A rant here. Please don't misconstrue this as racism or as anti-Taiwanese or anti-Chinese. I am just concerned for the road safety of all who drive (including me) in this part of the world.
Why do about 1 in 20 drivers in "Greater China" (Taiwan and China) drive with their lights off at night? Saving on petrol (gas) -- is this scientifically valid? Or the bumper-to-bumper traffic congestion makes it seem that lights are unnecessary? Are are these drivers just bad drivers?
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If it was to save money, they'd be better off driving slowly. That would save thousands of times more petrol (around 25% more efficient!), and also would increase their safety at night.
Headlights on a car use about 55 watts of power. A gallon of gas contains about 60 kw/hours of energy (after energy lost due to inefficiency). That means, you'd need to have your headlights off for:
60000/55 = 1090 hours = one year of driving without headlights, assuming 3 hours of driving every single day without a holiday!
So, most people will save less than one gallon of petrol per year, by driving without headlights. But they will hugely increase their chance of dying. Is it worth it? No way!
Much more important factors (things that slow the car!):
sunroof open? 4% extra fuel consumption
windows open? 10% extra fuel consumption!
tyres not at a good pressure? 3% extra fuel consumption!
Some sources for further reading:
http://www.sei.ie/index.asp?locID=148&docID=-1
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question424.htm
If it was to save money, they'd be better off driving slowly. That would save thousands of times more petrol (around 25% more efficient!), and also would increase their safety at night.
Headlights on a car use about 55 watts of power. A gallon of gas contains about 60 kw/hours of energy (after energy lost due to inefficiency). That means, you'd need to have your headlights off for:
60000/55 = 1090 hours = one year of driving without headlights, assuming 3 hours of driving every single day without a holiday!
So, most people will save less than one gallon of petrol per year, by driving without headlights. But they will hugely increase their chance of dying. Is it worth it? No way!
Much more important factors (things that slow the car!):
sunroof open? 4% extra fuel consumption
windows open? 10% extra fuel consumption!
tyres not at a good pressure? 3% extra fuel consumption!
Some sources for further reading:
http://www.sei.ie/index.asp?locID=148&docID=-1
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question424.htm
funny you should bring this up. i was just bitching and muttering to myself about this last night as i was driving last night and almost ran over a scooter because he was riding around with his headlights off.
i was just bitching and muttering to myself about the same thing last night as i was driving on the dyke road on the side of the river (panchiao side) and almost hit a scooter because he didn't have his lights on
We all love Taiwan. Just concerned about these people and why they drive with their lights off. I wonder if the traffic authorities in Taiwan might ever do anything.
I badgered ICRT in the 90s to add a suggestion to turn on lights during rain during traffic reports. ICRT did mention that turning on lights during rain would be a good idea a few times.
Doesn't your car alternator produce power all the time? It's always spinning from the belt connected to it. I know its always sending out power to your battery and all your accessories including your headlights. So I don't see how it would be possible to save on gas. So the only way to save gas here is to car pool with somone else or drive a scooter. They get better gas mileage.
Thanks for that explanation. I have heard that before but good to hear it summarized -- that no gas is lost. So, these drivers may be driving and risking their lives for $0 savings.
as i was driving around the other night, i thought of this post and started paying attention to oncoming cars. when i looked at the cars without their headlights on in my side rearview mirror after they've passed by, i noticed their backlights were on. i think a lot of these folks driving around with their lights off here is due to their headlights being broken. so they are trying to save money, however they are not doing it by turning their lights off and saving gas, but by not wanting to fix their lights, or they simply just don't know that their lights are broken. speaking of lights, why the f*ck do so many people here drive around with their high beams on???
It used to be more common in Asian countries than it is now, and I was told it was out of consideration for the driver in front, so you don't dazzle him with your headlights. Not so effective now that traffic is a lot heavier..
Keep up the good work.
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