Are DRL's a good safty feature that shouldn't be turned off?

[4 forty]

a eu directive has been passed that from 2012, all brand new cars must be fitted with day running lights,volvo again, leading the field on safety.

paul

[scottishvolvo]

Thanks 4forty, must have been a post from you I spotted before.
Chris

[gnhuk]

I've got a 2000 registered cross-over model, the engine, a B4184S2, was according to some sources not fitted to a P1 model but mine definately is................... The instructions in the manual worked.

[Wind-Dreams]

I can fully understand the argument of "if they cant see me then they shouldn't be driving"

but...
I have only had my s40 for 4-5 weeks now and i have noticed a difference in others driving. i think it is probably down to the lights catching the interior/exterior mirrors and attracting attention if you are behind and when driving towards.....the lights will catch your eyes more then just another car tootling along with no lights. I always notice a volvo driving alone due to its lights.

I reckon they are a great idea....only downside is the bulbs give up sooner but hey they are not exactly the end of the earth on cost. I say you cant put a price on safety.

My French market 98 t4 doesn't have DRLs. So presumably the wiring is different or there is a relay that isn't fitted, or fittted as the case may be!!

Originally Posted by charltjr

Anything that improves the visibility of your car to other drivers without impeading their view of the road is a good thing as far as safety is concerned, proven fact.

I don't get the problem with the DRLs, so what if they are on, who cares? What does it cost you to have them on, the occasional bulb blowing a little quicker and costing you some pence, but in that one in a million event where you need to be seen to stop some muppet having a head on with you they could save your life.

J

I too thought this way until the muppet in the Transit van decided he would let me know my lights were on by swerving to my side of the road and driving at me with his lights on!! This sort of stupidity should be stamped out. I now turn mine off in the day (when I remember).

[ascott1]

Not sure about the years and years of research, but DRLs do work (for me).

About 15 years ago we took one of those overnight off-peak cruises to Bergen in Norway, where they give you a bus-tour round the district and the shops, before putting you back on the boat to Newcastle to eat and drink all the way home again.

The tour guide was quite convincing on the common-sense features of Scandinavian life - Bergen was just experimenting with a congestion charge then, with apparently good results; they built their wooden houses with the wood boards horizontal, so you only replace the bottom ones when they rot in the rain (unlike many wooden houses in the UK); and they were driving with their headlights on in daylight, with all makes of car. According to the guide, this was just the result of a brief experiment, in Sweden then Norway, which reduced road accidents so much in the first summer they tried it that they just continued it.

Of course, the Swedes and Norwegians have governments that tend to look after their citizens...

Originally Posted by T240

As I have stated elsewhere, they are an excellent safety feature...they are the result of years and years of research.

[dmct4]

I had a 99 T reg 2.0T(which was wrote off thanks to a drink driver)and i could switch them off as per instructions in the owners manual,got a 98 R reg T4 and couldnt switch them off.Went to the local volvo dealer and he informed me that you could only switch them on and off if it was registered in 1999 or after so any thing before that,they are on permanent.Good safety feature though!!Must admit,on my Phase II,i leave them on in the winter months and switch them off in the summer months.Saves any hassle!!

[inasnum]

I'm really not fussed I could live without them but I dont mind having them on they impact me in no significant way apart from I never have to switch my lights on and off!

I have one problem though, it seems I cant switch to 'full beam' without first switching to sidelights.... annoying! anyone else know what i'm talking about?

Originally Posted by 4 forty

a eu directive has been passed that from 2012, all brand new cars must be fitted with day running lights,volvo again, leading the field on safety.

paul

And here in norway, you can be fined if you dont drive with lights turned on, even during the day and it has been this way for at least 10-15 years now, so cars that are delivered with lights that goes on automatically is actually quite a good think for pre-senile people like me