Daytime running lamp
A daytime running lamp (DRL, also daytime running light) is an
Implementations
Depending on prevailing regulations and equipment, vehicles may implement the daytime-running light function by functionally turning on specific lamps, by operating low-beam headlamps or fog lamps at full or reduced intensity, by operating high-beam headlamps at reduced intensity, or by steady-burning operation of the front turn signals. Compared to any mode of headlamp operation to produce the daytime running light, functionally dedicated DRLs maximize the potential benefits in safety performance, glare, motorcycle masking, and other potential drawbacks.[3]
Usage
A daytime running lamp is usually automatically switched on once the ignition is on; other vehicles may switch the daytime running lamps on when the parking brake is released or when the vehicle is shifted into gear. A daytime running lamp emits a brighter light when the headlamps are not turned on and its brightness will be dimmed slightly in conjunction with the headlamps being turned on.[4]
Safety performance
A 2008 study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysed the effect of DRLs on frontal and side-on crashes between two vehicles and on vehicle collisions with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. The analysis determined that DRLs offer no statistically significant reduction in the frequency or severity of the collisions studied, except for a reduction in light trucks' and vans' involvement in two-vehicle crashes by a statistically significant 5.7%.[5]
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 the relatively bright United States.[3]
Effect on motorcycle safety
A number of motorcycling advocacy groups are concerned over reduced motorcycle conspicuity and increased vulnerability with the introduction of headlamp-based DRLs on cars and other dual-track vehicles, since it means motorcycles are no longer the only vehicles displaying headlamps during the day.[6] Some researchers have suggested that amber DRLs be reserved for use exclusively on motorcycles, in countries where amber is not presently a permissible color for DRLs on any vehicles,[7] while other research has concluded there is a safety disadvantage to two 90 mm x 520 candela (cd) DRLs on motorcycles in comparison to one 190 mm x 270 cd dipped (low) beam headlight. The latter result suggests that a daytime running lamp's luminous area may have an important influence on its effectiveness.[8]
Environmental impact
DRL power consumption varies widely depending on the implementation. Current production DRL systems consume from 5
Worldwide
Europe
European Union
European Union Directive 2008/89/EC required all passenger cars and small delivery vans [14] first type[clarification needed][15] approved on or after 7 February 2011 in the EU to come equipped with daytime running lights.[16][17][18] European Union Directive 2008/89/EC ended validity on 31 October 2014, implicitly repealed by the replacement Regulation (EC) No 661/2009.[19][20] The mandate was extended to trucks and buses in August 2012.[21] Using headlamps or front turn signals or fog lamps as DRLs is not permitted;[22] the EU Directive requires functionally specific daytime running lamps compliant with ECE Regulation 87 and mounted to the vehicle in accordance with ECE Regulation 48.[23] DRLs compliant with R87 emit white light on an axis of between 400 and 1,200 candela with an apparent surface of 25 cm2 to 200 cm2 with an additional requirement of between 1 and 1,200 candela in a defined field.[24]
In the past,[when?] Germany, Spain, France and other European countries have encouraged or required daytime use of low beam headlamps on certain roads at certain times of year; Ireland encourages the use of low beam headlights during the winter, Italy and Hungary require daytime running lamps outside populated areas, and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia require the use of full or reduced voltage low beam headlights at all times. Whether this requirement is met by the DRLs required on new cars since February 2011 is a matter of individual countries' laws.
Nordic countries
DRLs were first mandated in the
United Kingdom
UK regulations briefly required vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1987 to be equipped with a dim-dip device[25] or functionally dedicated daytime running lamps, except those vehicles type-approved to ECE Regulation 48 regarding installation of lighting equipment—this exception was made because ECE R48 did not require dim-dip or daytime running lights, and while countries signatory to the ECE Regulations are permitted to maintain their own national regulations as an option to the ECE regulations, they are not permitted to bar vehicles approved under the ECE regulations. The dim-dip system operated the low beam headlamps (called "dipped beam" in the UK) at between 10% and 20% of normal low beam intensity. The running lamps permitted as an alternative to dim-dip were required to emit at least 200 cd straight ahead, and no more than 800 cd in any direction. In practice, most vehicles were equipped with the dim-dip option rather than the running lamps.[25]
The dim-dip lights were not intended for use as daytime running lights. Rather, they operated when the engine was running and the driver switched on the
In 1988, the European Commission successfully prosecuted the UK government in the European Court of Justice, arguing that the UK requirement for dim-dip was illegal under EC directives prohibiting member states from enacting vehicle lighting requirements not contained in pan-European EC directives. As a result, the UK requirement for dim-dip was quashed.[25] Nevertheless, dim-dip systems remain permitted, and while such systems are not presently as common as they once were, dim-dip functionality was fitted on many new cars (such as the Volkswagen Polo) well into the 1990s.
Canada
United States
Shortly after Canada mandated DRLs,
Public reaction to DRLs, generally neutral to positive in Canada, is decidedly mixed in the U.S. Thousands of complaints regarding glare from DRLs were lodged with the DOT shortly after DRLs were permitted on cars, and there was also concern that headlamp-based DRLs reduce the conspicuity of motorcycles, and that DRLs based on front turn signals introduce ambiguity into the turn signal system.[28] In 1997, in response to these complaints and after measuring actual DRL intensity well above the 7,000 cd limit on vehicles in use, DOT proposed changes to the DRL specification that would have capped axial intensity at 1,500 cd, a level equivalent to the European 1,200 cd and identical to the initially proposed Canadian limit.[27] During the open comment period, a volume of public comments were received by NHTSA in support of lowering the intensity or advocating the complete elimination of DRLs from U.S. roads. Automaker sentiment generally ran along consistent lines,[colloquialism] with European automakers experienced at complying with European DRL requirements voicing no objection to the proposal, and North American automakers repeating the same objections they raised in response to Canada's initial 1,500-cd proposal.[28][29] The NHTSA proposal for DRL intensity reduction was rescinded in 2004,[30] pending agency review and decision on a petition filed in 2001 by General Motors, seeking to have NHTSA mandate DRLs on all U.S. vehicles.[31] The GM petition was denied by the NHTSA in 2009, on grounds of severe methodological and analytical flaws in the studies and data provided by GM as evidence for a safety benefit to DRLs.[31] In denying the petition, the NHTSA said:
[...] the agency remains neutral with respect to a policy regarding the inclusion of DRLs in vehicles [...] we do not find data that provides a definitive safety benefit that justifies Federal regulation [...] manufacturers should continue to make individual decisions regarding DRLs in their vehicles.[31]
Several states on the Eastern seaboard, the Southeast, Gulf Coast and California have laws that require headlights to be switched on when windshield wipers are in use.[32] DRLs are not considered headlights in most vehicle codes and so DRLs may not meet the letter of these laws in use.
Australia
DRLs are permitted but not required in Australia, though the Australian College of Road Safety, an Australian automotive safety group, advocates making DRLs mandatory rather than optional.[33]
See also
- Automobile safety
- Bicycle safety
References
- ISBN 9789282105955.
- ^ Daytime running light European Commission
- ^ a b "A Review of Daytime Running Lights" (PDF). (1.7 MB)
- ^ "DRL factsheet". Snov.nl. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
- ^ Wang, Jing-Shiarn (September 2008). "The Effectiveness of Daytime Running Lights for Passenger Vehicles (publication number DOT HS 811 029)" (PDF). NHTSA Technical Report. Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 110. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ^ "European Agenda for Motorcycle Safety" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-09.
- ^ Paine, Michael; David Paine; Jack Haley; Samantha Cockfield. "Daytime Running Lights for Motorcycles" (PDF). ESV19. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ Zellner, John; Nicholas Rogers; Jacques Compagne; Jan Paul Peters (September 2007). "Development of a New Methodology for Measuring the Behavioural Conspicuity of Motor Vehicles". 7th International Symposium on Automotive Lighting. Herbert Utz Verlag GmbH. pp. 249–257.[not specific enough to verify]
- ^ "Philips DRL 4 product page claiming a 5 Watt power consumption (in Dutch)". Archived from the original on 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
- ^ DRL fuel consumption calculations
- ^ "FIA Brussels report on costs & benefits of various DRL implementations". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- ^ US Federal Register (7 August 1998). "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: FMVSS 108 (Daytime Running Lights)" (PDF). NHTSA, p. 57 ¶ 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2004. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
- ^ Transport Research Laboratories (17 November 2006). "Daytime Running Lights (DRL): A Review of the Reports from the European Commission" (PDF). European Commission: Transport and Road Safety. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
- ^ M1 and N1
- ^ The directive deals with EC type approval or national type approval for new types of vehicles
- ^ Europa.eu Press Release "New cars equipped with daytime running lights as of today"
- ^ EU to make DRLs mandatory from 2011
- ^ AL-Automotive Lighting DRL info Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Commission Directive 2008/89/EC of 24 September 2008 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical progress, Council Directive 76/756/EEC concerning the installation of lighting and light-signalling devices on motor vehicles and their trailers
- ^ Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended therefor
- ^ European Commission Enterprise and Industry web page on DRLs
- ^ DRL Mandate Takes Effect in Europe, R48 Countries (subscription required)
- ^ Commission Directive 2008/89/EC of 24 September 2008 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical progress, Council Directive 76/756/EEC concerning the installation of lighting and light-signalling devices on motor vehicles and their trailers
- ^ "ECE Regulation 87, Revision 2" (PDF). UNECE.
- ^ a b c Gaynor, Mark. "UK Dim-Dip Running Lights Regulatory History". D. Stern. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
- ^ I.l.p.e. "Memorandum submitted by the Institution of Public Lighting Engineers". D. Stern. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Federal Register 98-20918 NPRM: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment
- ^ a b docket for DRL glare complaints
- ^ Aborted NHTSA rulemaking to reduce DRL glare, with public complaints
- ^ NHTSA docket for withdrawal of intended rulemaking to reduce DRL glare
- ^ a b c Federal Register E9-15314: Denial of GM Petition to Mandate DRLs
- ^ "Headlight Usage". Archived from the original on 2013-09-15. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
- ^ "ACRS Daytime Running Lamp statistics". Road safety campaign group. Australasian College of Road Safety. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
External links
- Headlights overview Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)