Readers are an enlightening bunch

Use of daytime running lights, green cleaning solutions top the list

It’s great to start off with some reader feedback ...

I saw your recent article about removing road salt stains from vehicle carpets. I have had great results soaking the carpets with a solution of borax and hot water. I thought your readers might want to give this green alternative a try. JOSIE, Ottawa You raised a couple of issues on DRLs (daytime running lights) and vehicle light intensity. I have been blaming myself about bright lights, thinking it was related to my aging eyes. Apparently not so, which is good and bad news at the same time. DRLs are a bigger deal for me. A couple of weeks ago I was driving on Highway 401 out of Toronto during a rain storm at dusk. An astonishing number of drivers did not have their headlights on, so they were just wet grey ghosts all around me. Last winter it was during a snow squall, again on the 401. Most drivers did not have their lights on, relying just on the DRLs. As a minimum, tail lights should also be kept on. Apparently drivers don’t seem to realize that once driving visibility diminishes, the back of a vehicle is difficult to see. DRLs should include tail lights. Better still, there should be auto on-off for all lights in reduced visibility. Thanks for raising the issue. ED MOORHEAD, Chaffeys Lock While agreeing with the writer who suggests that people who drive at night with only their daytime running lights are idiots, I can’t agree that DRLs should be discontinued. They are a definite benefit. I don’t find that their effect has been diluted at all. When a car appears on the horizon, you become immediately aware of its presence. When, on the other hand, a car appears without these, you become aware much later and, in bad weather or dim light, they are more of a danger. As for those drivers who forget to turn on their night lights, perhaps after having driven all day, it would seem that car manufacturers could easily install some kind of reminder device that either reacts to the amount of light or to the time of day. If they can make a car that parks itself, surely they could come up with something like this. On another point, DRLs are unlike those middle rear red lights whose effect has indeed been diluted. This, to me, has been a useless exercise. If two red lamps on the back of cars are not enough to warn you about an object in front of you, you shouldn’t be driving! I would like to add another note on the use of parking lights at dusk. This is the worst possible use of those lights. Somehow I think drivers who do this think they are being polite and thoughtful. Please, leave this etiquette at home! Twilight is when the light is very indistinct and we need definition. Parking lights blend in with the background very easily at this time of day. This is not a safe use of these lights. TIM SCHOBERT, Ottawa

Citizen readers can be an enlightening bunch.

Now that travel season is in full swing, an advisory is warranted on a fuel development in the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied an application to hear a lawsuit regarding the sale of E15 gasoline (gasoline with a 15 per cent ethanol or ethyl alcohol mix). The opponents in the case were a strange mix of players, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), various automakers and representatives from cattle and poultry farmers versus the Environmental Protection Agency, which approved the extended use of E15.

As you might suspect, the API is concerned with ethanol cutting into its sales, and the farmers’ beef was the increased cost of feed corn because of the demand from fuel blenders. The automakers’ concern is what should be of interest to anyone travelling by auto in the U.S.

A large number of car manufacturers are expressing concern with the effects that E15 fuel has on their vehicles.

The fuel is more corrosive than regular gasoline, tends to have a drying effect on flexible fuel lines and presents a risk of shortening the lifespan of various fuel-related components.

The American Automobile Association is calling for more studies on the short- and long-term effects of this fuel on vehicles before its availability is extended. E15 is currently available from a limited number of retailers in the U.S. Midwest, but this recent court ruling is certain to cause an expansion of its use.

E15 pumps are required by regulation to be clearly labelled and must carry a warning to prevent its use in vehicles from 2001 or earlier, boats, or other equipment such as lawn mowers and generators.

On this side of the border, certain Canadian vehicle and boat owners, along with small-engine users, have long been aware of the damage that ethanol can cause on older carbureted fuel systems, marine and small engines, fibre-resin fuel tanks and other components.

While E15 isn’t publicly available here, our E10 blended gasoline is doing the damage. Some antique vehicles can only run a few hours on E10 gasoline before the carburetor has to be cleaned of deposits, or a fuel pump requires replacement.

Shell Canada is the only major retailer offering ethanol-free fuel through its high octane V-labelled pumps.