An EU-wide agreement will leave British and other European motorists driving with their headlamps on day and night within 10 years. The plan involves requiring all new cars to come standard with permanent “lights on” or Daytime Running Lights. The plan is intended to cut European road accidents by making cars more visible. Currently, many vehicles in the United States ship with DRLs, but they are not a requirement. In Canada, however, DRLs are required, and for the most part have been widely accepted. Formal proposals for EU member states will come next year. The Leftlane Perspective: We’re not too sure how much of a difference DRLs really make — positive or negative. But the biggest problem with them is not the lights themselves. A real concern arises when most, but not all, cars on the road have DRLs. What happens is drivers start looking only for bright lights as an indicator of an approaching car. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for all cars to have DRLs, and that means older cars may become harder to notice. Feel free to post your thoughts in our comment section…
search options |
||
|
Search the following areas: |
||
12/27, 10:30 AM
posted by:
Gandhi
DRLs are a nice safety feature, but only as long as the cars also come equipped with a day light sensor. Too often, drivers accustomed to DRLs forget to turn on the regular night lights. A daylight sensor takes care of that. I know I have often made the mistake when driving home from work in the evening, especially in the winter months. The sun may still be out, but by the time you get home, the sun has set, and I often forget to turn on the night lights. The daylight sensor automatically turns on the night lights for me.
12/27, 12:46 PM
posted by:
Willed
What a pointless idea. I can’t see this saving any accidents - as the article says, it’s just as likely to cause some if nearly all cars have perma-lights but some don’t. Can’t someone find something useful for all the EU bureaucrats to do with their time instead of dreaming up stupid requirements like this?
12/27, 3:15 PM
posted by:
JSP
I think DRL’s are ok, but ONLY IF they’re dim enough that drivers won’t mistaken them for headlights-substitutes. I particularly like cars that use the front amber parking lights as DRL’s. They make the vehicle more visible without light up the road.
12/28, 11:29 AM
posted by:
MCT
DRL’s have been standard in Canada since 1990. Now, 16 years later, almost every car on the road has them. For skeptics, it makes a big difference in visibility, even in broad daylight, and since DRL’s only come on at 50% power, opposing traffic is not blinded by the light.
I’m honestly suprised it has taken this long for other countries to adopt. Drive around many areas in the US and one can see “Lights on for safety” signs. Also, many automakers have already started to include them without government mandate.
Eventually, everyone will ’see the light’.
12/29, 2:35 PM
posted by:
Joe Berkley
I think this is a great idea, (DRL’s should be amber or depowered though) I know that during the day in flat light a car with some illumination is much easier to see as it catches your eye. I’ve often experienced this on overcast days where sometimes the oncoming car just blends in with its surroundings. I always argue about this with my Dad, he thinks DRL’s run down the battery and wants to disconnect them. I can never persuade him of their safety benefit.