Daytime Running Lamps

[NAFairlane]

anyone able to shed any light on the purpose of daytime running lamps or just people putting their headlights on during the day? Also why they do they make it so you cant turn them off in some cars? I just dont understand the point.

[fmc351]

Some believe it makes them more visible, whats to understand?

Same reason motorcyclists use the headlight during the day. I always do it on a bike, and the car if the weather is bad.

[NickyN]

It comes down to safety. These daytime running lights increase visibility. Driver's see oncoming cars with their daylight running lights on earlier than without lights on.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by NickyN

It comes down to safety. These daytime running lights increase visibility. Driver's see oncoming cars with their daylight running lights on earlier than without lights on.

Only in some situations. Other times it is bloody dangerous.

If you are travelling towards something that is bright like the setting or rising sun the the headlights actually diffuse the silhouette of oncoming vehicles making it VERY difficult to see them.

[aualright]

Originally Posted by flappist

Only in some situations. Other times it is bloody dangerous.

If you are travelling towards something that is bright like the setting or rising sun the the headlights actually diffuse the silhouette of oncoming vehicles making it VERY difficult to see them.

I have found the opposite to be true. The setting sun in your eyes sometimes makes oncoming vehicles hard to see (esp with a slightly dirty windscreen). When they have their parkers or headlights on they become more visible.

I live in a rural area and always have my parkers on when driving with the kids. Having said that, daytime running lights appear to be a bit of a toss but more importantly look ridiculous in imo. Parking lights are more than enough.

****

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by aualright

I have found the opposite to be true. The setting sun in your eyes sometimes makes oncoming vehicles hard to see (esp with a slightly dirty windscreen). When they have their parkers or headlights on they become more visible.

Not with parkers alone they don't. The power of 5watt parkers vs the sun?:-)

I live in a rural area and always have my parkers on when driving with the kids. Having said that, daytime running lights appear to be a bit of a toss but more importantly look ridiculous in imo. Parking lights are more than enough.
****

Park lights (sidelights/position lamps) @ 5watts are USELESS in order to "be seen" by approaching or forward traffic - if used alone when mobile; let alone in conditions of fog, rain, dust, gravel roads, bushfire smoke.

A DRL runs at 21watts and is a much 'better' option. Low-beam is the best option otherwise, as the DRL does not illuminate the taillights.

Personally, can live without DRL's - quite capable of switching on low-beam and or parkers and front fogs as needed. Its hardly difficult.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by aualright

I have found the opposite to be true. The setting sun in your eyes sometimes makes oncoming vehicles hard to see (esp with a slightly dirty windscreen). When they have their parkers or headlights on they become more visible.

I live in a rural area and always have my parkers on when driving with the kids. Having said that, daytime running lights appear to be a bit of a toss but more importantly look ridiculous in imo. Parking lights are more than enough.

****

Park lights are a waste of time. I can't even see mine on during the day unless im within 20 metres of the car.

Im looking for DRL LED's for my XR6 due to the roads I travel on, any ******** who flashes me with highbeam because I have them on can expect to get 530watts of light back in their face.. MORONS!!

[Trevor 57]

That will teach 'em!

[aualright]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Park lights are a waste of time. I can't even see mine on during the day unless im within 20 metres of the car.

Mine are more than visible on the AU XR...despite the low wattage. Guess it has more to do with the position and halo of the light rather than the power of the bulb.

****

[Smoke Pursuit]

Americans were some of the first to introduce DRL's especially on motorbikes etc.

The studies that have been carried out show that the extra visability in the day can reduce the chances of having an accident. I happen to agree with this after travelling many 1,000's of kms on highways and rural roads certain coloured cars just blend in with the horizon, especially silvers and dark greys.

The safest rural cars to have are white or bright red but yes the DRL's can increase visability an extra km or so.

[TheSnowman]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Americans were some of the first to introduce DRL's especially on motorbikes etc.

The studies that have been carried out show that the extra visability in the day can reduce the chances of having an accident. I happen to agree with this after travelling many 1,000's of kms on highways and rural roads certain coloured cars just blend in with the horizon, especially silvers and dark greys.

The safest rural cars to have are white or bright red but yes the DRL's can increase visability an extra km or so.

Americans first? not sure where you get your information from.

Effect of ambient light

The daytime running light was first mandated, and safety benefits first perceived, in Scandinavian countries where it is persistently dark during the winter season. As ambient light levels increase, the potential safety benefit decreases while the DRL intensity required for a safety improvement increases. The safety benefit produced by DRLs in relatively dark Nordic countries is roughly triple the benefit observed in relatively bright America.

Scandinavia

DRLs were first mandated in Scandinavian countries, where ambient light levels in the winter are generally low even during the day. Sweden was the first country to require widespread DRLs in 1977.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp

[fairBA]

as useful as rain sensing wipers.

[jamesson1980]

Originally Posted by fairBA

as useful as rain sensing wipers.

.. and look not unlike the string of half busted globes thrown across the top of a circus tent.

[TheInterceptor]

To me, they seem about as effective as turning on your headlights.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

To me, they seem about as effective as turning on your headlights.

Exactly, just turn your headlights on. DRL's are pointless

[ZA-289]

To me they are just a new name for fog lights but you cant get fined for having them on during the day.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by ZA-289

but you cant get fined for having them on during the day.

You can in Victoria, they changed the law to say "yellow or white fog lights", so the law encompasses all those tossers who drive around with them on, both at day and at night. So here in Victoria they are refered to as "fog lights" coz the law says so.

The law says quite clearly you can have them on during "adverse conditions", meaning fog or heavy rain, etc, day or night time are not considered "adverse" enough.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by ZA-289

To me they are just a new name for fog lights but you cant get fined for having them on during the day.

DRL's are not fog lights and therefore they are not illegal in clear weather, end of story.

Fog lights are either white or yellow, aimed lower then low beam and have to be on a separate switch that operates only when park lights or the low beam is on.

DRL's are most often LED's with no reflector and are wired to turn on when the ignition is on, some turn off when low beam is on but some don't.

Batten down the hatches all you haters of them, they will become standard fitment to all new cars, I bet with in the next 10 years. There is way too much evidence in the effectiveness in crash reduction for them not to be.

To say people should not use low beam in daytime because they may hit high beam by accident is ridiculous. By that reasoning no lights should ever be used as an accidental activation of high beam can happen at any time and is in fact more of a problem at night than it is during the day. Lets just ban all lights and bump into each other, at least I won't get bored at work

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

To say people should not use low beam in daytime because they may hit high beam by accident is ridiculous. By that reasoning no lights should ever be used as an accidental activation of high beam can happen at any time and is in fact more of a problem at night than it is during the day. Lets just ban all lights and bump into each other, at least I won't get bored at work

logic has no place in this thread...

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

logic has no place in this thread...

He's an Ambo When I read that my sarcasim detector just went through the roof

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

logic has no place in this thread...

I am sorry, I won't let it happen again, I promise.

He's an Ambo When I read that my sarcasim detector just went through the roof

I am sorry, it is a common reaction emergency worker's suffer often.

[Silver Ghia]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

DRL's are not fog lights and therefore they are not illegal in clear weather, end of story.

DRL's are most often LED's with no reflector and are wired to turn on when the ignition is on, some turn off when low beam is on but some don't.

Batten down the hatches all you haters of them, they will become standard fitment to all new cars, I bet with in the next 10 years. There is way too much evidence in the effectiveness in crash reduction for them not to be.

To be legal, DRL's need to meet ADR76/00 requirements during maufacture, which specifies the colour of light and intensity amongst other requirements. These lights are marked accordingly per ADR76 (with an 'E' marking) so there should be no question as to their legality.

The positioning and installation of DRL's is stipulated in ADR13/00 (one of which is that the lights must be at least 600mm apart). The lights may operate only when the ignition is switched on and the headlights are switched off.

I have seen several that dont meet requirements, obviously installed by the owners. I'm sure it was a HSV that had its DRLs on when the headlight was on. Thats illegal.

IMO on country two way roads in daytime, DRL's are very useful in improving the visibility of oncoming cars, in the suburbs probably not so useful, but can see these mandatory on new cars in the future. Also I believe DRL's are more useful than the foglights fitted to most current new cars which theoretically have very limited usefulness because of when they can be legally used.

[Landau Stable]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and get the flame-proof suit ready.....
If our cars had chrome bumpers just like the good old days, we'd see a sparkle of chrome in the distance. Ever since we got the plastic fantastic, everything is just a boring, generic, blend in with everything else mobile.

ok so obviously i am being a little silly here, but to a degree, i think it would make a difference. But that's just me, dreaming of the good old days.

[04redxr8]

Originally Posted by Landau Stable

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and get the flame-proof suit ready.....
If our cars had chrome bumpers just like the good old days, we'd see a sparkle of chrome in the distance. Ever since we got the plastic fantastic, everything is just a boring, generic, blend in with everything else mobile.

ok so obviously i am being a little silly here, but to a degree, i think it would make a difference. But that's just me, dreaming of the good old days.

Thats just to make the cars easier to recycle. Think of them like bottles of milk.

[NickyN]

Originally Posted by Landau Stable

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and get the flame-proof suit ready.....
If our cars had chrome bumpers just like the good old days, we'd see a sparkle of chrome in the distance. Ever since we got the plastic fantastic, everything is just a boring, generic, blend in with everything else mobile.

ok so obviously i am being a little silly here, but to a degree, i think it would make a difference. But that's just me, dreaming of the good old days.

You make a good point, daytime driving lights prob wasn't even a concern then.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

To say people should not use low beam in daytime because they may hit high beam by accident is ridiculous. By that reasoning no lights should ever be used as an accidental activation of high beam can happen at any time and is in fact more of a problem at night than it is during the day. Lets just ban all lights and bump into each other, at least I won't get bored at work

This is obviously a sarcastic slight at me.

If you bothered to read the whole thread you will have read that I use headlights all the time when on long trips, the comment about people bumping them into high beam was just an aside comment.

I whole-heartedly support lights on during the daytime, if the LED's become a fact, all the better, to me at the moment, they look fairly w@anky.

But then again, I also think that those who drive around both during the day and at night with the 'white' fog lights on looky pretty w@nky too.

(and for the record I spent 13 years as an emergency service volunteer, spending most of that time responding to road accidents, and not as a firey), don't use the fact that you are an Ambo as a reason to by cynical, you are like that because you choose to be

[Keepleft]

http://www.lightsout.org/

http://www.lightsout.org/links.html

USA's National Motorists Association on DRL's:-
http://www.motorists.org/drl//

EU parliament adopted these as mandatory for that market, these ECE rules currently become 'optional' at UNECE (world) level.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Keepleft

http://www.lightsout.org/

http://www.lightsout.org/links.html

USA's National Motorists Association on DRL's:-
http://www.motorists.org/drl//

EU parliament adopted these as mandatory for that market, these ECE rules currently become 'optional' at UNECE (world) level.

lol, some complete propaganda bs in those links.


i fail to see how using modern led DRL's will add to the fuel consumption as claimed in some of those articles, considering led's require exactly **** all power to run.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

DRL's are not fog lights and therefore they are not illegal in clear weather, end of story.

Fog lights are either white or yellow, aimed lower then low beam and have to be on a separate switch that operates only when park lights or the low beam is on.

DRL's are most often LED's with no reflector and are wired to turn on when the ignition is on, some turn off when low beam is on but some don't.

Batten down the hatches all you haters of them, they will become standard fitment to all new cars, I bet with in the next 10 years. There is way too much evidence in the effectiveness in crash reduction for them not to be.

To say people should not use low beam in daytime because they may hit high beam by accident is ridiculous. By that reasoning no lights should ever be used as an accidental activation of high beam can happen at any time and is in fact more of a problem at night than it is during the day. Lets just ban all lights and bump into each other, at least I won't get bored at work

Thankyou thankyou thankyou

Slash, how many of the idiotic haters of DRL's who throw them into the same bin as foggies drive old shizmobiles with dull low beams that look like candles in a vegemite glass? How safe is that?

Next time I drive past one of you fist shaking morons in the Golf R let me tell you something.

I CAN NOT TURN THE DRL's OFF...... They are on all day, every day, and no one can turn them off short of hooking the R to a VCDS Can Bus software and P around with the settings, and I would not be doing that in a 60k car just so you wayne kerrs will get off your high horses.

AUDI
MERC
HSV (even though how tacked on they look)
VW
RENAULT

All do these, they are NON reflected NON SWITCHABLE LED's and are there as a european design rule as stated many times.. They have as much use in fog as a FART in a blanket, but like a fart in a blanket, are great at ****ing you knobs off, because you have all conviced youselves that they are blinding and make your eyes water....

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by Danny

Thankyou thankyou thankyou

Slash, how many of the idiotic haters of DRL's who throw them into the same bin as foggies drive old shizmobiles with dull low beams that look like candles in a vegemite glass? How safe is that?

Next time I drive past one of you fist shaking morons in the Golf R let me tell you something.

I CAN NOT TURN THE DRL's OFF...... They are on all day, every day, and no one can turn them off short of hooking the R to a VCDS Can Bus software and P around with the settings, and I would not be doing that in a 60k car just so you wayne kerrs will get off your high horses.

AUDI
MERC
HSV (even though how tacked on they look)
VW
RENAULT

All do these, they are NON reflected NON SWITCHABLE LED's and are there as a european design rule as stated many times.. They have as much use in fog as a FART in a blanket, but like a fart in a blanket, are great at ****ing you knobs off, because you have all conviced youselves that they are blinding and make your eyes water....

Think of it this way mate, while they are shaking there old fuddy duddy fists at your DRL's or headlights that are on in clear conditions, they have seen you and not likely to hit you (except out of road rage if they are really pathetic).

By the way, how is the Golf R? We are up to replace the Mini next year and I wanted to consider the Golf. Looks like I won't get any choice as the missus has her heart set on another Mini.