Being Seen
Most organisations I work with have older /African spec vehicles that don’t have daytime running lights (DRL) fitted. Therefore, I recommend using dipped headlights as a proactive defensive driving technique.
It has been proven that DRL (including dipped headlights) help other road users to see you:
- From a distance
- In poor light during the day.
Resistance to Using Dipped Headlights
I generally get a lot of resistance to the suggestion because:
- Police tend to pull-over the vehicles believing it to illegal to use lights during the day.
- “Only emergency vehicles and VIP convoys should use lights during the day”.
- Some think the vehicle will use more fuel.
Contrary to popular believe in many parts of the world, using your headlights does not impact on your fuel consumption. Or flatten your battery. In fact, if you are concerned about saving fuel, slowing down a few kph will save more then turning off your daytime running lights.
References
- Personal experience.
- Review of Daytime Running Lights by Michael Paine.
- SWOV, Leidschendam
- Turn off daytime running lights, or reduce speed? Which saves more?