Use Daytime Dipped Lights ....It could save your life!

Silvera

Regular visitors to this forum will know that I have long being an advocate of using dipped headlights during daytime hours for safety reasons (read my sig below!)

At this time of year with overcast conditions, shorter daytime hours, etc it is even more important to be seen when driving.

(I emphasis 'to be seen' as some drivers seem to think that they only need to turn on their dipped lights when they can't see where they are going! :rolleyes:)

I am still amazed by the amount of drivers out their who steadfastly refuse to turn on their lights in poor driving conditions ....or drive on their 'candlelights' (sidelights)!

In EU countries it is illegal to drive on sidelights, and also, most european countries insist that all drivers use daytime dipped lights from October to March each year.

The fact that most EU countries have these laws should tell Irish people that using dipped lights is a good idea!

AFAIK, so far only Mayo county council has 'gotten their act together' to encourage this safety-enhancing measure. They have erected a permanent sign on the road to Achill Island advocating that drivers 'USE DAYTIME DIPPED LIGHTS'.

And don't forget - Using Daytime Dipped Lights will reduce you chances of being in an accident by 36% !! (Advanced Driving Course Fact)

tech

Hi there

I've been on the road for over 6 years now coving over 55,000 miles a year and always drive in Dimmed head lights, also accident free so far so good

touch wood

Silvera

tech wrote:

Hi there

I've been on the road for over 6 years now coving over 55,000 miles a year and always drive in Dimmed head lights, also accident free so far so good

touch wood

It's a pity that more Irish drivers don't have your streetwise approach!


I believe that in the next 5-10 years all vehicles will have permanent dipped driving lights.....and we will look back in disbelief that we ever drove around without our lights switched on!

apeking

Not trying to be smart but what are your Daytime Dipped Lights, i have 3 settings on my lights,

1st is just crappy lights i turn on when its just dull,

2nd are what i use when driving at night on well light roads

3rd i use on back roads and where there is no street lights

So are u saying use 1st or 2nd??

CrowdedHouse

I think cars should be wired so it's not possible to drive with only sidelights.

jesus_thats_gre

Do the same myself. Picked up the habit from when I used to visit family in Finland.

_Kaiser_

I'm with Sivera on this. As I've also mentioned before I drive with the dipped lighs on regardless of time of day or weather. The point is to be seen by other drivers at a distance - especially if your car is black/silver.

Seth Brundle

apeking wrote:

Not trying to be smart but what are your Daytime Dipped Lights, i have 3 settings on my lights,

1st is just crappy lights i turn on when its just dull,

2nd are what i use when driving at night on well light roads

3rd i use on back roads and where there is no street lights

So are u saying use 1st or 2nd??

1 = side lights
2 = dipped lights
3 = full beam

I believe that he is referring to number 2 but number is an option.

I recall that last time this was discussed and a number of bikers find that having all cars use DRLs would make them less visible.

Redrocket

I agree with silvera, i drive most of the time with dipped headlights on, except on the motorway when not in traffic (and in the day). thats for mpg reasons. i find when in town just before dusk is when dipped headlights are most useful..
cars without dipped headlights at this time are much more difficult to see.
and the emphasis really is on visibility, so that other drivers can see you because you have your dipped heads on

mike65

The EU are looking into making this manditory right now (ie expect legistation in about 5 years!).

Mike.

nialler

all the time, set the computer to turn on the lights the moment the car is started. Just look on the roads next time, which is more visible, car with lights on car without.

Capt'n Midnight

why not make us all drive orange cars

have there been any studies done on effects on pedestrians and cyclists who are hidden by this amount of light ?

mike65

Which are you more likely to hit in poor conditions?

Mike.

Silvera

nialler wrote:

all the time, set the computer to turn on the lights the moment the car is started. Just look on the roads next time, which is more visible, car with lights on car without.

As a matter of interest .....
What sort of car do you drive?

Thats part of the problem, Irish drivers don't think about things that could improve their safety on the roads, like seeing that using their lights will make them more visible and therefore improve their own safety - and that of others - on our roads!

Case in point, last Wednesday evening I was exiting from a side road. I looked both ways a couple of times and then drove onto the main road. As I straightened up my car I saw a van coming towards me. The conditions were good but he was driving in the shadow of the hedge which made him difficult to see. (For the record, he was a long way up the road .....and yes my eyesight is fine! )

It just struck me that it would have been much easier to see him sooner had he switched on his dipped lights!

AMurphy

My wagon, old and all as it may be has automatic headlights, so I never switch them off ( they are permanently set to dipped and on), they come on with the engine and go off with the engine shutoff and door open.
Unfortunately there is a little flaw in the logic block that controls this activity.... so I have had the blasted thing drain the battery several (about 5) times in the last few years and leave me stranded... so I invested in a set of jumper cables which now reside in the boot.
Change the bulbs every 2 years or so.
I just wish I could set the heads to ON and leave the side and tail lights off.

J_R

Hi,

I always drive on dipped. Permanently leave my main light switch on a setting which have the lights come on automatically when doors unlocked, go off 30 seconds after ignition key removed and car locked.

However there is one situation where dipped lights can be dangerous. That is, where you are on the main road approaching a junction and there is a car waiting to emerge.

If the road you are on has an uneven surface, your lights will rise and fall. The car driver waiting to emerge may read this that you are flashing at him to proceed.

Happened to me once. Just as I approached the car driver gave me a "Thank You" wave and drove out in front. Managed to stop in time - Just.

Driving school in England few years ago was not so lucky. Learner drove out in front of a Volvo which was approaching at high speed.

So, if running on dipped lights watch out for emerging traffic.

ninty9er

I'd say there's more a case for gettikng manufacturers to dump lightswitches altogether and just have engine electronic triggered DRL than getting some of the twits on our roads to light up

Töpher

First thing I do after turning on the ignition is turn on dipped beams. Force of habit.

Del2005

I've said this before and some other people have said it aswell but DRLs for cars is very bad for other road users ie Motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians. What happens now is that most bikers use DRLs and they are more visable then cars but when all cars are using DRLs then car drivers won't see anyone else, which they rarely do anyway.

As people have said, cars pull out in front of them now and they are in cars! So how is a more vunerable road user supposed to stay alive if all a car driver does is look for 2 big lights and not 1 small one or none at all on a bicycle/pedestrian? See the link below from MAG Ireland

http://www.magireland.org/actplan.htm

Daytime Running Lights
Goal: To prevent DRL being implemented in Ireland.
The proposal by the A.C.E.A. (Association of European Automobile Manufacturers in English) to include the installation of “hard-wired” daytime running lights (DRL) as a concession to safety has been rejected by the E.U. committee conducting the inquiry. The committee decided that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that DRL contributed anything to safety and took into account the F.E.M.A report which suggested that the introduction of DRL would actually pose a hazard to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
I have received a letter from Commissioner de Palacio indicating that the representations made by MAG Ireland and other motorcyclists’ organisations were influential in the decision to commission a study into the effects of DRL on all road users and on the relative conspicuity of motorcyclists & cyclists. The Commissioner thanked us for our contribution to the debate on this issue.
I have written to Commissioner de Palacio welcoming this study and offering any assistance we might be able to give regarding same.
Some proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Bill, 2001 currently under debate have included the introduction of DRL in the Winter months. I have contacted Deputy Denis Naughten who has made the proposal to advise him of the negative effect such a measure would have on road safety.

dahamsta

The suggestion that cars using DRLs will makes bikers less visible is just plain nonsense. They'll simply make cars more visible, which is the entire point.

Furthermore, did the EU committeeeeeee responsible even read their own report? According to the previous poster, they're saying that DRLs don't contribute to better safety, but actually they do, but if everyone uses them they won't again. Sure and begorrah. :rolleyes:

adam

Silvera

I understand where bikers are coming from, but on balance - with all the road deaths in Ireland each year - using DRL's is a simple and effective way of saving lives.

Motorbikers and cyclists must play their part also, for example - making themselves more conspicous by wearing a high-viz jacket/vest.

DRL's have proven themselves in Sweden, Finland etc since the 1960's. It's time we caught up in Ireland!

Re Cars pulling out from side roads - I have noticed that cars are LESS likely to pull out in front of me during the daytime when I have my dipped lights on!

Right_Side

A lot of times when I drive with dipped headlights on during the day other drivers actually flash me! For example, on Christmas Day last year I was flashed three times on a 15 minute trip! Must have been a load of occassional drivers out or something... thinking they were doing me a favour :rolleyes:

FX Meister

stevenk wrote:

I agree with silvera, i drive most of the time with dipped headlights on, except

Really? How much extra do you get per gallon? Six metres? Do you also use your tea bags twice?


edit: next time I edit a thread of yours, Im throwing in a ban!

dahamsta

Right_Side wrote:

A lot of times when I drive with dipped headlights on during the day other drivers actually flash me! For example, on Christmas Day last year I was flashed three times on a 15 minute trip! Must have been a load of occassional drivers out or something... thinking they were doing me a favour :rolleyes:

This is definitely lessening these days. I used to get flashed nearly daily in the past, these days I actually wonder why people are flashing when they do, it's so rare.

adam

Del2005

dahamsta wrote:

The suggestion that cars using DRLs will makes bikers less visible is just plain nonsense. They'll simply make cars more visible, which is the entire point.

Yes and what happens if cars become more VISABLE? People will pay even less attention when looking as if they don't see a highly VISABLE car they'll pull out in front of less visable road users. As for High vise vests etc most bikers do use these and DRLs and cars STILL pull out in front of them. So if people where trained properly this wouldn't be an issue as they would be thought to look out for vunerable road users and not rely on manufactures fitting DRLs to cars to make up for peoples lack of attention when driving.

DRL's have proven themselves in Sweden, Finland etc since the 1960's. It's time we caught up in Ireland!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these countries dark for 6 months of the year? And very few people will ride bikes on frozen roads, so there isn't as much of a conflict.

Squirrel

I only started driving about 6 months ago and I've gotten into the habit of starting the car and turning on the lights.

ArphaRima

I do use the DRL theory myself, and always drive with dipped beams to keep myself visible, though I would be slow to support legislature for it.

Environmentally speaking it would contribute a substantial amount of pollution to the atmosphere. There is no such thing as free energy. They are powered by your engine, which runs on fossil fuel. Its a tiny amount, but if its mandatory EU-wide, it becomes significant.

Redrocket

FX Meister: it just so happens i like weak tea and will use the bag as many times as i want

alias no.9

I'm with the DRL people. I've been doing as long as I've been driving. I still don't get the bikers arguement. You're either seen or you're not. People seeing other cars or bikes in addition to you makes no difference, it doesn't make you disappear from somebodies view, the human brain can process the info, but both bikes and cars will be seen at greater distances when they use DRL's compared to not using them.

franksm

I use these Hella Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) on my '5

http://www.tagfahrlicht.de/EN/index.html

They're pretty good, 16w bulbs, and sit nice & discrete in the radiator intake.

On any other car I'm in, I used dipped beams - have done so since day one.

Not to diverge too much from the topic but I had occasion to drive in the early hours on the N7 and M1 at the weekend - the number of cars with foglamps on was REALLY appalling. I know we're used to it, and it's been talked to death here, but every second car had its rear fogs on, and every car with front fogs fitted had them switched on. Made it really painful to drive. I can only think that people think they're safer at night with fogs on (and don't give a sh!t really about blinding anyone else).

Fey!

I'm with the DRL group, too. The only problem with cars is the ones that only have one side working.

As for motorcyclists, I don't see a problem - as long as the light is working it should be seen by anyone.

Cyclists are my pet problem; even on the darkest of nights I meet them in black clothes in poorly lit areas with no lights or reflective clothing. Have these people got a deathwish?