I know, drives me crazy too! If your windshield is unclear because of rain and you need to react quickly, that's not going to happen if you don't see it coming first.

Makes me crazy, as well!

Mimi, thank you. At first I thought my friend had zoned out and hadn't quite realized how heavy the rain was. But she was being intentional. Besides that, the thing I dislike about intermittent is not knowing the rhythm and each time it wipes it intrudes, because you're waiting for it. With a regular wipe, you can set it and ignore it.

My intermittents have a number of speeds and I am very particular about making sure the speed matches the rainfall precisely. I can't imagine using them like your friend does. That doesn't make any sense, and I can only guess that the back and forth action of the wipers bothers her for some reason. Still, not wise at all to ever have one's vision obstructed!

TR, I think that must be it, that the back and forth action bothers her. I get it in a way, because a lot of repetitive noises drive me bonkers. But, it's clearing water that's obstructing vision while piloting a hunk of steel next to others going a mile a minute.

BTW, I really love this friend, but she has a dog who I don't think she's ever disciplined or said no to.

My 2015 SUV also has a rain sensor, so the intermittent setting will speed up or slow down as the rain quantity changes.

My pet peeve is people who do not turn on headlights on rainy days, specially people in gray cars, which just blend into the road on a rainy day.

My car also has the sensor and a manual setting as well so you can change up the speed but the sensor will take over if it starts raining harder. Chispa, I have a pet peeve as well about people who don't turn on headlights, even though it is a state law. Seems like there would be a sensor (or at least an alert) built in for that.

When will they invent lights that auto turn on when you are in drive w/wipers on ?

Sorry Outside ...Didn't see your post.

Many cars have sensors for headlights, although you have to set it to "auto".

Also, not cover it up.

My intermittent wipers have various speeds also. But if it's raining heavily, I wouldn't be using intermittent. I can't answer why your friend does - did you ask her???

I have used rain sensors for at least 15 years and although I live in Portland, Oregon where it rarely rains :-), they have done a terrific job even in the occasional downpour. My lights also come on automatically.

Not turning lights on in the fog or dawn/dusk hours is a supreme pet peeve of mine. Some folks are just unconscious, but I think for others it's an FU, macho thing, like only wusses use their lights in such circumstances. I used to flash my brights at those folks, but lately have decided it's probably asking for trouble. Sometimes I see people in the dead of night with their lights off.

For those with intermittent wipers that speed up when the rainfall increases, well, fine. But at some point don't they need to be steady? The weird rhythm of them bothers me. I'd rather have a metronome.

Linelle, what do you mean by steady? There is no weird rhythm. Maybe they work differently in different car models.

Marlene, what I meant by steady was not intermittent. So, swish, swish, swish. A regular rhythm, I'll give it a 5 because you can dance to it. I assume that as rainfall increases and the lag between the intermittent wipes decreases, you eventually would have a steady, metronomic rhythm.

My car's lights Come on when the engine is running. Rain or shine.

My wipers are on sensors that I can override, if necessary. If she happened to be wearing glasses with polarized lenses she might actually see better with some water on the windshield.

Maddielee, I don't remember if she was wearing sunglasses at all. The way the rain was hitting the windshield, it actually distorted vision. It wasn't a smooth sheet of water. It was an onslaught of big splats.

Linelle said:

"A regular rhythm, I'll give it a 5 because you can dance to it."

LOL. American Bandstand. I remember it well :-).

Marlene, I learned to dance watching AB after school every day at 4 p.m. on the West Coast. If I needed a partner, I opened my bedroom door and used the knob. The day my friend and I figured out how to Pony was momentous.

I mean, who can dance to an intermittent wiper?

Why was she driving 65 in a downpour? Isn't that the speed limit? Aren't you supposed to slow down when weather conditions dictate it?

Linelle, I grew up in Los Angeles and AB went on at 4:00 p.m. as well. You and I probably danced "together" and didn't even know it :-).

You are only suppose to slow down if conditions make you uneasy. Slowing down can be more hazardous then staying with the flow of traffic. And if you do slow down, get over in the right lane. ( speed limit is 70)

The maximum speed limit here is 65, unless posted otherwise. We were traveling at 60-65 and it was still safe despite the heavy rain. I mean, there was no standing water and you could see just fine if you removed the water hitting the windshield in a timely fashion. It felt ever so slightly like she was playing chicken, but that's out of character for her normally as she is very sensible and generally risk-averse.

Linelle, when the rain gets heavy enough for the intermittent feature to be over-ridden, it will stay that way until the rain decreases or until I manually adjust the wipers. Maybe I didn't understand your remark, but the wipers adjust automatically if the int switch is on. Funny, how those regular rhythms & sounds could put me to sleep if I wasn't driving.

I always thought the intermittent wiper issue was a man thing. My DH won't turn on the constant-speed wipers until it's raining like a car wash. I think it's showing weakness to admit you need to see. *eyeroll*

Our friends have a certain luxury car with automatic everything. I hate driving that car. Those stupid wipers will go on full tilt high speed if you pass a lawn sprinkler. And they stay on until they've squeeked a dozen times. But when I want them to be on, because I'd like to see a bit better, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, the sensors don't think it's raining. I'll stick with my cheapie, manual car that operates when I tell it to.

aok, I kinda thought for some people this might be about showing weakness. Like who needs lights on at dusk? Seat belts are for sissies. I'm a frogman, I can see underwater.

MaddieLee, your Daytime Running Lights might not be the same thing as actually turning them on, in that they might not illuminate the tail lights. People here drive around like that all the time, not realizing that they are different. Very dangerous in low visibility situations.

Thanks errant.

Bugs me when DH tells me to turn on the wipers, or to turn them on "regular" instead of intermittent. It reminds me of my college roommate who would lean over and honk my horn at another driver...when I'm driving! My opinion is, let the driver drive.

I get that Aquapel put on my windshield just before the snow flies, and maybe again in spring, and it sure does keep my windshield clean. At first it was distracting, watching the water droplets skate across and vanish.

in my state, if your wipers are on your headlights MUST be on, too. I have DRLs, and can't remember if they count. I do like having them.

They do not count, here in CA, bpathome.

It was pouring here last night and this morning. My lights are set for Auto but when it is kind of gray, like raining in the middle f the day, they don't come on. I have to turn them on myself. I fiddle constantly with the wiper speed, twisting the intermittent or switching to regular. My fastest intermittent is nearly as fast as regular. My friend keeps the wipers as slow as he can and still see. He says he doesn;t like the wipers in his way.

DH doesn't like having the wipers on and will go way too long IMO before clearing the windshield. Yes, it bugs me.

On the other hand, I see people all the time with their wipers on regular or even fast when I have mine on at one of the lowest intermittent speeds. What's up with that? If they don't have intermittent wipers I'd rather manually turn the wipers on for a sweep than have the wipers clearing two drops of rain over and over and over.

"DH doesn't like having the wipers on and will go way too long IMO before clearing the windshield. Yes, it bugs me."

Same here!

Well...as a DH here, wipers are one thing DW & I have never noticed, or even THOUGHT about discussing! :-)

DW & I have had GM cars for a looooonnngg time. I grew up in GM stuff. I hardly ever adjust the "auto-headlamps/DRL's". Headlamps seem like they're on all the time on all the cars we've had...dimmer during day of course. We just leave the headlamps on "auto" 99% of the time.

Kinda irritates me on DD's 2004 Sebring. It's a higher trim-level car, but the headlamps AREN'T automatic!! That really frosts me for some reason!! I think most GM cars had auto-lamps since the latter 80's?!?!?!?? I've NEVER liked Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep stuff. Guess I had a VERY weak moment....once.....;-)

Wipers-

Linelle...I wonder if she just sees a bit better thru the rainy windshield? If wipers aren't perfectly clearing the glass, or...leaving that fleeting "wiper-haze", sometimes I can see a bit better thru just the water. In a deluge though, I've gotta have them on constant! In lighter events, I'm frequently fiddling with the delay setting!

I'm getting to be a big fan of Rain-X windshield-wash! Water just flies off, & stays very clear! Think I'll try the full treatment this spring.

Faron