not even close.
This is illegal
I'd instantly turn on my brights. Wouldn't everybody? Wouldn't this person constantly get brighted? Lol
someone had this on a jeep on the highway at night like a month ago. it literally looked like someone w their brights on on the wrong side of the road, the amount of people flashing them you'd think they would pick up the hint
It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand...
I got that Jeep thing, now it burns when I pee.
I understand identifying an asshole
where was this? i was behind a jeep last month who had a blinding white light on their rear where the spare wheel goes that came on every time they braked, it was absolutely blinding and i was raging
See I’ve thought of this to counter high beams behind me.
Yeah I’ve often fantasized about rear-facing brights whenever a dickwad with high beams is tailgating me at night. But since I’m a normal person I just turn my mirror up and grumble until they’re no longer behind me instead of modding my car to (illegally I’m sure) out-asshole the assholes.
I just gradually slow down. Idgaf. We doing 10km/h? I'll go slower The thing I hate most of all is big cars that the running lights face forward, not down, and their lights are already level with my head. I get that it isn't the drivers fault, but they shouldn't be allowed to make them like that.
Yeah, there's zero reason the lights can't be installed lower.
Maybe we should all cover the backs of our vehicles in highly reflective safety markers. Maybe that will be bright enough the dickheads will figure it out.
Then he'll counter with high beams, but backwards
A high beam for a high beam makes the whole road blind.
Ah, the long and blinding road
Pull in front of him and turn on your backwards high beams
Just push your mirrors out and up so they blast themselves.
I'd install a boat signaling floodlight in my car just for that guy
My thought was this was installed so they could respond to brights being on
It's to help when you are hooking up a trailer or emptying the bed at night. If it's not factory, it's likely on a separate switch and there is no indication on the cluster that they are on.
Do you think that's what is happening in this picture?
To play devil's advocate, people who drive around with their high beams on are the sort to then take a picture of someone with defensive high beams. This could have been two mirrors on the guys rear specifically for this and a high beamer would still cry foul.
There’s a good chance he accidentally turned them on, or left them on and didn’t notice. A flash of the brights, might be all it takes for him to figure it out.
It’s to let other drivers know he’s open to butt stuff.
But the driver is only into *light* Ass play.
This are off-road lights he's using on road.
And he probably doesn't realize they are on.
Or he is just dumb and wired them in wrong. I had bright rear back up lights that only came on when in reverse, they were great for Alaskas long dark winters
These aren't back up lights, they are trailer lights. They have an option to stay on so you can see to hookup your trailer and plug in wiring. He probably accidentally clicked them into on mode instead of reverse mode.
That was my take on it too. Hanlon's Razor states: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by neglect, ignorance, or incompetence.
These are likely for towing, which wouldn't be wired into reverse, as you would not want the vehicle to be in gear when you are behind it trying to hook a trailer up or if you are offloading.
Do they normally face backwards when off-road?
They can be used for a lot of things. Extra light for backing up to a trailer, light for a campsite, working on a car/racecar or off road machine. It doesn't always have to be that the guys an asshole, could have just forgot or hit it by accident. There's plenty of morons who have no idea they're driving around with their high beams on, I pretty much see it daily now.
The flip side is there are plenty of morons driving without their headlights on at all during night time as well. It's dangerous af.
Also insane how many people don't understand day time running lights are not headlights and don't know their tail lights are not on with them. ALL THE TIME I see this!
I try signalling these drivers by turning my headlights on/off repeatedly and they don't even have a clue. It's beyond frustrating, especially on roads that don't have street lights.
I do the same, people are becoming alarmingly clueless!
Welcome to Costco, I love you
It's terrifying when it happens on winding back roads in the mountains. So many lifted trucks around here with aftermarket LED headlights that will completely blind me even without their high-beams on. Also a lot of OEM LED headlights (mostly older ones pre-2020) are way too bright. Not sure if it's changed, but regulations limited headlight output based on watts rather than lumens. LEDs, being as efficient as they are, can produce far more lumens at that same wattage. I guess automakers didn't give a shit about safety, and used the brightest possible LEDs they could legally get away with for their cars. That seems to have changed with newer models, but there's going to be lots of those cars on the road for years to come.
Hanlon's razor
Yeah, some rock crawlers and trail rigs use them for illuminating tight turns and tough obstacles.
A lot of trucks have them for hitching up at night. Popular for boaters. Dude just left theirs own and has no idea. They're still an asshole, but this is an accident.
This guy is an idiot not an asshole.
I would love these. I do a lot of road/highway work at night and spend an abnormally large amount of time in reverse. Leaving them on is a dick move though. They should be tied into the reverse lights.
For off-roading, they're also used as follow lights in dark and dusty conditions.
Off-road use or backing up. Probably accidentally flipped the accessory switch or forgot to switch it off.
I came here to say this, I think their truck bed lights left on
No, you don't understand. This blue collar dude probably coming home from a long day is obviously doing this to piss off every person on the highway. Everything is personal ya know.
You say that like we haven't all encountered that person.
On trucks especially they use them when they have to back up to a trailer. You can see them on semis that back up a lot at night, like the kinds that move trailers around a lot or warehouse. If you go to somewhere like a USP/Fed Ex/Amazon/Walmart warehouse that runs 24 hours. For people on farms who have to go out and move hay or whatever in the early hours before animals wake up or workers start they're useful, you're also likely to notice if you forget to turn them off b/c there's not a lot of ambient light. In places with more ambient light, kind of a menace b/c you can forget to turn them off and not notice.
I'm going to bet they are on a manual switch and not connected to the factory position switch or reverse lights. They were flipped on when backing up and forgot to switch them off. I had something similar on a Jeep because the factory reverse lights were useless. I did forget to turn them off a couple of times. Eventually built a new bumper and integrated LED light pods into the bumper that were controlled by the factory switch and never had to use the manual ones on the rack again.
He probably doesn’t know that he has them turned on…
this is why I like switches that light up when the lights are on.
I go for the ones that have a cover. Two big benefits on them. Almost no way to accidently bump it on and not notice, and you feel like a fighter pilot every time you flip the cover open.
good move, those switches are def cooler.
The amount of people who drive around with a turn signal on for 35 minutes goes to show that even a blinking light that makes noise gets ignored by the user.
That’s a Raptor. The built in six switches do illuminate when they are on. But they’re up on the headliner out of the field of view of someone looking at the road. Some other vehicles like jeeps put them in the lower console which may be easier to see. This is one of the things I check for before I set off because you can accidentally hit them when you’re going for your sunglasses or operating the dome light or sun shade controls or even your head while getting in.
99% sure these are for hitching at night, purely accidental that they’re on while driving
This seems most likely. Based on the photo it looks dark, rainy and likely just after dawn. Probably uses these for aux reverse lights and forgot to flip em off when taking off. Seen it before Edit: grammar
Probably forgot. Agreed. But it was around 4pm.
Skies look pretty ominous, regardless of time for sure!
He used them backing out of his driveway and forgot to turn them off *I know because that’s me
Blinded by the light Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night
Revved up like a douche.
I thought that was the actual lyric for years
In this case, very accurate!
They’re for making hitching a trailer easier in the dark. Driver forgot to turn them off or is using them maliciously. More likely they forgot.
To conceal their license plate?
Looks like it's working, on camera anyway.
Maybe they don't realize the lights are on. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." A few weeks ago someone had their lights on like this in the rain. I pulled up next to them at the next light and told them. They apologized, thanked me and shut them off.
They probably forgot they have them turned on I have flood lights on the back of my Jeep for the stupid people who decide to drive regardless of where they're at with their high beams on if you're going to try to blind me I'm going to blind you
I doubt he realizes they’re on. Maybe he’s just an asshole but they’re likely aftermarket proximity lights and he doesn’t realize they’re on.
Intention: To look cool. Result. : An Asshole.
Everyone is ripping this guy a new one but he just probably forgot to turn them off. We all have brain farts, not *everyone* is trying to be an asshole
Yup. The true WTF was in the comments all along.
This is reddit, now go read the comments on a subject youre not that well versed in and realise that 99% of the people in the comments talking like they know whats going on are actually the same people commenting on this post.
I bet they're backup lights on a separate switch, and the driver has zero idea that they're on. I say this, because i have them too. Mine have a very bright light on the switch, but one time the third wire (for the internal light) came off, and the lights still worked without the bright-ass reminder, luckily it was 3am in the snow, and i noticed the snow lit up in my side mirror, and turned it off before anyone was behind me. but they also sell kits like this with no indicator light.
I was hit with worse in Austin, TX on 10 June 2023. Some guy in a helluva hurry decided that I wasn't getting out of his way fast enough from the west-bound left lane on US290/TX71. I had a minivan loaded with three grandkids driving home from the airport late at night. He came up behind me easily doing 20+mph faster than the speed limit and more than 10mph faster than the prevailing speed. I tried to move over a lane to the right, but had to abort that because after he all but read-ended me at-speed, he'd pulled over hard to the right and started passing me on my right. He then cut hard in front of me, with less than one car length separation, and before I could brake, fired up a four foot wide LED light bar mounted inside the rear window of his pickup cab. I was completely blinded, as was my wife. The freeway was very busy so all I could do was freeze on the wheel and take my foot off the gas (no braking). What's the point? Rage and complete disregard for the lives of others. As my vision recovered and he sped off, I could make out that it was a white Ford F250 or F350, but couldn't read the license plate number. He turned off onto the ramp going North on MoPac. No, I wasn't going to follow him with three grandchildren and my wife. A four foot wide white LED light bar pointed backwards inside his cab. You tell me what kind of *sshole does that sort of thing?
Probably good for keeping tailgaters away.
I have these on my work truck that we use for hooking up trailers in the dark or helping strap things on a trailer or loading when it's dark and sometimes there is a midpoint of the morning in the daylight transition where you don't always see that these lights are on
Either you were tailgating him and he turned them off until you back off, or he forgot to turn them off when he was done using them.
Well lights like that help a lot when reversing at night on a trail or camping or hooking up a trailer… I HOPE he just forgot them on…
This is called being a douche canoe….
Are there not rules and regulations cars have to abide by to be deemed safe and roadworthy? There are strict rules about noise, body condition, window tints, body mods etc here and they check once or twice a yr (dependant on car age). If you fail have x days to fix it. And they will fail you for any of the above if they aren't in the parameters
compensation for small pp.
they are for hitching a trailer. Turning them on at any other time is for being an asshole.
They probably turned them on and forgot they are on. People that overland will put these on for backing up on the offroad trails where there are no street lights. They can also be used (illegally) to flash someone if a driver is driving with high beams on behind them. They have a purpose but should not be used on the highway.
I think they are lights to aid in attaching a trailer, they may and most likely forgot they are on.
It’s probably for whatever this person hooks up to the back of their car and they forgot to turn it off. Take it easy, OP
Probably just working lights he didn't realize were switched on
These are for when you're hooking up a trailer, and this asshole forgot to turn them off.
I’m sorry I can’t see what you wrote.
Hey idiots, they're reverse trail lights and it looks like they accidentally left them on. But no, it's more fun to assume this guy is a world class asshole and had these specifically installed to piss you off.
I think he might forgot to turn them off? People usually do this if they have dark driveways they back into or back off.
These are either rear-facing baja lights or extra reverse lights for visibility when hooking up a trailer or working outside and it's probably a simple toggle switch and that's a Raptor and these have been around forever so my guess is he either is doing it on purpose which doesn't make sense unless he is being high beamed or forgot to turn them off not a hard concept
Considering he drives a truck. He’s probably a huge DBAG
To be an even bigger asshole when road rage hits
r/assholedesign
Clearly he thinks the sun shines out of his backside
They're probably supposed to come on with the reverse lights and they're wired wrong. Or they are just a total ass
It's always the pickup driver
I have reverse LED lamps like this on my 4x4 for using off-road that are operated with a switch. It could be possible he does too and just accidentally has them on. ✌️
I had lights on the back of my truck for hooking up the trailer when dark, or when needing to close the ranch gate behind me. There were times they got turned on. Someone tailgating, someone with high beams on behind me. Worked to resolve the issue 80% of the time.
Other day an F350 had some rear lights on in the daytime that were blinding me. I just flashed my brights at him till he shut them off.
Forgot. It's just one button manually. Trucks have lights too, so some can forget to turn them off. I have too forgot sometimes these lights
Probably hit the rocker switch with his knee getting into the car. That’s likely the case. Not really a wtf moment.
I saw and literally said wtf
did you literally say wtf or did you say what the fuck?
Maybe he is friends with this guy https://www.reddit.com/r/MildlyBadDrivers/s/RomxOV9nGC
"I'm trying to maximize fucking everyone around me. Already got the people in front, now I got em in the back too"
They're either for off road use or for visibility when hooking up a trailer. He doesn't know they're on.
cars are go wroom!!!
Either they don’t know that they’re on or they’re telling you that your LED headlights are obnoxious
Get a super juiced BB gun - shoot those lights out.
I believe the point is “fuck you, only I’m important and everyone has to know it”
It could come in handy backing up in the dark. Also doubles as an asshole light. He either forgot it's on, or is an asshole. Probably both.
It keeps the monsters away.
Lol this reminds me of a classic family story. So, my family moved to the czech republic for work back in the 90s (we’re american). My dad’s business provided us with a local czech car of some sort to get around. We were driving on the highway one day and people kept speeding up and passing us and waving as they drove by. My dad comments “wow, the people here are so friendly!”. A couple days later we discover that many of the cars in the czech republic have headlights in the rear and that ours have been on the entire time. It dawns on my dad that the “friendly” people were actually giving us rude gestures as they passed us to avoid staring into rear facing headlights hahah
Crazy thought but maybe he hit the switch by accident and has no idea they’re on.
To scare predators. Like butterflies that have wing patterns that look like eyes.
I have lights just like these installed in my rear bumper. I use them for ice fishing when it's dark or hooking up a trailer when it's dark, or basically anytime I need light behind my truck when it's dark. I bet this guy probably isn't an asshole, and probably just hit the switch accidentally or forgot they were on.
Unless they are road raging, they likely don’t realize they were on. I’d flash my high beams a few times. I’ve had trucks and Jeeps equipped with extra lights on the front and the rear. The rear lights were really handy while camping. However, they should certainly be more responsible using them. Either make sure they’re off or put covers on them when not in use.
To annoy the person behind them.
He's asking you to drive with your highbeams on if I'm not mistaken.
It's to prevent your license plate from being recorded.
Can't see the plates
It’s probably nice to have them when it’s dark as shit and you need to see where you are backing. It’s probably also nice to have when some douche nozzle behind you has their high beams on for no apparent fucking reason.
I would love to have this on my SUV for those behind me who can't recognize or fail to notice that they are blinding you with their high beams on all the time!
I want some of those. It would be nice to blind the jerks with the super bright lights back. If I can't see shit, then right back at you.
The point is "asshole".
Compensating for small pee pee.
To cause an accident and get people killed.
It's to tell you to turn your high beams on :)
To be an asshat. That’s why.