Why do a lot of truckers not use their parking lights at Truckstops?
Posted by Just_A_Random_Crow@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 50 comments
I turn mine on at night to "increase visibility" with the mindset that it'll decrease chances of a lovetap from other truckers. But I noticed only myself and a small amount of other truckers do this- what are ya'lls reasons for not doing it? Or is it more something you don't really put too much thought into?
Ok-Bar5260@reddit
I turn mine off only because I have an intermittent idle, or for some Opti-Idle. No APU to use less fuel as the exterior lights are on. It also puts strain on my inverter when I am cooking in the truck with my wife, so all lights internal and external are off until cooking is done.
Fractured-Justice@reddit
I don't leave. Mine turned on because I have a 2022 cascadia and that little top light on my headlights, even just in the parking light mode is bright as hell
___GRUMPY___@reddit
Because many years ago. Your mirrors had marker lights built into them. We left the lights on to prevent our mirrors from getting clipped.
Nowadays with the led lights that stay on they are almost like headlights which can make it more difficult for someone to see while backing in beside you now.
forkystabbyveggie@reddit
I have astigmatism and those led glow bar looking headlight things on freightliners and Volvos fuck me up, especially if it's raining
WoccySloshhhh@reddit
Ive always wondered the same shit. If im in in a tight and dimly lit place especially. Not as bad as the people who choose dark off ramps and dont turn them on though.
LilDude001@reddit
It may be better to have them off on ramps. Drunk drivers tend to follow lights blindly paired with a decrease in depth perception can be an accident waiting to happen.
WoccySloshhhh@reddit
Well seeing as I dont park on off ramps and only on ramps paired with being in an 80k pound vehicle I wouldn't worry about it either way. However if I was on an off ramp I'd leave them on specifically so the drunk driver could kill himself on my trailer instead of another family.
LilDude001@reddit
I was speaking for the majority not minority. I didnt mean to attack your old habits i get their hard to die on.
But you realize you can still be held partially at fault right? Some people don’t want to take that responsibility. Also, I used drunk driving as an example but really only 12% of those incidents happen on the highway Source. Some of those occur during the day, and “killing a family of four” happens even more rarely, most just hit objects and die. You are not doing the justice you think you are.
There are now the other percentile, that are not drunk but drowsy, zoning out, or on their phone. In which case you will be more reliable.
Vast_Obligation8213@reddit
Depends where I'm at. If there are no overhead lights or anything then I'll leave them on. If im at a Well Lit lot like at loves or something then I turn them off.
As for your question? Same reason as always, people just don't care
kawhibot210@reddit
My company uses EPUs with opti idle. But when it goes into opti idle to recharge the batteries while I’m sleeping, they count that as me idling and then I can get in trouble if I reach a certain idle percentage. The more things using the battery juice, the more it goes into opti idle and more likely I get into trouble.
Ok_Bug_6470@reddit
So, you are saying, as a grown ass man, driving professionally, driving commercially, hauling freight, that you “get in trouble” from the people that pay you to do a job for them?! Reevaluate your life. Get in trouble?? And they don’t like you running the apu?! Winking you’re being held hostage….
ChiTruckDGAF@reddit
Why would you intentionally do something your employer doesn't want you to do? That sounds rather childish to me.
Ok_Bug_6470@reddit
You’re the problem.
disturbedrailroader@reddit
Sounds like Roehl. Their Cascadias don't have apus, technically. They use opti idle to turn the truck on when battery voltage reaches a certain level. They still qualify for apu weight exemptions because the climate control can be used while the truck is off.
They came at me a couple of times with that same nonsense and after I explained once that it was too cold to rely on the bunk heater alone, I kept ignoring them. After the 4th or 5th time of having that conversation, I told my dispatcher "if you're gonna fire me, then fire me." I didn't hear anything else about it until I quit a few months later.
Cool_Thanks_4934@reddit
The only time mine starts is if I’m using the microwave oven otherwise my batteries last probably A couple of days with the lights on. If the idle is off the batteries will shut the power off leaving just enough to start the engine.
HowlingWolven@reddit
You and me both. Parking lights stay on ~~during sex~~ while I’m on the road.
pianodude01@reddit
As someone whos been backed into 6x in the last 4 years, it doesnt make a difference.
They cant see the lights, they cant even see past the magic carpet in their windows.
RoadRatzzz@reddit
The other question is why do so many drivers leave their damm headlights on.
NJPokerJ@reddit
The real question
zero-pup@reddit
Especially the hot shot drivers. Seems to be their trailer pushes down on the back end so raises the front and it always looks like they have their brights on.
anxious_polarbear@reddit
My hotshot rig had aftermarket airbags. Always sat level.
swamplice@reddit
They don't know how to adjust their headlights, it's too hard
Tutorele@reddit
I've done it a couple times by mistake on my new truck here, it has an auto setting if I overturn it when turning it off, and if I didn't realize I did it then it'll turn them on once it becomes dark. Probably at least a few examples are people with setups like that. I feel like an absolute tool every time it happens and then get extra paranoid for the week after though
disturbedrailroader@reddit
Sometimes I forget and feel like an asshole hours later when I check the doors before laying down. Sorry about that.
DrillTheThirdHole@reddit
bunch of trucks have shutoff timers, and people who dont know how trucks work probably worry about lights running down the battery
Western-Willow-9496@reddit
People who know “how trucks work” also know that some trucks don’t have LVDs.
DrillTheThirdHole@reddit
mine doesnt, i'm aware. doesn't mean that rookie me wasn't afraid of the lights draining the battery.
duhrun@reddit
Like anything else, they weren’t trained or don’t care.
unloader86@reddit
This is the answer. 13 years in and I was trained to keep my parking lights on in the truck stop. It just makes sense when you think about it. I'll also keep them on in a dock at night. Again. It just makes sense to keep them on.
I've also never been hit by another truck in a dock or parking space at night. So my trainer was on to something. Never during the day either but the point still stands.
PrivatePilot9@reddit
Old timers like myself are more likely to have a habit of turning off their clearance/parking lights while in a dock because in the era before LED lights the top rail on the trailer would often literally melt themselves into dock bumpers (incandescent bulbs make a lot of heat), damaging the bumper at best, or literally pulling the lights off the trailer when you pull out at worst. 25-30 years ago it wasn't uncommon to see this sort of damage, but it's basically history since LED's took over.
When parked in a truckstop or whatever, if the engine was running, I would often leave them on, but if I was shutdown for the night, nope, the draw of all the oldschool incandescent bulbs would flatten your batteries overnight. Again, increasingly moot with so many LED's now that draw a fraction of the amps.
FlappyJ1979@reddit
I remember going to a few warehouses back in the day with signs to shut your trailer lights off. It definitely wasn’t uncommon to see the cushions melted, or to see trailers with that material stuck to the lights.
Dragex11@reddit
I only ever leave mine on if I'm parked on the edge of a row.
unloader86@reddit
Should keep them on all the time when parked at night...
Dragex11@reddit
And yet I don't. Oh well.
unloader86@reddit
Everyone has their own way of doing things. Stay safe out there driver.
geneticdeadender@reddit
You are assuming they are parking and haven't just left their truck there for a couple days while they go home.
ChiTruckDGAF@reddit
I used to more often, but now that I'm teaming I do it a lot less because the Peterbilt parksmart system beeps a lot more when the ignition switches on to check the batteries if I leave the lights on. I miss my Freightliner.
Feeling-Bowl-9533@reddit
I don’t have any power when my engine is off including to exterior lights. I can turn the key further, but that also turns on climate control and a few other accessories that I don’t need draining my batteries overnight if I forget to turn them off, so everything just gets turned off 100% unless truck is running
Mystery_Chaser@reddit
Because we're lazy and stupid? Yes. You're not gonna get a straight answer to this other than because we're lazy and stupid and forget. Even cars on the road don't understand what there hazard lights are for. I often stop and tell people hey your vehicle is in the middle of the road. It's dead. Why don't you put on your hazard lights? They're like? Oh yeah, I guess that would help to let people know that I am stopped and parked here and not planning on moving for a while. Now I'm gonna get a whole bunch of down votes by bots and truckers who just won't realize reality, right? Bet?
Fli_fo@reddit
There's a strang thing going on in trucking.
Many truckers take pride in their driving skills and expect the same from others.
Many of them look down on anything that can help to prevent others from making mistakes.
They think that they are on some kind of totem pole where their self image relies on driving well and that the job should not be made easier. They feed on newbies and others making mistakes.
They like to talk down on anyone who uses aids to do the job.
The laughs I got when I asked for a backup camera....
I'm making generalizations here. It's not all like this.
AroundGoesThe18@reddit
Because I leave my led eyes in my windshield on, makes my governed plastic freightliner looks so cooooool and intimidating bro! /s
aacawe@reddit
I usually leave my parking lights on so that hopefully it’s less likely anyone will hit me while I sleep. The only exceptions I have to this rule is when I’m in NY or CA where I’ve personally seen drivers being ticketed for idling. I still idle. But I kill all lights so I’m less obvious if a bear is looking at me from a distance.
skeletons_asshole@reddit
Fridge is running on an inverter, I try not to idle, so anything I can do to keep the battery up longer
Realchille@reddit
Drain’s battery, a lot of companies complain about idle percentage so that could be why lol.
Exciting-Car-3516@reddit
Because they love to live dangerously
azziptac@reddit
Bro really thinks that "lights on" is gonna prevent these mongoloids at the truck stops...
Bro you could have neon signs pointing exactly where you need them. And these mouth breathers will still tear you a new one.1
Ayasdad@reddit
One of the few things that irritates TF out of me about cascadia's is no option to turn my run lights off. There actually is a setting but most companies lock those settings.
Fox_Tango_@reddit
I typically leave my marker lights on overnight when I’m parked in an edge space at a truck stop/rest area or if I’m parked on the street outside a customer for the night for the same reason you leave yours on, increased visibility. But if I’m parked between other trucks or on a private lot then I turn them off.
If I have opti-idle turned on, my marker lights come on regardless.
Adept-Writer6212@reddit
Unnecessary drain on batteries. Also, I think most drivers just use the automatic headlight option and that probably just turns all lights off when truck is off. Once in a while I will notice that (especially cascadias) the led running lights are bright enough to blind me while trying to back in next to one of them
jderflinger@reddit
I drove an International once that had lights on the back of the mirrors and that was my favorite part of that truck. I felt it helped drivers not hit my mirrors at night while parking.
I always left those parkinv lights on to help other drivers, and still do.