Daytime Running Lights are usually referred to by the acronym DRLs.
DRLs produce less headlights. I believe that they were designed that way to reduce the glare generated by the lights, as suggested by recalls to fix DRL systems that put out too much light. So, vehicles equipped with DRLs had to have another scheme besides turning on headlights.
DRLs turn on the High Beams half way. The recall fixed some that turnd the high beams on all of the way. My question is, what's wrong with turning the low beams on?
My daughter's Tacoma, 2002, hasn't got DRLs, but it does turn the headlights off automatically when the engine is off and the door is opened, so she turned the headlights on and never turns them off. The low beams are on every time she drives her truck. This seems to me to be a good feature, and one that provides the safety that DRLs are meant to provide. And the lights turn off automatically when she parks, so a dead battery will never happen because the lights were left on.
Some DRLs use what appear to be bright running lights. The DRLs in my car uses a separate dedicated DRL bulb instead of having the HID's half way.
My question is, what's wrong with turning the
Good question! One reason is that a high beam headlamp operating at reduced intensity will last longer than a lower wattage bulb operating at full intensity. I'd also guess that the permissible light output for DRL's is lower than low beam headlights, but then, why not dim the low beams?
Gord Beaman wrote: || "Liberal|sarl|airs|" ||
How's this for dumbing down: Street signs placed right above stop lights at an intersection. Try reading them at night.
Tercel Owner
Why would others be annoyed by them? I don't even notice them on other cars in the day time. They seem dimmer than headlights, so they are less obnoxious in the night time (in the cases where some driver forgets to turn on his/her real headlights). I don't personally find them annoying on other cars, and they sure as heck make cars easier to see.
Tercel Owner
It's the only way to ensure the world is peopled and lead by those can know when it is time to drink, time to drive, and time to chew the pretzel before swallowing.
Wow! This simple question has started one fast growing thread. Name calling, cat fights, and option bashing. Gotta love this NG. :-P
later,
tom
Topics guaranteed to generate lots of posts in any auto newsgroup:
Ed
What's so different between this thread and any other one? Oh, I know, it was ON topic.
Really! I'll have to pay more attention. I thought that all DRLs were the high beams on half power.
DRLs have "permissible" limits? I am not sure that is true because they - whom ever "they" are - have been telling us for years that it is best to drive with the headlamps on even in day light hours. Well, one can't drive around in daytime with the high beams on full blast, so the DRLs have a spec that limits them to half blast or whatever they are lit to. But there is no reason to not use the low beams in daytime, with the possible exception of lamp life.
In many parts of California, they have been running tests for well over a decade to guage if daytime use of headlamps on two-lane roads cut the number of collisions. The idea being that a dark spot down the road is difficult to judge as a car going in the same direction, or one that is coming at you. The headlamps give a clue to this vital bit of information. And, there is no rule that says one can not simply turn the headlamps on when the sun is shining. The trouble is that we often forget to turn them off again.
Corvettes and Trans Ams with concealed headlamps use what appear to be bright running lights so that they don't have to run around with the headlamps in the exposed position.
The GX 430 uses what looks like running lights.
Think of DRLs as one more type of light source in addition to the low beam, high beam, turn signals, running lights, fog lights, etc. I'm pretty sure that DRLs have a lower permitted maximm light output than low beam headlights (i.e. candela @ x distance from light source), with the intent of reducing daytime glare.
Wearing my old factory hat, I can assure you that all of the manufacturers would not go through the trouble of adding dedicated DRL relays, etc. if all they had to do was eliminate the off position on the headlight switch.
I remember taking a highway from where I lived in Benicia CA to Sears Point Raceway (different name now) (Hwy 37?) that had signs asking drives to put on headlights for a safety study because it was a long straight stretch through the middle of nowhere.
I think there was another similar "study" in Rhode Island.
Are those studies still ongoing?
What's worse is the fact that we're all forced to pay for airbags, which aren't needed if you're wearing a belt. They even hurt people who otherwise would not be!
"Jeff Strickland" wrote: (I hope I attributed this right?)
No, a lot put the lows on full (and if the lows don't glare AT NIGHT then why should they GLARE in daylight?...hummm?...
Good points all...
That's what has me baffled. Why not just turn the low beams on whenever the engine is running and be done with it? I'm sure the factory dudes would prefer to just turn the low beams on instead of the whole thing they have to do with DTRs, so they must be complying with a SGR (Stupid Government Rule) that makes no sense, like many government rules.
One has to remember that DTRs are not there for the benefit of the driver of the car that has them. DTRs are there for the benefit of everybody else. When sitting behind the DTRs, you can't really tell that they are on unless it's dark out and they are the only thing on. The benefit of DTRs is that the other cars on the street can tell if you are coming or going.
I once owned a Yamaha motorcycle that could not turn the headlamp off. If the motor was running, the light was on. My choice was high or low beam but it was always on. I understand that bikes are different than cars, but running a light or two isn't rocket science.
They are still going on here (So. Calif.)
snip
Yes...the 04 Toyota Sienna (my son's) headlight's come on at engine start and go out after so many seconds after the ignition goes off so he just leaves the headlight switch on all the time (low beams), This has the advantage of also putting the rear lights on too. Good idea IMO.
My 89 Cressida works the same way excepting the headlights go off when I open the drivers door, not after a certain period of time. I never bother to turn off the lights for that very reason.
snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com wrote: || Perhaps you should research the US Congressional Record about how || DRLs can KILL you, particularly at dusk and dawn or if you drive || a motorcycle. The conclusions of the US Senate, based on reports || from the Engineering departments of several universities on their || rejection of making DRLs required standard equipment in the US, || was that the dangers created by DRLs outweigh any advantage the || may produce. If one needs his vehicle to more visible during || daylight hours they can simply turn on their headlamps to safely || and properly illuminate their vehicle to others. || || Personally I believe the dangerous disadvantages of DRLs could be || overcome if they simply went with full headlamps but others say || that dilutes the effectiveness of motorcycle headlamps. Perhaps || if they used a distinct color, something like green, in the front || that would distinguish DRLs from headlamps || || || || mike hunt
Agreed. Dispense with DRL's and simply have the HEADLIGHTS on all the time WHEN the vehicle is in motion.
|| || || || Tercel Owner wrote: ||| ||| badgolferman wrote: ||| |||| Is there a simple way of disabling the daytime driving lights of a |||| 2000 Sienna? I'm hoping a fuse or relay would be all needed. Of |||| course I want the rest of the headlight system to work. |||| |||| I know these are supposed to contribute to safety, but I find them |||| annoying. Besides, it seems many newer cars don't even have them |||| anymore. ||| ||| ??? ||| ||| Isn't it the very old cars that don't have'em? ||| ||| Just curious, how can DRL annoy the driver? They are visible to ||| drivers of /other/ vehicles. ||| ||| Tercel Owner
Tercel Owner wrote: || Garys2 wrote: || ||| snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com wrote: |||| Perhaps you should research the US Congressional Record about how |||| DRLs can KILL you, particularly at dusk and dawn or if you drive |||| a motorcycle. ||| ||| Interesting enough, the US military did somd experiments using ||| lights as a form of camoflage during the day. I forget the ||| details, but bright lights, even during the day can hide the ||| objects that are behind them. That's why some police officers turn ||| on their headlights and take down lights when they do traffic stops ||| during the day. Something about the way the brain processes bright ||| lights. || || How's this for dumbing down: Street signs placed right above stop || lights at an intersection. Try reading them at night. || || Tercel Owner
Good point.
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