Are sidelights on cars REALLY necessary?

Question

When the weather warrants lights why not just use dipped lights.
The piddly little s/l can niether light the road for the driver and in most instances cannot be seen by oncoming traffic.
(PARKING?????) How many people uses s/l ??

Answer 1

side lights are only to be used when parking,if you are driving then you should use dipped headlights.

Answer 2

The use of sidelights is a legal requirement when parked at night on any unlit road, or any road with a speed limit higher than 30mph. In many countries they are referred to as parking lights, not sidelights.

They are not intended to be used when driving.
However, there used to be an odd clause in UK law that said sidelights should be used from ½ hour before sunset to ½ hour after sunset, with headlamps used after ½ hour after sunset, or in adverse weather conditions.

There was another UK legal oddity from about 1985 to 1997, where cars without internally-controlled (or automatic) headlamp levelling were fitted with a "dim-dip" system. This meant that if sidelights and ignition were both on, the dipped-beam headlamps were on at about half their normal brightness. The problem with this was it got people used to being able to be seen with sidelights on, and now that all cars have headlamp levelling (so are not fitted with dim-dip) many drivers have not changed their habits.

Daytime running lamps (brighter than sidelights) will become commonplace over the next few years, as they will become an EC requirement in new cars.

Answer 3

Yes. Because if your car breaks down at night, leaving your dipped headlights on will glare other oncoming drivers, The sidelights also turn your rear ones on which will( along with the hazards) make your car more visible.36

Answer 4

1968 was the first year for side lights to be mandated in cars. Today, many cars have lights(like the taillights) that simply wrap around the side of the car. the original use for these lights was for other cars to see your vehicle. Take a look at cars from before 1968, the lights were small and hard to see unless you were in front or behind the car.

Answer 5

yes side lights are necessary....use them when you legally park on a road with a speed limit of 40mph or above, in those areas you must always park in the direction of the traffic flow with side lights on so that other traffic can see your vehicle, your lights will confirm which side of the road they are driving on. Any road with a speed limit of more than 30mph does not have to have streets lights therefore side lights are necessary when parking.

Answer 6

Same thing can be said about turn indicators, why have them on cars when virtually everyone with a automobile or truck never uses them. Heck, I've been in the right lane going south and seen a person in the left turn lane make a right turn in front of me and the car next to me. If people are going to ignore the turns they make why put turn signals on vehicles?

Answer 7

Good question: Parking you got reflectors to take care of that one, and your lights will pick up the reflectors of the front lenses too. I get annoyed when people put their dipped headlights on too early in the evening!! your depth of perception works far better when you have'nt got light distortion!!!

Answer 8

The side lights are used only for parking. However, when you're
night driving, you use the dimmed headlights.
That's the norm in safe driving.

Answer 9

Yes. My car can't be seen if I don't use them. Nice British racing green, in half light it's like a silhouette!

Answer 10

Didn't think that the car had side lights. Better check