Daytime Running Lights

[PermaSt0ne]

I could understand if they automatically turned on in the night, but to me it just seems like they are wasting power in the day where they aren't even noticeable in the sun.

if you would read the article, the countries that have this also have lots of snow storms and cloud coverage that makes the day time have low amounts of light. there is no sun

here in california the only way we wouldn't have light during the day would be fog, and we have fog lights on our cars for that.

but for DRL, since they only come on when the car is moving forwards, i assume they have a friction generator type thing attached to the wheels so you don't loose any power from the battery. when the car moves it creates friction which would create the electricity.

so there's no real downside to it. although personally i would find it very annoying to have lights on during the day

[San Diego]

What should be law are more stringent driver's education training. In the U.S. it's a joke. A turn here, a signal light there and poof, you're done.

[bayrider]

I think DRL are a good thing... I can't count on one hand how many cars i see in LA at night without ANY lights on at night. Maybe they forgot to turn on their headlights... who knows. At least with DRL you get some light. And they're good for around sunset when you're not sure if you should have them or not...

[Sensayshun]

I don't think they should be law, but they are useful. I notice when people have them, but it does solve problems with people not turning their lights on at night. Or people killing their lights to leg it from the police, in the process cutting the lights to their number plates.

I thought bikes had to have them because it makes it easier to judge their speed.

And volvo's have them because volvo is a ....swedish? company. Where surprise surprise, it's dark all the time. Hence lots of countries have cars which have them, because they're automatic in that country.

[Joel]

I thought bikes had to have them because it makes it easier to judge their speed.

Bike manufacturers and bikers ASKED for running lights, it was never mandated. They wanted to be more visible on the road.

I don't think they should be law, but they are useful. I notice when people have them, but it does solve problems with people not turning their lights on at night. Or people killing their lights to leg it from the police, in the process cutting the lights to their number plates.

DRL only use the headlights, you'd still need to turn on your parking lights at least to light up your license plate.

[Sensayshun]

Bike manufacturers and bikers ASKED for running lights, it was never mandated. They wanted to be more visible on the road.

DRL only use the headlights, you'd still need to turn on your parking lights at least to light up your license plate.

Alright then, nice info :p Never knew that stuff.

And yes, I suppose you would still need parking lights for license plate to light up.

[Slacker]

http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/drl.html#4

There it says that there is a considerable reduction in daytime crashes due to DRL. Even if DRL only reduced daytime crashes by 1%, I think that it's worth it. As a driver in Canada they don't bother me at all. When I do notice them helping me is if I'm driving toward the sun and there's an oncoming car.

However, even if it didn't help me at all, if DRL helps another driver out there then it's worth it.

I truly don't understand those who oppose this movement. Studies in a number of different countries say, objectively, that DRL helps to reduce crashes. I challenge you to do your own study and prove differently. I think that it's a false sense of one's own abilities to believe that, despite these studies, DRL affects you in no way.

What is it the bothers you the most about this, that you're own lights are on or that you have to look at the lights of another person's car? If it's all just an attitude of not liking being told what to do, just get over it, it's not all about you. People tell you what to do all the time unless you happen to be God. It's not like this would require any more work from you, the manufacturers would be required to do the work of adding DRL systems to their cars; the operation of cars with DRL is exactly the same a DRL-less cars.

[neufuse Veteran]

Bike manufacturers and bikers ASKED for running lights, it was never mandated. They wanted to be more visible on the road.

DRL only use the headlights, you'd still need to turn on your parking lights at least to light up your license plate.

My grand prix uses DRL during the day but it knows when its darn enough to know you need the rest of the lights and turn them on and off automatically.. all the grand prix's have done this since 2000 at least... in light only the head lights are on, it starts to get dark it automatically turns on the license plate light, the tail lights and the fog lights if needed... its pretty nice

[obsolete_power]

All modern cars use DRL

[Fred Derf Veteran]

All modern cars use DRL

Here they do, yes.

I think they should consider making low-beams mandatory. I had read statistics that people who drive with their low-beams on, even during the daytime, are 20% less likely to get in an accident (or something like that).

My DRLs are mandatory but I also use my low-beams (even on a bright sunny day).

[SkyyPunk Veteran]

yea i think this should!

helps because of all the people who either forget to turn on their lights, or just dont care to, you can at least see their running lights when it starts to become dark, or is darker due to weather or the such. so many times i see people around here when its getting dark and raining out w/ no headlights....like wtf how do you expect people to see you -.-

[Olly-]

In the UK it used to be mandatory to include side lights on the cars, but an EU directive decided that they were not necessary, and so to remain in standard within the EU the UK removed the requirement for them to be fitted to new cars. So the EU doesn't think that they are necessary, and they usually get things wrong!

[Nose Nuggets]

on my car, i disconnected them. i don't care for them much. i don't think using weather or time of day is a good argument for DRL. if the conditions are such that lights would increase visibility, then you should flip the switch and turn on your headlights. but i dont have any problems seeing traffic in the evening in moderate rain. and on that note, i dont think you should be driving a car if you need to rely on other people having DRL's.

my bike on the oher hand, im glad it always has its headlight on. but a bike is drastically diferent then a car. my daytona street bike is small when you look at it head on. plus, in CA its legal to split lanes and that in itself warrents the need for higher visibility. but a car?

[Huleboeren]

I think they should be law.

I'm from Denmark where it is law - and sometimes when I travel through Germany by car I cant tell parked cars in the side of the road from cars actually moving, apart

I can't always get a visual of the people inside :/

No lights = vehicle is 'static' - do not pay attention :p

Lights = vehicle is 'active' - pay more attention

[Nose Nuggets]

I think they should be law.

I'm from Denmark where it is law - and sometimes when I travel through Germany by car I cant tell parked cars in the side of the road from cars actually moving, apart

I can't always get a visual of the people inside :/

No lights = vehicle is 'static' - do not pay attention :p

Lights = vehicle is 'active' - pay more attention

you should not be allowed behind the wheel of a car.

[Dale]

on my car, i disconnected them. i don't care for them much. i don't think using weather or time of day is a good argument for DRL. if the conditions are such that lights would increase visibility, then you should flip the switch and turn on your headlights. but i dont have any problems seeing traffic in the evening in moderate rain. and on that note, i dont think you should be driving a car if you need to rely on other people having DRL's.

my bike on the oher hand, im glad it always has its headlight on. but a bike is drastically diferent then a car. my daytona street bike is small when you look at it head on. plus, in CA its legal to split lanes and that in itself warrents the need for higher visibility. but a car?

why would you go through the hassle of disconnecting daytime running lights? are they really bugging you THAT much?

Most of my cars do not have daytime running lights because of their age/style. However most vehicles on the road here do. I don't really care what my vehicle has on it. Personally it is a odd sight when i see a newer vehicle driving down the road without daytime running lights, I immediately think 'it must be an US model'.

[Nose Nuggets]

why would you go through the hassle of disconnecting daytime running lights? are they really bugging you THAT much?

Most of my cars do not have daytime running lights because of their age/style. However most vehicles on the road here do. I don't really care what my vehicle has on it. Personally it is a odd sight when i see a newer vehicle driving down the road without daytime running lights, I immediately think 'it must be an US model'.

first off, it took about 7 minutes. its 4 screws for the glove box assembly and then you disconnect one molex plug and then re-screw the glove box in. i did it in the parking lot after work. no big deal.

but its not the safety aspect of the DRL's that bugs me, its not being able to have my lights off if i need it. i have been in a couple situations where i need to go down a driveway late at night to drop a chic off and i dont want to attract attention/wake up sleeping people. or if im waiting outside a friends house to pick them up, and i dont want to shine lights in there house nor turn off my car. im intelligent enough to make the decision when my lights need to be on.

[SoCalledChaos]

well you really shouldnt be worrying about attracting attention or waking people up.. a little light shining people can get over

[Nose Nuggets]

well you really shouldnt be worrying about attracting attention or waking people up.. a little light shining people can get over

its not that the light is a small inconvenience they will get over, they just cant know im there. at all. did you ever sneak out as a kid?

[Dale]

its not that the light is a small inconvenience they will get over, they just cant know im there. at all. did you ever sneak out as a kid?

yea, i always worried more about the garage door attracting more attention than anything else though. that sucker has a distinct sound than any vehicle driving by, and the headlights just blend in with the streetlights. unless you live in a rural zone?

[Nose Nuggets]

yea, i always worried more about the garage door attracting more attention than anything else though. that sucker has a distinct sound than any vehicle driving by, and the headlights just blend in with the streetlights. unless you live in a rural zone?

not rural so much. but long driveways off the road that directly face the house. and i wasn't sneaking about, the people im picking up are sneaking out.

[SoCalledChaos]

its not that the light is a small inconvenience they will get over, they just cant know im there. at all. did you ever sneak out as a kid?

i have never... because i never had to...

[Nose Nuggets]

your like me. sadly, not everyone is as fortunate as we where.

[LunarFalcon]

Do they bother you when you drive? ;)

They don't bother me when I'm driving, but say I'm in a parking spot the car running (while waiting on someone, which I often find myself doing), then my headlights are shining right in the face of someone sitting in a car in front of me. Really annoying. Plus I don't like the look of the lights on during the daytime.

[shockz]

When I was a kid the only reason I hated DRL/Auto Night was when I was sneaking out the lights would shine in my parents room.

Other than that I don't mind.