Daytime Driving Lights

by Tommy-Darcy Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:00 pm

Now I just know that I am probably going to get slated for my opinions on these but Hey-Ho I have been blinded once to often.......... tap_fingers

A certain Swedish motor manufacturer produced their cars with the headlights on all the time including during the day in the interest of safety. A "Be Seen Be Safe" syndrome. Ironically some drivers of these cars were/are so impressed with the safety features of their cars they drive like they are in their own little bubble with no regard for anyone else on the road. scratch head

Anyhow I digress. Daytime driving lights are, to me, like having fog lights on during the day..................why, what is the purpose other than to blind other road users with their high intensity, wrongly adjusted led lights confused3

It is illegal to use headlight bulbs higher than 55w on dip beam, but I swear these censored!

strip lights are censored!

brighter than a pair of Cibie Oscars!!!!! tap_fingers

If the road conditions or dim daylight deserve the lighting up of a vehicle so that it can be seen then just switch the headlights on, after all that is what they are there for, if it is a bright sunny day (admittedly we don't get too many of those nowadays) then the vehicle will be seen without the aid of extra illumination allthumbz

by ubuntu1 Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:34 pm

In countries that have introduced DLR's they have shown that the number of pedestrian collisions have fallen considerably.

by Nuevo Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:35 pm

Some are extra bright agreed but they are road legal (on factory fitted cars anyhow)so not much you can do it about it really except grin and bare it hugegrins

by ubuntu1 Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:24 am

Not just legal but now mandatory on new cars.

by Tommy-Darcy Mon Feb 11, 2013 9:05 am

Oh, well I will have to hope that one day technology catches up making my glasses reactolite even quicker and darker up!

by -mojo- Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:36 pm

I'm hoping that as LED technology gets better, so the regulations on use are going to get updated, as we have only relatively recently had the situation where cheap LEDs are bright enough to dazzle at a distance.

Fortunately it has happened with HID headlights, with new legislation requiring self-leveling and self-cleaning on HID headlights, which has hopefully put an end to the retro-fitting of cheap poorly made HID units - this has been a problem in the past, and hopefully these will all have to be removed so that cars can pass their MOTs.

Personally I disagree with those that say that you need high-intensity forward-pointing DRL's. You really only need something that is bright enough to stand out above ambient light levels - so perhaps the longer term answer is for DRL's to sense ambient level and adjust their output downward as it gets darker. Unfortunately you can be sure that anything that requires the driver to make adjustments will not get used properly - you only have to look at the number of drivers that are not able to turn off their foglights when not needed to realise that!

by Backtrax Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:53 pm

Tommy,
Since I was brought up in Carnforth and still have my parents home there, I wont slate you.
But......... DRL's are a legal requirment in most of Europe now (new vehicles) and are considered to do the job re road safety.
I do agree with you that they are extremely bright and if adjusted wrongly a down-right distraction.
I assume they will introduce an alignment check in the MOT soon - at least I hope they do.

Ken

by Tonyt Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:05 pm

I find those fitted to Audis particularly bright and dazzling but then so is my main beam response. smile!

by peugeotboxer Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:11 pm

Just as aside (not really off topic....I hope), last friday evening I followed a Rover car (probably one of the last made) and the rear tail lights had been converted to LEDs.
They were so bright and dazzling that I felt certain that his brake lights were stuck on.
It was only when he braked at a roundabout that I could see his rear window brake light come on.......the other two tail lights hardly increased in intensity.

Presumably he will have problems at the MOT station unless he is pulled by the police before hand.

PB

by Tommy-Darcy Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:14 pm

I think the main problem is with after market accessories which are just stuck on the front end somewhere willy nilly tap_fingers

The last straw was the oncoming small hatchback with them mounted on the front of the bonnet right at my eye level from the driving seat in my Mazda 6 confused3

Ken,

I am unfortunately NOT a native of Carnforth so WILL accept minimal slating, but invest hugely in the local economy as we winter in our holiday lodge at South Lakeland Leisure Village just off the Borwick roundabout smile!

Also like your avatar, I am teaching myself to play the guitar and have made some progress since starting in November 2012. Looking forward to sitting in a field noodling on guitar whilst basking in the glorious British weather when we set out on our tour from March up!

by andygump Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:16 pm

[q
uote="Tonyt"]I find those fitted to Audis particularly bright and dazzling but then so is my main beam response. smile!

[/quote]

Hi

They are certainly brighter than there owners. hugegrins

Andy

by peugeotboxer Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:58 pm

Hi
They are certainly brighter than there owners. hugegrins

Andy

Our 'other car is an Audi.

I'm not biting......................................

PB

by whisky Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:11 pm

Pity panto season's over PB.

"Oh yes you are" hugegrins

Whisky.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

by deckie Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:05 pm

whisky wrote:Pity panto season's over PB.

"Oh yes you are"

Whisky.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

"LOOK OUT", Andy ........ "He's behind you" !! hugegrins

Brian

by peugeotboxer Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:47 pm

deckie wrote:
whisky wrote:Pity panto season's over PB.

"Oh yes you are"

Whisky.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

"LOOK OUT", Andy ........ "He's behind you" !!

Brian

Oh no he's not.........................................................................................................damn, I bit!!

PB

by deckie Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:54 pm

peugeotboxer wrote:
deckie wrote:
whisky wrote:Pity panto season's over PB.

"Oh yes you are"

Whisky.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

"LOOK OUT", Andy ........ "He's behind you" !!

Brian

Oh no he's not.........................................................................................................damn, I bit!!

PB

"Oh yes ..........................." ...... better stop there Bri hugegrins

by Tommy-Darcy Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:46 pm

OI...................YOU LOT HAVE NICKED ME TOPIC .................................... lol4

by CC Mon Feb 11, 2013 7:50 pm

When we were in the Kielder Forest last year pulled into the side of the road but with the engine still running i noticed a car coming in the opposite direction with an irate driver shaking his fist.... Thinking to myself what the heck is wrong with him scratch head

then it suddenly dawned on me that the only thing that he could have been upset about was the lights and that he must be anti DRL'S.... Whistle1

(either that or he just hates motor homers) snigger

either way he needs to get a life!

While we are discussing this, are we complaining about the lights dazzling or just being bright because there is a big difference between the two? Don't understand those against but of course everyone's entitled to their opinion... a look around on the web is full of people moaning about the use of DRL'S... I just don't get the negative side and it doesn't bother me at all, so interested to know what do people find so offensive about them?

Don't want any arguments, so nicely now hugegrins

by Tonyt Mon Feb 11, 2013 7:58 pm

CruizingComet wrote:When we were in the Kielder Forest last year pulled into the side of the road but with the engine still running i noticed a car coming in the opposite direction with an irate driver shaking his fist.... Thinking to myself what the heck is wrong with him then it suddenly dawned on me that the only thing that he could have been upset about was the lights and that he must be anti DRL'S.... (either that or he just hates motor homers) either way he needs to get a life!

While we are discussing this, are we complaining about the lights dazzling or just being bright because their is a big difference between the two? Don't understand those against but of course everyone's entitled to their opinion... a look around on the web is full of people moaning about the use of DRL'S... I just don't get the negative side and it doesn't bother me at all, so interested to know what do people find so offensive about them?

Don't want any arguments, so nicely now

I personally find many DLRs excessively and unnecessarily bright.

The concept is good but they've been turned into dazzling gimmicks. It seems the brighter the better.

I treat oncoming excessively bright DLRs as I would treat oncoming main beam headlights.

by Paulmold Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:07 pm

Tonyt wrote:
I treat oncoming excessively bright DLRs as I would treat oncoming main beam headlights.

I take it you mean you put your lights on full beam to show your disapproval. Trouble is, if the car is fitted with them, the driver can't do anything about them, they come on automatically. I can't stand them either but nowt you can do about it.

by LobbyLudd Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:22 pm

Scandinavian countries were using daytime lights many years ago and their use then immediately proved the effectiveness and improvement in safety of being seen during their long spells of poor light levels.
If they are factory fitted there should be no excuse for not being 'legislation correct' and not dazzle Aftermarket 'enhancements' and done for cosmetic appeal may be another story.

At the other end of the scale in this country, (and it may be the larger correspondingly larger number of vehicles on the road), but I have personally noticed in recent years more and more drivers seem reluctant to actually use any lights , waiting until it is 'really' dark, similar in very heavy rainfall when visibility is extremely poor. (I heard someone once said they did not want to run their battery down unneccessarily. Doh! shrugg

)

by Dutto Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:37 pm

LobbyLudd wrote:............... (I heard someone once said they did not want to run their battery down unneccessarily. Doh! )

Hi there,

When just Volvo's wandered around the UK with their lights on during the day they stood out like a sore thumb.

However, when we were in Finland last year, the fact that every vehicle had its lights on meant that they all just blended into the crowd so logic says that the initial impact on safety will wane as time goes by.

In the meantime, my main objection is that even though only a tiny amount of fuel is being used to re-charge the battery, when it is multiplied by +/- ten million (the number of vehicles on Britain's roads) there is a significant amount of fuel being used needlessly; and I will be paying for my share even though I don't want to!

Best regards,
drinksallround

by Tommy-Darcy Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:40 pm

I just don't like being blinded whist I am driving tap_fingers

Hopefully it won't be so much of a problem when touring in Tommy as I will be seated much higher up smile!

by TeamRienza Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:53 pm

I have read that using lights, side or dipped headlights by day reduces the likelyhood of me being involved in a collision by 25% and reduces the possibility of a HEAD ON collision by 50%. It has to be said that these figures probably pre date the widespread introduction of DRL LEDs.

I drive everywere with my dipped headlights on (correctly aligned etc). If the figures are to be believed I am more concerned about people seeing me! (my driving is perfect hugegrins

). everyone else can look out for their own safety.

There is a small element of truth in increased fuel consumption by using lights some thing like 5%, which at 40mpg is only a loss of 2mpg. worth it in my opinion. Leds probably reduce this considerably.

Badly fitted DIY daylights are I agree a hazard and one hopes they are picked up at MOT time, but given the incompetence of many drivers to turn on lights in poor visibility, hardly any wonder the 'nanny state' sees fit to intervene.

My own pet hates are the one headlight blown drivers, the ignorant sods who park facing you on your side of the road with their headlights on. and the doughheads who sit at traffic lights with their foot on the brake, as some one posted, nearly as bright as headlights. I feel an overwhelming urge to turn on the full beam at traffic lights, BUT I am a better person than they are Whistle1

Davy

by LobbyLudd Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:57 pm

Dutto wrote:
LobbyLudd wrote:............... (I heard someone once said they did not want to run their battery down unneccessarily. Doh! )

Hi there,

When just Volvo's wandered around the UK with their lights on during the day they stood out like a sore thumb.

However, when we were in Finland last year, the fact that every vehicle had its lights on meant that they all just blended into the crowd so logic says that the initial impact on safety will wane as time goes by.

In the meantime, my main objection is that even though only a tiny amount of fuel is being used to re-charge the battery, when it is multiplied by +/- ten million (the number of vehicles on Britain's roads) there is a significant amount of fuel being used needlessly; and I will be paying for my share even though I don't want to!

MMMMM Why do they continue to put warning lights on all tall buildings, all aircraft and all railway trains, today I wonder -would it be anything to do with (in some way contributing a tiny bit towards) passengers & public safety I wonder or could it be decoration.

Best regards,

Daytime Driving Lights

Daytime Driving Lights

daylight running lights

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