To increase road safety, the European Commission has decided to introduce dedicated Daytime Running Light (DRL) on all new types of motor vehicles from February 2011 onwards.
Dedicated Daytime Running Lights are special lamps which are automatically switched on when the engine is started. They substantially increase the visibility of motor vehicles to other road users, and have a low energy consumption compared to existing dipped-beam head lamps. Countries that have already adopted DRL report positive safety effects.
According to available research, Daytime Running Light (DRL) is important for road safety. All road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, can detect, recognize and identify vehicles equipped with DRL, better and earlier.
The introduction of dedicated DRL became mandatory from 7 February 2011 onwards on all new types of passenger cars and small delivery vans. Trucks and buses will follow 18 months later (August 2012).
On vehicles equipped with Daytime Running Light, this light is automatically switched on when the engine is started. When it is dark the driver has to switch on the driving lights manually. In this case the DRL goes off automatically.
From an environmental point of view, the European Commission reports that dedicated daytime running light is an effective solution to improve visibility and conspicuity of vehicles. As the technology is especially designed to be used during daytime it is much more effective and efficient than existing lighting devices. The energy consumption is approximately only 25 – 30 % of the energy consumption of the normal driving light. When using LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology for dedicated DRL, the energy consumption is reduced to only 10%.
