OT: Car Daytime Running Light Switch

[FromTheRafters]

Greater than zero. You don't get something for nothing.

About an estimated two million gallons of gas per year in the USA. Not much, but not zero either.

[Doug Miller]

FromTheRafters wrote in news:nr51go$c27$1 @news.albasani.net:

Even assuming this is true... two million gallons of gas, divided by two hundred fifteen million licensed drivers, equals a whopping SEVEN TEASPOONS of gasoline per driver per year.

Don't you have anything more important to worry about? Sheesh. Get a grip.

[FromTheRafters]

Doug Miller was thinking very hard :

Did I say that I was puzzled?

They neglected to include taillights in the DRL because the energy hit wasn't thought to be offset by the safety increase.

and then there's this:

[FromTheRafters]

Doug Miller has brought this to us :

It's even less per day, or per minute. What's your point? Do you think it becomes negative if you go with smaller and smaller intervals?

I'm not the one making a big deal out of it, you are.

[Jack]

While texting, it's usually the sound of a horn from the oncoming car that gets my attention.

[Doug Miller]

FromTheRafters wrote in news:nr56d2$jpf$1 @news.albasani.net:

No, of course not. The point -- obviously so, except, apparently, to you -- is that the amount wasted is completely insignificant.

No, actually, you *are* the one making a big deal out of it. Nobody except you cares about the waste of this trifling amount. DRLs are proven to improve safety. The cost is 7 teaspoons of gasoline per driver per year. You apparently think that's a big deal. You need to get a grip.

[Doug Miller]

FromTheRafters wrote in news:nr55rl$iua$ [e-mail]:

You didn't have to say so. It was self-evident.

[Neill Massello]

It also makes it easier to determine direction at a distance. This helps on two-lane highways to see that a car ahead in your lane is passing oncoming vehicles and coming towards you.

[FromTheRafters]

Doug Miller submitted this idea :

They apparently cared enough about the trifling amount to not want taillights to be included in the DRL scenario. Why not, if it is so trifling an amount? Have you even read anything other than blogs about this subject?

[FromTheRafters]

Doug Miller submitted this idea :

[DerbyDad03]

There's a big difference between other drivers *needing* headlights to be on in the daytime to see the truck/car coming towards them and something that makes the vehicle *easier* to see. *Easier* is what Doug wrote.

[clare]

And time to tune up the Diesel - since he can't read at the current state of tune.

[DerbyDad03]

I think his glow plugs may not be as bright as they used to be. ;-)

[FromTheRafters]

It happens that FromTheRafters formulated :

I find it completely unsurprising that in the intervening years of handshaking, backslapping, and palm greasing that a study can be found which gives the desired results. I went looking and so far found only this:

[Diesel]

The analysis evaluates the effects of daytime running lights (DRLs) against three types of target crashes: (1) two-passenger- vehicle crashes excluding rear-end crashes, (2) single-passenger- vehicle to pedestrians/cyclists crashes, and (3) single- passenger-vehicle to motorcycle crashes. Each crash type was examined at three crash severity levels ? fatal, injury, and all severity. The basic approach is a control-comparison analysis of real-world crash involvements for DRL-equipped vehicles and non-DRL vehicles. Ratio of odds ratios were used to derive the DRL effects. A 95-percent confidence interval was used to infer statistically significant conclusions. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the State Data System were the crash data sources used for this analysis.

The analysis found that DRLs have no statistically significant overall effects on the three target crashes. When combining these three target crashes into one target crash, the DRL effects were also not statistically significant. When examined separately for passenger cars and light trucks/vans (LTVs), DRLs in LTVs significantly reduced LTVs? involvements in the target two-vehicle crashes by 5.7 percent. However, the remaining DRL effects on these three target crashes were not statistically significant. Although not statistically significant, DRLs might have unintended consequences for pedestrians and motorcyclists. Particularly, the estimated negative effects for LTVs were relatively large and cannot be completely ignored.

1. Key Words

ROFL. I figured you'd quote a reputable source soon enough. [g]

[Diesel]

Oh, my plugs are fine, thanks.

However, DRLs seemed to have a negative impact on single- vehicle injury and all crashes involving pedestrians and pedalcyclists.

LOL.

[Diesel]

That would make more sense if the DRL actually came 'online' during such events, but, they don't. They tend to run while the car is, during the daytime, bright sunshine days.. no less, until it's dark enough (or the car thinks it is) that it switches DRL off for normal headlight operation. During the bright sunshine day though, you're wasting atleast 6volts of juice per light with little gain and putting unnecessary wear and tear on the filaments in your bulbs as you do so. Lower voltage doesn't mean the filaments lifetime isn't being reduced. It's glowing, it's being reduced.

If the car was actually smarter than it's driver, it wouldn't let dumbass driver run with brightlights on as an oncoming car/truck approaches. It would turn them off for the dumbass driver. I don't know of any particular ones that do, presently.

DRL doesn't help pedestrians or cyclists though. Seems it has a negative affect on those. At the end of the day, you can't fix stupid.

I realize this newsgroup has some interesting characters who don't like outsiders upsetting the good buddy system. ROFL, my bad.

[Diesel]

Oh, I read just fine. DRL isn't 'optional' (hence my comment, needing) on cars that have it, afaik. It's illegal in some places to disable it if your car came with it, infact. And, according to atleast one nhtsa report, it doesn't increase safety. It can, oth, result in a crash that might not have happened had they not been on. IE: it doesn't make the oncoming car easier to see.

check it out for yourself:

[Diesel]

Except that it doesn't always make the oncoming vehicle easier to see. In fact, it might 'hide' one as another poster previously indicated.

The analysis evaluates the effects of daytime running lights (DRLs) against three types of target crashes: (1) two-passenger- vehicle crashes excluding rear-end crashes, (2) single-passenger- vehicle to pedestrians/cyclists crashes, and (3) single- passenger-vehicle to motorcycle crashes. Each crash type was examined at three crash severity levels ? fatal, injury, and all severity. The basic approach is a control-comparison analysis of real-world crash involvements for DRL-equipped vehicles and non-DRL vehicles. Ratio of odds ratios were used to derive the DRL effects. A 95-percent confidence interval was used to infer statistically significant conclusions. The Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the State Data System were the crash data sources used for this analysis.

The analysis found that DRLs have no statistically significant overall effects on the three target crashes. When combining these three target crashes into one target crash, the DRL effects were also not statistically significant. When examined separately for passenger cars and light trucks/vans (LTVs), DRLs in LTVs significantly reduced LTVs? involvements in the target two-vehicle crashes by 5.7 percent. However, the remaining DRL effects on these three target crashes were not statistically significant. Although not statistically significant, DRLs might have unintended consequences for pedestrians and motorcyclists. Particularly, the estimated negative effects for LTVs were relatively large and cannot be completely ignored.

For PCs and LTVs combined, DRLs seemed to have no effect on Single-PV-to- PED/CYC fatal crashes. However, DRLs seemed to have a negative impact on single- vehicle injury and all crashes involving pedestrians and pedalcyclists.

Give yourself a 'tune up' before you concern yourself with my operational state, thanks.

[FromTheRafters]

Diesel pretended :

Perhaps if he had been better acquainted with the facts, this wouldn't have puzzled him so much.