Now Europe wants us to keep headlights on ALL day – inflating fuel costs by up to £160 a year

Ray Massey
Daily Mail
Thursday, Sept 25, 2008

Drivers face paying up to £160 a year more for fuel because of an EU directive forcing them to keep their headlamps on all day.

The European Commission wants all new passenger cars and vans to have lights that stay on while the engine is running.

It is estimated that this will increase fuel consumption by around 5 per cent.

(Article continues below)

The directive, which is being sent to the European Parliament for final approval, would come into force in February 2011.

Truck and bus manufacturers would have an extra 18 months to meet the new specifications.

Timothy Kirkhope, Tory transport spokesman in the European Parliament, said daylight running could make roads more dangerous.

‘If all cars have lights on, there is a concern that drivers start looking out for lights, rather than pedestrians or cyclists,’ he said.

‘At a time when we are pushing for reductions in the use of fuel and resultant emissions, we must be certain we are not causing extra carbon emissions without an additional benefit.’

Full article here

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23 Responses to “Now Europe wants us to keep headlights on ALL day – inflating fuel costs by up to £160 a year”

RayB Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Ask yourself this: Will it cost you more if you have a head on accident? Maybe they could reduce the inssurance premium for people with DRL.

Also read this:

Daytime running lights (DRLs) are a crash avoidance feature new to vehicles sold in America, but they’ve been used for years in Canada and Scandinavia. DRLs help prevent crashes by making vehicles more conspicuous. U.S. law now permits but does not require DRLs, which turn on automatically when the ignition is started and are overridden when regular headlights are activated. DRLs typically are high-beam headlamps at reduced intensity or low-beam headlamps at full or reduced power. Tail lamps and/or turn signals also may be lit. In some vehicles, turn signals alone function as DRLs, especially when the headlamps are hidden.

1. What are the safety advantages of DRLs?
2. How effective are DRLs?
3. Where are DRLs required?
4. Are DRLs available on vehicles in the United States?
5. Why has it taken so long to introduce DRLs in the United States?
6. Will DRLs be effective in the United States?
7. Will DRLs shorten headlamp bulb life or lower fuel economy?
8. Will motorists be bothered by glare?
9. Are motorcycles required to have DRLs?

1. What are the safety advantages of DRLs? Daytime running lights are a low-cost method to reduce crashes. They are especially effective in preventing daytime head-on and front-corner collisions by increasing vehicle conspicuity and making it easier to detect approaching vehicles from farther away.

2. How effective are DRLs? Nearly all published reports indicate DRLs reduce multiple-vehicle daytime crashes. Evidence about DRL effects on crashes comes from studies conducted in Scandinavia, Canada, and the United States. A study examining the effect of Norway’s DRL law from 1980 to 1990, found a 10 percent decline in daytime multiple-vehicle crashes. A Danish study reported a 7 percent reduction in DRL-relevant crashes in the first 15 months after DRL use was required and a 37 percent decline in left-turn crashes. In a second study covering two years and 9 months of Denmark’s law, there was a 6 percent reduction in daytime multiple- vehicle crashes and a 34 percent reduction in left-turn crashes. A 1994 Transport Canada study comparing 1990 model year vehicles with DRLs to 1989 vehicles without them, found that DRLs reduced relevant daytime multiple-vehicle crashes by 11 percent.

In the United States, a 1985 Institute study determined that commercial fleet passenger vehicles modified to operate with DRLs were involved in 7 percent fewer daytime multiple-vehicle crashes than similar vehicles without DRLs. A small-scale fleet study conducted in the 1960s found an 18 percent lower daytime multiple-vehicle crash rate for DRL-equipped vehicles. Multiple-vehicle daytime crashes account for about half of all police-reported crashes in the United States.

3. Where are DRLs required? Laws in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden require vehicles to operate with lights on during the daytime. There are two types of laws. Canada’s requires vehicles to be equipped with DRLs. The other type of law in effect in Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden requires motorists to turn on their headlights if their vehicles do not have automatic DRLs. This kind of law applies to drivers only, and vehicles do not have to be specially equipped. In 1972, Finland mandated daytime running lights in winter on rural roads and a decade later made DRLs mandatory year-round. Sweden’s law took effect in 1977, Norway’s in 1986, Iceland’s in 1988, and Denmark’s in 1990. Hungary has required drivers on rural roads to operate with vehicle lights on since 1993. Canada requires DRLs for vehicles made after December 1, 1989. No U.S. state mandates DRLs, although some require drivers to operate vehicles with lights on in bad weather.

4. Are DRLs available on vehicles in the United States? Offered on a handful of 1995 domestic and foreign model passenger cars, pickups, and sport utility vehicles, daytime running lights are becoming a more common feature. They’re standard on all 1999 GM, Lexus, Saab, Suzuki, Volkswagen, and Volvo models, as well as the Toyota Avalon, Camry Solara, Corolla, and Sienna. They are optional on the Toyota Camry and Tacoma and on some BMWs. GM offers retrofit DRL kits for vehicles that don’t already have DRLs. The kits can be used on non-GM models, as well.

5. Why has it taken so long to introduce DRLs in the United States? Some state lighting laws inadvertently prohibited DRLs until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) agreed to permit automakers to offer them on vehicles sold in all 50 states. This action, which preempted the state laws, followed a petition filed by General Motors. The Institute had filed a similar petition based on studies showing that DRLs are an inexpensive way to reduce daytime collisions between vehicles. After initially granting this petition, NHTSA terminated rulemaking in 1988, saying that the matter wasn’t clearly a national safety issue and that auto manufacturers “tended to oppose, rather than support, the proposal.” NHTSA then changed course again, approving DRLs in 1993.

6. Will DRLs be effective in the United States? Countries where DRLs are required generally have lower levels of ambient light during winter and longer periods of dusk and dawn than the United States. Although studies have indicated that DRLs have reduced crashes in North America and Scandinavia, the impact they will have on U.S. crashes has not been fully determined since DRLs have been used only on a limited basis here. Positive effects found in Canada’s evaluation of DRLs are important because most of Canada’s population is at a lower latitude than Scandinavia. Also, American DRLs are brighter than European DRLs. This should increase visual contrast between vehicles and their backgrounds despite brighter daylight conditions.

7. Will DRLs shorten headlamp bulb life or lower fuel economy? Running vehicle lights in the daytime does not significantly shorten bulb life. Systems like those on General Motors cars that use high beams are designed to operate at half their normal power during daylight hours, thereby conserving energy and reducing the effect on a vehicle’s fuel economy. NHTSA estimates that only a fraction of a mile per gallon will be lost, depending on the type of system used. General Motors estimates the cost to be about $3 per year for the average driver. Transport Canada estimates the extra annual fuel and bulb replacement costs to be $3-15 for systems using reduced-intensity headlights or other low-intensity lights and more than $40 a year for DRL systems using regular low-beam headlights.

8. Will motorists be bothered by glare? In most countries mandating DRLs, glare has not been an issue. However, some motorists in the United States have complained that the systems here are too bright. In response to these complaints, NHTSA has proposed reducing the maximum allowable light intensity from 7,000 to 1,500 candela, a value more in line with European DRLs.

9. Are motorcycles required to have DRLs? Federal law does not require motorcycles to have DRLs, although all manufacturers voluntarily equip their cycles with such lights. Some states including California require the lights, and 22 states require motorcyclists to ride with their headlights on at all hours.
rich Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 9:47 am
maybe the lights should stay on all day in the House of Commons so the cockroaches won’t come out and legislat any more big bro stupid laws !!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm_xX1Ur43I
AndreaL Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 10:01 am
As always we have to ask who benefits from such a stupid idea? I was in conversation with a friend the othe week who was telling me about a roundabout that had just been re-vamped, The roundabout worked quite well before the re-vamp, but now the lanes leading up to the offending item have been arranged such as to create more standing traffic in one lane, which just happens to be the lane that deals with the most traffic flow. So when i asked her to think about who benefits from the new lay out, she could’nt put her finger on it, so i explained to her that the Government and ultimatly the fuel companys benefit, she still didn’t get, so i then explained to her that while everybody is sat in the traffic they are using more fuel, more fuel used the more tax the scum rape out of us……her jaw dropped and now she understands. Same trick as major road works, they always seem to pop up at the busy times like bank holidays etc.
This is no differant, the more ancilaris you have working on your engine, the harder your engine will have to work to provide the power to run the alternator, power steering, a/c and so on.
Just like the roundabout isn’t about traffic flow, having your lights on all the time whilst driving isn’t about safty!
It’s about raping your finances.
RayB Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Daytime running lighs have been proven to reduce accidents… way before this envirofacist movement started.

Motor cars are no longer purely mechanical machines. Electronic equipment accounts for 30% of the value for some luxury cars. If fact a top of the range car has more electronic computing power on-board than that of a 1982 Airbus A310 commercial aircraft. Most modern cars have more computing power on-board than that of the Apollo spacecraft which put the first men on the moon.

Get rid of your voice activated phone, your entertainment system and your GPS and that will pay for the fuel used to keep you from having a head on accident.
1984 Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I believe this has been the law in Sweden for a very long time.
Jeb Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Who Gives a Shit. We have bigger problems.
Mister Jimmy Says:
September 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I don’t know if it is the law in France, but most drivers keep their lights on all day as a matter of habit (could be mandated in some or all areas.) I never got into the routine and they’ll honk their horns at you if they see you with your lights off and some pedestrians will wave and scold. I could never pick up on the idea and got lots and lots of honks, stares and gestures driving around over there. However the cops never stopped me.
graham Says:
September 26th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
DRLs work, they really do reduce accidents and improve awareness, it ain’t a commie plot, it’s not mind control, it’s just plain common sense.
It approximates to about a dime a day for the standard low beam system, I’d say that was reasonable; the stated amount of increase in fuel of 5% is off by a magnitude close to 10 times too high. The £160.00 a year figure quoted in the article is complete and utter bullshit and is the result of some graduate of the new school system… has a calculator but does not know how to use it.
I’ve been using DRLs since the late ’70’s, and had many conversations explaining the “why” of it to the many who pointed out that I had my lights on.
Aina Says:
September 26th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Funny thing about this is, that austria four years ago, made light by day a law. This january they dumped this law again, because it showed no effect and didn´t reduce accidents.
Now the Foolishness starts again.
Lorenzo Thomas Says:
September 27th, 2008 at 10:16 am
They want a fascist planet with the superwealthy ruling it all
Since we’re too independent, America must be led to fall
When our credit’s been exhausted to subdue the Middle East,
They’ll install our debtor nation in the body of The Beast
Traitor…Dare call it treason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw5dP5gy2Vs
The NATURAL Says:
September 27th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
We’ve had this law for many years here in Norway. It is actually easier to see other cars even in sunshine. But there might be other disadvantages about it I suppose.
wtf? Says:
September 27th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
RayB… last time i checked cell phones, GPS, and entertainment systems are not run with petrol. How exactly would getting rid of these items save fuel cost? DRLs have been proven to lower accident rates? try not to spew false % figures and non-fact as fact. you sound alot like a MCsame follower. lets take all these green people and plant em in the ground… maby then they can fullfill their becoming green fantasy. global warming is bullshit, bank crisis is bullshit, 9-11 and terrorism is bullshit…. take that silver spoon out of your mouth and stop beleiving every bullshit thing they feed you as factual. america is the terrorist and the american people have no say over its actions anymore… were just doing our job… oh shit wait there arnt any fecking jobs left except goverment controlled. reinstate the family unit, kick goverment to the curb and lets rework the barter system until we can figure out a fool-proof (evil-proof)plan for money. Death to the NWO and all who serve it!
thehedshrinker Says:
September 28th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
what a waste of time
i’m sure the ilights might make cars easeir to see on the odd occassion and reduce blind spots sometimes but come on – cars a pretty easy to see – much easier than pedestrians – are we going to make pedestrians where head lamps at all times so they can be seen easier by cars – what a useless time wasting debate
George Says:
September 28th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Hypocrisy.
No, the debate is the farcical AGW hoax is due to ‘carbon emissions’, yet they want you to emit more carbon, for no gain.

In the winter, in Finland, near the arctic circle then DRLs are effective. (hey Alaska is also 60-70 north latitude)
For the continental 48 states, they are worthless.

http://www.lightsout.org/
asdf Says:
September 29th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Just government seeing how tolerant the public is to ludicrous ideas.
wildcat Says:
September 29th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
In Canada, cars are required to keep their headlights on all day. The most noticable difference is that from up to a quarter a mile away, you can tell the difference between a car that is parked and stationary, and a car that has an idling engine or is moving towards or away from you. There is also the advantage that you can tell when a car is nearby in intermittent daytime fog. The theory is that requiring headlights to remain on will prevent accidents where someone steps out of a stationary car, or when cars speed through creeping fog (found next to valley rivers).
Joe Says:
September 30th, 2008 at 1:02 am
The lightbulb lobby works very well cause this is good news for lightbulb manufacturors.
Just like in the EU the ordinary lightbulb will be banned in favor for these energy saving lightbulbs. The ordinary lightbulb amounts to only two percent of electricity consumption but still the need to be replaced by the energy efficient ones that consume less and last longer.
But these new lambs are made up of chemicals and to produce them requires chemical processes and when the lamb has died it is a chemical waste product…..
Lorenzo Thomas Says:
September 30th, 2008 at 7:08 am
They want a fascist planet with the superwealthy ruling it all
Since we’re too independent, America must be led to fall
When our credit’s been exhausted to subdue the Middle East,
They’ll install our debtor nation in the body of The Beast

Traitor…Dare call it treason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw5dP5gy2Vs
warlopo Says:
September 30th, 2008 at 10:13 am
fuck it, and keep them off..fuckem…
….
..
.
if its stupid its really redundent.
rich Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:02 am
youall need to aim the headlights on the house of commons and watch the cockroaches scatter !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf6xadMwGz0
Reginald Williams Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
“They want a fascist planet with the superwealthy ruling it all
Since we’re too independent, America must be led to fall
When our credit’s been exhausted to subdue the Middle East,
They’ll install our debtor nation in the body of The Beast
Traitor…Dare call it treason”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw5dP5gy2Vs

–The Cornbread Mafia
truthseeker Says:
February 5th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Ridiculous. Gasoline doesn’t power headlamps. Duh! The writer doesn’t understand what the alternator does, which runs the electrical system while the car is running. Gasoline powers the engine which turns the belt to run the alternator, which runs no more or no less with lights on or off, radio on or off etc.
Sigvaldr Says:
February 6th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Amen, Truthseeker – what a crock of crap, “Oh! my headlights are on – there goes my gas mileage!” But look at how few on here even questioned the fact. Reminds me of a tenant whose sewer pipe had frozen up one winter and the water backed up in her bathtub. “Is my water safe to drink?” I assured her as long as she didn’t drink from the toilet or tub, she would be fine. And my current tenant actually asked me one day if my goldfish pond’s pump affected his water pressure. How about this people? If you drive at night and keep your lights off, you’ll improve your gas mileage…