Frequently asked questions about Daytime Running Lights

Daytime Running Lights are front motor vehicle lights, other than parking lights (deemed too dim to be effective) or fog lights (deemed too bright in US - but legal for DRL usage in Canada), which are automatically illuminated on a vehicle during that vehicle's daytime operation.

These have been statistically proven to reduce the probability of a variety of frontal collisions with other vehicles during daytime hours, as well as reducing pedestrian accidents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration actually encouraged the concept of turn signal energized daytime running lights in the US when they signed into law 1993 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards CFR Ch 571.108 Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated equipment. This allowed for front turn signal bulbs to legally be harnessed and utilized as amber-output daytime running lights in the US. Front turn signals are were already required to be amber in output by previous legislation. Chrysler first used these bulbs as DRLs in Canada in the early 1990's.

Does the PlanetSafe DRL-2005 product/system affect my vehicle's taillights also?

No - it wires directly to the front turn signal bulbs and does not influence the vehicle's rear lighting system at all.

Does the AllQuality DRL product/system turn my vehicle's dash lamps 'On' during its operation?

No - the factory dash lighting is not illuminated while the module is on.

I see 'Simulated' turn signal bulb-energized DRL photos on your site. How are these photos simulated?

Related question: How can I know what my vehicle looks like with the AllQuality system installed?

These simulated photos are acquired by photographically capturing a vehicle's operational Hazard Lights at their brightest flash point in time. To visualize how your vehicle will look with the addition of the PlanetSafe DRL-2005 system, simply turn your Hazard lights on and view the vehicle from the front. When your hazards flash at their maximum or brightest output, this is what your vehicle will look like with the AllQuality product installed. 

Minimal. Two shielded cables are run from the front turn signal lamps, through the firewall, and to the vehicle's driver side dashboard area. The module mounts behind the dash (like a burglar alarm) and has one connection to the factory turn signal fuse location in the fuse box. The module has two under dash ground connections to supply the module with chassis ground. See this site's web page titled "Installation Overview".

No. The U.S. Highway Safety Institute reports only 18% of all accidents are rear end collision-related. Running traffic lights constitutes 22% of all accidents, swerving into another lane constitutes 13%, and left turn collisions with another vehicle constitute 9%. Some studies show that left turn accidents are reduced by up to 49% by daytime running lights. Keep in mind that in many cases frontal collisions are more destructive because the combined speed of both vehicles are cumulative - hence the forces involved are greater than hitting a stopped vehicle.

Research shows that in 1961, Price Daniel, then governor of the state of Texas, issued a public call for increased highway safety. The use of DRL's originated as a campaign to operate motor vehicles with their headlights 'on' as a response to comply with the governor's call for safety. Later, the Greyhound Bus Company mandated and publicized the continuous operation of headlights during daytime hours. Subsequently Greyhound is given credit as the first commercial company in the world to operate their fleet with DRLs. An early remark made by DRL investigators studying their effect was quoted as follows: "It seems that no one can conceive of an automobile or a Greyhound Bus being invisible on a bright clear day". This attitude somewhat remains today, yet studies prove over and over that DRL's in general are effective collision deterrents.

Keeping lights illuminated on a vehicle makes a vehicle much more conspicuous, even during daytime hours. Some people feel this sounds strange. Since we don't need a flashlight to read outside during the day, why do we need lighting to see traffic during the day? Because we know that the earlier you detect another vehicle on the road and can estimate its speed and distance, the less likely you are to be involved in a collision with it. And the presence of DRLs improves detection.

Research shows that Finland began collecting DRL data in 1968 and passed the first DRL legislation in 1972. Some even earlier studies are mentioned below.

DRL laws span over 30 years - 1972 to the present. There are currently DRL laws in 7 nations enacted in the following years: Finland - 1972; Sweden - 1977; Norway - 1986; Iceland - 1988; Canada - 1989; Denmark - 1990; and Hungary - 1993.

Canada enacted aggressive DRL legislation, requiring that all new vehicles sold within its borders after December 1, 1989 have mandatory automatic Daytime Running Lights that were non-controllable by the automotive consumer. Other than this fact, Canadian highway safety laws typically mirror those of the United States. A statistically significant reduction of 11% in daytime multi-vehicle accidents (other than rear-end collisions) was found to have occurred between 1989 and 1990 in Canada as a result of this legislation.

I saw some of the DRL studies on your links page, and linked to text on your home page, but many are International. Are there others, and are there more US studies?

Sure; here are a few US studies:

Greyhound Bus fleet study (Allen & Clark 1964, Atwood 1981): 12% fewer accidents in US, 24% fewer accidents in Canada

US Survey of 181 companies, fleet studies (Allen 1965): Up to 38% reduction (These studies involve semi-tractor trailers with 'lights on for safety' while traveling on the US Interstate highways.)

New York Port Authority fleet study (Cantilli 1965, 1970): 18% fewer collisions

AT&T fleet study (1973): 32% fewer accidents

Checker Cab Company fleet study (Allen 1979): 7.2% fewer collisions

          Source (above) : SAE technical paper series, 851239;  Fleet Experience with Daytime 
          Running Lights in the US (H Stein May 1985)

Stein fleet study (1985): 15% fewer daytime vehicle-to-vehicle crashes

US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety preliminary study: a 20% reduction in daytime multi-vehicle accidents

Society of Automotive Engineers Inc. & Avis Car Rental, Inc. fleet study (August, 1994): reduction of rental car collision repair bills by 69%! Also, only the non-DRL vehicles in the two 1500 car control groups experienced damage in excess of $15,000 - DRL's not only save lives but also reduce collision damage, should a collision occur.

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Other international studies:

Hocherman & Hakkertparks {Israel}; Campaign encouraging DRL use in bad weather (1990): Up to 32% reduction in vehicle-to-vehicle crashes in rainy weather

Kuratorium fur Verkehrssicherheit {Austria}; fleet study (1993): 29% reduction in multi-party daytime casualties

Sparks, Neudorf, Smith, Wapman, & Zador {Canada}; fleet study (1993): 28% reduction in DRL relevant multiple-party daytime crashes, and a 22% reduction in DRL relevant multiple-party daytime crashes excluding twilight crashes

Arora, Collard, Robbins, Welbourne & White {Canada}; vehicle standard study (1994): Between 8% and 14% reduction in multi-party daytime casualties

Hansen {Denmark}; law based study (1995): 7% to 30% reduction in vehicle-to-vehicle daytime crashes, 4% to 17% reduction in daytime vehicle-cyclist casualties, and a 16% reduction in daytime vehicle-pedestrian casualties

Hollo {Hungary}; law based study (1995): 18% reduction in multiple-party daytime crashes, and 12% reduction in all multiple-party daytime crashes

Here's the bottom line. We are all mammals, and most all mammals that hunt look for movement to be able to spot and/or track their prey. We too, look for visual motions in our environment as clues to what is going on around us. Illustration: Predators chase prey, yet many times if the prey is very still, the predator loses sight of the prey. Similarly, the sooner and more accurately we can estimate another vehicle's speed and distance, the less likely we are to be involved in a collision with that vehicle. DRL's on a vehicle improve detection.

If all cars were white (the most visible vehicle color, and the only automobile color that some insurance companies give a discount for), and if daytime driving conditions were always perfect, then DRL's would not be needed.

Fact: DRLs improve detection. The darker a vehicle is painted, the harder it is for us to see it when it is moving. This is why school buses are universally painted bright yellow. Many accidents occur when environmental conditions are not optimum; dusk, dawn, rain, fog, sleet, or snow. These are times when our ability to detect other road users is lower, due to lower visibility.

So if Daytime Running Lights are so beneficial and save lives, why is there some dislike of these devices in the public arena?

That's a good question. Some dislike of 'white light' DRL's - headlight-activated DRL's were the first to come on the scene - comes from the fact most people are resistant to and/or don't like any change at all, even when the change may actually save lives and reduce bodily injury and property damage via the reduction of multi-party automotive accidents. At one time the automobile itself was extremely disliked, and the general public preferred the horse. Also, since this entire subject came to the public arena due to some Scandinavian country laws and mandates and the mandatory Canadian law enacted in 1989, there is a syndrome of "I don't like it because it was not invented here" that may be present (see above - turn signal DRL's actually were invented here.) Others feel that white light DRL's might cause glare and distraction during daytime hours. However, studies show that these fears are unfounded. Keep in mind that amber turn signal-activated DRL's are relatively new and, up until recently, have not been readily available to the general public. Still others feel that motorcycles, which have had headlight-driven DRL's for years, are now at a huge disadvantage, as more and more vehicles now possess headlight-driven DRL's. This particular viewpoint is one with which we at AllQuality personally agree. Many motorcycles are now made with multiple headlights and are being equipped with twin auxiliary white driving lights to combat this issue. The United Kingdom is currently concerned about the potential confusion by the elderly should UK vehicles have mandatory headlight DRL's.