Re: How to disable 2002 Sienna daytime running lights?

On Nov 21, 8:11 am, SMS <scharf.ste...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 11/21/2011 7:33 AM, Gary L. Burnore wrote:

Facts are they save lives.  It's why there's a law in most states that
motorcycles must have their headlights on at all times.  Just an extra
second can save a life.

That's the problem, there is no evidence that they save lives. While
they may reduce certain types of crashes, the side effects of poorly
designed DRLs cause other crashes. After thousands of complaints about
glare, the NHTSA has proposed that the European standard for DRL
brightness be adopted.

The worst thing about the implementation of DRLs is something I witness
on a frequent basis. Driving down the freeway, not only at night, but
often in fog or rain I'll make out the silhouette of a vehicle with no
tail lights on. Almost 100% of the time the vehicle will have their DRLs
on and the driver is blissfully unaware that they have only their
headlights on. The DRLs are bright enough that they mistakenly believe
that their lights are on. At least at night they used to have a clue
because their dash lights would not be on, yet that isn't even the case
any more with many of the LCD instrumentation systems.

It would be trivial for the automakers to include an automated system
that turned DRLs on in clear daylight, and turned on headlights and
taillights in darkness, fog, or rain, and that allowed DRLs to be
temporarily deactivated for the times they are inappropriate.


You raise some excellent points. I wonder how a fog or rain detector
would work, though? For rain, I guess... IF (windshield_wipers = ON
for > 1 minute) THEN activate_tail_lights() ?

Fog detector... hmm... I'm out of ideas. =)
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: DRLs again
    ... Because the guys with DRLs like to drive in the ... >>>rain and fog and dusk protected by their mighty DRLs while their rear end ...
    (rec.autos.tech)
  • Re: How to disable 2002 Sienna daytime running lights?
    ... While they may reduce certain types of crashes, the side effects of poorly designed DRLs cause other crashes. ... Driving down the freeway, not only at night, but often in fog or rain I'll make out the silhouette of a vehicle with no tail lights on. ... Almost 100% of the time the vehicle will have their DRLs on and the driver is blissfully unaware that they have only their headlights on. ... I once had a rental car in the early days of DRLs, and I drove the car during "light challenged periods" thinking the headlights were on. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: How to disable 2002 Sienna daytime running lights?
    ... While they may reduce certain types of crashes, the side effects of poorly designed DRLs cause other crashes. ... Driving down the freeway, not only at night, but often in fog or rain I'll make out the silhouette of a vehicle with no tail lights on. ... Almost 100% of the time the vehicle will have their DRLs on and the driver is blissfully unaware that they have only their headlights on. ... I once had a rental car in the early days of DRLs, and I drove the car during "light challenged periods" thinking the headlights were on. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: How to disable 2002 Sienna daytime running lights?
    ... While they may reduce certain types of crashes, the side effects of poorly designed DRLs cause other crashes. ... Driving down the freeway, not only at night, but often in fog or rain I'll make out the silhouette of a vehicle with no tail lights on. ... Almost 100% of the time the vehicle will have their DRLs on and the driver is blissfully unaware that they have only their headlights on. ... I once had a rental car in the early days of DRLs, and I drove the car during "light challenged periods" thinking the headlights were on. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: How to disable 2002 Sienna daytime running lights?
    ... motorcycles must have their headlights on at all times. ... designed DRLs cause other crashes. ... Almost 100% of the time the vehicle will have their DRLs ... that their lights are on. ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)