Demise of the handbrake.

[icowden]

My Vx has the Xenon projector headlamps that are blooming great (not available on most of the vans other than the 'high level' passenger one) - loads of light on the road, super sharp cut off, without the LED dazzle. I've no idea what the main beam is but it's nuts.... I think it's a normal bulb, but I've not poked about enough yet.

My VW has LED Matrix headlights that swivel and look towards corners. They can shape the beam to make cutouts when following or seeing oncoming traffic. They are, quite frankly, amazing.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

My VW has LED Matrix headlights that swivel and look towards corners. They can shape the beam to make cutouts when following or seeing oncoming traffic. They are, quite frankly, amazing.

On the subject of un-necessary "advancements" on cars

I apparently have windscreen wipers that react to a sensor when on intermittant
so they wipe the windscreen when it is needed
but there is a dial to change the sensitivity up and down

which is bl***y useless - it never seesm to sense it properly s you end up with it wiping a dry windscreen or the glass is totally covered before it does anything
The previous car had the same without the sensor - so the dial just made the gap shorter or longer
far better


and as for the automatic headlights that decide when to go to full beam themselves
and when to dip if another car
and are pretty much dangerous

 

[the_mikey]

Having said that, the auto-hold would only work if you were wearing your seatbelt. Not a problem for me, but my partner would often park the car on the drive and take her seatbelt off before she was fully stopped. Luckily it was on a level part of the drive. Even after I'd pointed out why it didn't brake itself, she still "wouldn't trust it" even though it was user error

The conditional logic involved in applying a brake seems very vehicle specific, which could be a problem if you don't routinely drive that vehicle, leading to "user error" and a sense of distrust.

Every time I pull up at traffic lights on a slight incline I’m dazzled by a sea of red brake lights. Am I the only old fashioned driver who has a working handbrake?

A lot of modern vehicles do it automatically, and some never do it unless the brake pedal is actively being pressed, which it often isn't in some EV's.

 

[the_mikey]

That's one of my pet hates.

I noticed a BYD EV not only showing a red light when stopped but the lights were showing an animated dancing effect perhaps to mesmerise the person in the car behind who has to watch the red light dance from left to right.

 

[Drago]

Brake lights will not activate on tne move unless the brake pedal is pressed, or in an EV when slowing using regen beyond a certain level.

When stationary they will only activate with the footbrake. Con and use and Vehicle Lighting Regs dictate all that malarkey.

I never did, but a colleague of mine once stuck someone on for using lights to dazzle by holding on the footbrake - then offence is clear cut, along with not being in proper control. That was the 90s when folk were still more disciplined with correct handbrake usage. Sadly, like footway parking and parking facing into the traffic flow at night, so many twits do it its now simply unenforceable,

 

[Pblakeney]

and parking facing into the traffic flow at night

One of my bugbears.
Quite rightly illegal in some countries.