DRL off switch

PEPSIFLAME said:

I don't understand what the problem is. Whether it's day or night, just turn the headlights on. If you don't want to, that's what DRL are for. Personally, I always turn my lights on, though, since DRL don't turn on tail lights. Sunny or not, having the lights on can help avoid an accident. Learned this the hard way.

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Not true. Lights during daylight are an invention of sick bureaucrats in very dark countries. They decrease safety during daylight because they distract attention of drivers by vehicles far away and vehicles irrelevant to them (such as half a mile away on a different road). You can't avoid this during the night, and that's one of the main reasons why night time driving is more dangerous. The worst thing when driving at night are the lights of other cars (anyone has any doubt about it?). Sadly, you can't only keep your own headlights on and tell everyone else to turn theirs off....
It doesn't make any sense to try and make the day as bad as the night.
A bureaucrat's stamp "Safety Feature" does not mean it is indeed a safety feature. Since all "studies" trying to prove the benefit of headlights at night and DRLs failed, (it's extremely difficult, meaning practically impossible, to prove) they settled on a "consensus" of "5 to 10% less collisions". Well, they pulled this pitiful statement out of a very crappy place.

It might be very educational for many to read the book titled: “Foolproof – Why Safety Can Be Dangerous and How Danger Makes Us Safe.” The best way to avoid collision is not to assume that every car must be lighted. To the contrary, the safe driver looks for and expects unlighted cars. That's because, there will always be unlighted vehicles. The few that are driving around keep everybody alert.

https://www.ishn.com/articles/103640-why-safety-can-be-dangerous

As for the law, there is nothing in the law that requires me to have any lights on during the day. Where I live, people are still just a bit smarter than in some other, darker places.

"The law requires that you have two functioning headlights that are to be turned on whenever it is dark out, usually from sunset to sunrise. In Tennessee and Georgia, headlights are required to be turned on 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, when visibility it low, and in adverse weather conditions."

I would submit the only valid reason to have/ use drl's is in passing zones. And that is for the benefit of the guy passing and coming at you that is too lazy to really look. When I pass I look for vehicles not a light. But if not equipped I will turn on my headlamps. I don't like DRL's personally, and now they're becoming design statements. Same as the tails. I just leave mine, being I can't see them. Except at night.

All I can say is this. Back in my Del Sol days; my car was a tiny black vehicle that was constantly overlooked by other cars. There were *so* many close calls despite me being a defensive driver. I modded the aux lights to be DRLs. I think they were, maybe, 10 watts each. But what a difference with the frequency of close calls. I would estimate a 75% reduction.

I did the same with my (black) RSX.

And as I get older; I've noticed my vision and my reaction time aren't the same as when I was 21. I don't especially like the way DRLs look. But I appreciate every advantage they offer in my quest to defensively avoid the giblet-heads who think that stop signs and red lights are optional, cruise in my blind spot, etc. And if they keep me from *being* hit; I'll take that too. Nobody has time to deal with all that shit. And the car is never the same afterward anyway. And it'd really suck to be a paralyzed millionaire knowing that DRLs might have helped.

Yes, Sir... I love those DRLs 'o mine.

But if you really hate them; just unplug/switch them.

/off old man rant.

xcivicx said:

When I pass I look for vehicles not a light.

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And this is the correct approach.

"I didn't see any car coming, meaning I didn't see any lights, so I went ahead" is wrong, but many people seem to be driving on this basis. "I saw that there was no car coming, that is, I was able to see empty road, so I went ahead" is correct.

Another thing is motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. It is easy to get used to only look for cars, not those other road annoyances. Motorcycles are often missed, because they are not cars and they are rare. For this reason, I think their obnoxious bright headlights are justified.

Gruber said:

Because it's dumb to have lights on on a sunny day and it's also dumb to distract other drivers from a mile away? And because I don't live in a Mordor, Middle Earth, Land of Darkness and Shadow, or Sweden?

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It's actually about overcast cloudy days, early morning and late afternoon, not requiring the driver to "remember" to turn thier lights on in these situations.

DRLs are a safety feature.

Gruber said:

They decrease safety during daylight because they distract attention of drivers by vehicles far away and vehicles irrelevant to them (such as half a mile away on a different road). You can't avoid this during the night, and that's one of the main reasons why night time driving is more dangerous

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I'm sorry but if you find this statement to be true, please hand in your license and do everyone a favour and get off the roads. If your "distracted" during the day by a light, that mind you isn't even that bright or noticeable, at half a mile away then I don't think you should be driving. Iv never herd something more stupid.

Here in the bad old USA some drivers will crash into police that have all lights a going. So as opposite sounding Gruber's statement sounds I believe it. Like a moth to a flame.
I call this a costanza statement.

We also have these roads labelled blood alley, so many head ons your told to turn your headlights on. For the benefit of the lazy impatient driver. Only case I can see for drl's.
They have most of these blood alleys no passing zones by now.

AndyAndromeda-AUS said:

I'm sorry but if you find this statement to be true, please hand in your license and do everyone a favour and get off the roads. If your "distracted" during the day by a light, that mind you isn't even that bright or noticeable, at half a mile away then I don't think you should be driving. Iv never herd something more stupid.

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Lmfaoooo, that's what I'm saying. I've never heard of someone being distracted by DRLs. If you're a distracted driver you're going to hit someone regardless of if they have DRLs or not.

Your not distracted by them, your drawn to them, not everyone, but some.

Cross traffic. Is another case for, illuminating the entire other side of the street at 2am a case for not.

Reading some posts on this thread I cannot help noticing that some think that Europe is mainly a dark place where there is light only a few hours a day . LOL

BogdanM said:

Reading some posts on this thread I cannot help noticing that some think that Europe is mainly a dark place where there is light only a few hours a day . LOL

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LOL, it's not a matter of thinking or opinion, but facts.
This map only shows sunshine hours, but as you go north the light also becomes weaker (the Sun is lower).
Except for the southern countries (Italy, Spain, Greece areas close to them) Europe is indeed a cloudy, murky, dark place in comparison with the (contiguous) US.

Stockholm (the capital of Sweden) is closer to the North Pole than Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Even in Canada, only a very small fraction of the population lives at the latitudes of Scandinavia or Scotland.

Less sunshine does not equal darkness / murky or whatever. So your assumption that we are living in darkness is hilarious..something like “there be dragons”. In the northern countries where the days are really short in winter the people rely on headlights, not DRLs.
The true reasons for this are:
- even in sunshine conditions, cars can be less visible with all lights turned off;
- we still have a fare amount of single lane roads and we are allowed to pass other vehicles; the sooner you see a car coming your way, the better;
- the speed limits are usually higher than in the US and most cars are driving at speed limit or slightly over it (for example, where the speed limit is 81, people usually drive with 87-90 where it is 87, people drive 93-96). In this case also, it is better to be visible for others as soon and as easily as as possible.