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dumb question how can I drive at night with lights off?

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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 10:39 PM
  #1  
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dumb question how can I drive at night with lights off?

was followed/chased by punks teh pother night and couldnt seem to turn lights off, in A they are auto on, the only other choice is park lights and they are on. arrrgh I want them off
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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 10:40 PM
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Get a gun
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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 10:55 PM
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Or just outrun them?
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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Z63amg
Get a gun
+1

not sure if you can get a CHL where you live but this is a perfect example of why I have one.
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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 11:11 PM
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Turn the light dial to "0". That's off.
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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 11:19 PM
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Originally Posted by CoolBDPhenom03
Turn the light dial to "0". That's off.
+1
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Old Apr 2, 2013 | 11:52 PM
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Originally Posted by CoolBDPhenom03
Turn the light dial to "0". That's off.
Plus a pair of night-vision goggles. I actually always wanted to try this, but couldn't find an affordable, decent pair.
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 12:16 AM
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I thought it was illegal for civilians to own night-vision goggles.
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 12:19 AM
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1 click left from A is O thats off ...as stated above
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 05:42 AM
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Originally Posted by CoolBDPhenom03
I thought it was illegal for civilians to own night-vision goggles.
nah, you can buy them from cabelas or even west marine.
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 05:54 AM
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Facelift models don't have an O setting, well my car doesn't anyway. While stalking people I've found that if the car is in D and you have the light selector positioned to one of the side lights (for when parked) then there are no lights on.
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 08:18 AM
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There are cheap night vision (cheap is relative) that you can purchase at some hunting stores. Very grainy, not really suitable for driving with, at least not at high speeds.

Then, their is military spec, which you cannot legally acquire.

The bigger problem with night vision, is that if you cannot control the ambiant lighting environment, you will temp blind yourself and die in a horrible flaming accident. An oncoming car with lights on will destroy your vision with proper night goggles.
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 09:09 AM
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I had this same thought last weekend. 2012 - if we enable the L side park light and are driving we should have no front marker or headlights and no rear lights. But when we come to a stop and want to be stealth if we are in Drive the brake light will be on because we will be on the brake pedal. Or if we stop and put it in park then that Left side parking light will be enabled. Is there any method to stay all dark ? DIsabling auto ON?
OP- Carry wasp and hornet spray- practice with a couple cans at home-shoots 20ft-Legal
Plan B carry milk carton of BB's already opened but lightly taped closed- dispense as needed via drivers window to "distract" followers.
Plan C another milk carton with roofing nails- as needed.
Plan D allow them into following you to your fortress or a friends and let them meet OO Buckshot , 5.56 Nato , .45 cal in your driveway. LAst resort for just angry punks- better to drive to the police station. Though I have used D. Works very well. Tracer ammo was a hoot !!
Night vision takes alot of training and isn't suited for keeping an auto on a 2 lane road full of obstacles. Start by driving while looking through LOW power binoculars. Have a co-pilot ready to grab the wheel/ give braking commands. As stated above any oncoming headlights or streetlights will temporarily blind you with NVG. Old GEN NVG are available but nothing like the current technology.
Nothing beats a 3/4 or One ton domestic truck with metal bumpers and 10 ply tires to dispatch an angry little motorist.
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 09:52 AM
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Or how about your absolute best option.. Drive to the nearest police station or fire station, or even hospital emergency room, all of those places are well lit, and tend to have lots of people around.

Don't go provoking *******s, they are liable to do something stupid.. right or wrong.. when your killed, you lose..
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 10:28 AM
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You are correct jvanbrecht , always better to retreat and avoid confrontation. I did list that option in my reply. For amusement sakes I listed some risky alternatives. The thing that the average civilians do not realize is the amount of collateral damage(to innocent folk) that may occur from a confrontation between "amateurs" and even pros for that matter.
These days we have young motorists who have the video-game mentality to life. Thinking they can hit the re-set button should the game END. I've driven older cars on bias ply tires , manual drum brakes, chatttering clutches and haywagon suspensions. It was a challenge to drive them straight, let alone corner fast. Any minivan made in the last 20 years will outperform the MG's, Fiats and Plymouths I drove through the years.
Many young drivers have NEVER had the back end slide out ,and the day it does, is the day the don't know how to correct it and crash. Years back you slowed for every turn , backed off in the rain and never trusted your brakes. A modern car leaves most unconnected to the road and the true limits of adhesion. So any punk can bob and weave through traffic using 2 fingers. So they all think they are capable drivers until they learn the hard way.
In my golden years I do drive like a Buddhist , allowing others to merge freely and extending all the courtesy of the roads to others. It is Peaceful . It is also peaceful knowing what to do when your back is against the wall and there is no path to retreat.
That Grasshopper is my message.
Now how do we TURN THOSE DAMN LIGHTS OFF ?????
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted by tfthach13
Plus a pair of night-vision goggles. I actually always wanted to try this, but couldn't find an affordable, decent pair.
Ha Ha Ha. Just like the Japanese guys in Cannonball Run!
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Old Apr 3, 2013 | 07:53 PM
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Originally Posted by jvanbrecht
There are cheap night vision (cheap is relative) that you can purchase at some hunting stores. Very grainy, not really suitable for driving with, at least not at high speeds.

Then, their is military spec, which you cannot legally acquire.

The bigger problem with night vision, is that if you cannot control the ambiant lighting environment, you will temp blind yourself and die in a horrible flaming accident. An oncoming car with lights on will destroy your vision with proper night goggles.
Hm. I didn't take oncoming cars into account. Forget what I suggested...seems more dangerous than crafty. :p
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 12:42 AM
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actually night vision is a good idea, the thermal imagers are around 3k, they arent affected by oncoming lights and you lose 3d vision, but I have thought of it, I have the Sig Sauer 9mm I usually carry with me, but since my state has unfair laws I usually carry it empty in a case with the loaded mags in my office, hopefully in a few weeks the law will change for the better. My switch doesnt have the O option available, I would be willing to buy a new switch but I bet the programming of the car wouldnt let me use "off" as an option
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 09:08 AM
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Thermal will not work very well either. Thermal shows ambiant heat in various colors. Great for picking up engine heat, body heat, and various other heat sources (tires, animals, etc), but the road would have very little to differentiate itself temperature wise from the surrounding area.. you will end up driving off the road at best.. or off a cliff at worst Yes, there are minor variations in temp, that driving at 2 miles an hour you would be fine, possibly, but that defeats the point.

Night vision would still be the best option, but not night vision glasses, rather feed the signal to a monitor. and drive by wire essentially.. still pretty dangerous, and ongoing vehicles will wash the screen out, but at least you won't be blind.
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by jvanbrecht
Thermal will not work very well either. Thermal shows ambiant heat in various colors. Great for picking up engine heat, body heat, and various other heat sources (tires, animals, etc), but the road would have very little to differentiate itself temperature wise from the surrounding area.. you will end up driving off the road at best.. or off a cliff at worst Yes, there are minor variations in temp, that driving at 2 miles an hour you would be fine, possibly, but that defeats the point.

Night vision would still be the best option, but not night vision glasses, rather feed the signal to a monitor. and drive by wire essentially.. still pretty dangerous, and ongoing vehicles will wash the screen out, but at least you won't be blind.
Wait, I just remembered...the S-class has the Night View Assist night vision cam doo-dad. We just need someone to reverse-engineer this tech make it available aftermarket.
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 11:18 AM
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LOL I love how this thread turned into a thread about nightvision goggles
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 11:57 AM
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Originally Posted by tfthach13
Wait, I just remembered...the S-class has the Night View Assist night vision cam doo-dad. We just need someone to reverse-engineer this tech make it available aftermarket.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...E_Thermal.html


I'm waiting for it to go on sale
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by sbce90
Facelift models don't have an O setting, well my car doesn't anyway. While stalking people I've found that if the car is in D and you have the light selector positioned to one of the side lights (for when parked) then there are no lights on.
but the side park lights are on
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 05:49 PM
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You are in a C63, can't you just out run them?
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Old Apr 4, 2013 | 06:14 PM
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did out run, but killing the lights makes it easier
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