Do cars need to have their taillights on?

sevenhills

edde wrote: »

Evidence seems to show a drop in accident having all cars with them hence we all have to have them.

In 60% of accidents between motorcycles and other vehicles, a traffic scanning error was detected. Drivers failing to detect a motorcyclist at junctions, known as a ‘looked but failed to see’ accident is a particular concern, even for motorists with relatively high levels of driving experience.
I dont believe every vehicle having Daytime running lights will help this, I will search for evidence that says DRL reduce acidents.
Have you seen this evidence?
.

edde

oldagetraveller wrote: »

"The law dictates you have to have drl fitted since 2011."
Do you have any links to that law?
My March 2014 car certainly doesn't have nor has any requirement for daytime fairy lights.
It's passed two MoT tests without them or any reference to them not being fitted or indeed a requirement.

Your car has grandfathered rights ie cars made before that date don't have to abide by the law only newly made cars ie you can keep selling the model you have but the new face-lift of new model needs to abide.

AdrianC

oldagetraveller wrote: »

"The law dictates you have to have drl fitted since 2011."
Do you have any links to that law?
My March 2014 car certainly doesn't have nor has any requirement for daytime fairy lights.

Required on all new type-approvals from 2011. Cars type-approved before that date can continue in production.

d0nkeyk0ng

As pointed out, it's because of DRLs. I've seen early DRLs in the place of front foglights, and low beams as part of main lights. But now they're as bright as normal headlights, it's easy to forget to switch on normal headlights (which would light up tail lights). I think lights should remain in an automatic setting as people are clearly not aware of this problem.


Worse, I now see cars parked on unlit 40mph (or faster) roads at night with no parking or sidelights on.

sevenhills

There has been a study of the effect of DRL on motorcycle accidents in the USA and Canada; USA having compulsary DRL, the study found that due to new DLR rules, it made acidents involving motorcyclists more likely.

before the new rules, the motorcyclist were to only vehicle displaying DRL and could be seen, when DRL was mandatory for all vehicles, this advantage for motorcyclist was taken away.

edde

sevenhills wrote: »

In 60% of accidents between motorcycles and other vehicles, a traffic scanning error was detected. Drivers failing to detect a motorcyclist at junctions, known as a ‘looked but failed to see’ accident is a particular concern, even for motorists with relatively high levels of driving experience.
I dont believe every vehicle having Daytime running lights will help this, I will search for evidence that says DRL reduce acidents.
Have you seen this evidence?
.

I've seen some of it but as with all evidence it's difficult to prove it will work or is true when applied in a different situation.

System

flashg67 wrote: »

The problem for me is that DRL means the dash illumination is always on too, which in the past only used to happen when side/headlamps were on. I'm guilty of having driven for a short distance on occasion, in well-lit towns, with just my DRLs on

Dash illumination on my car is on as long as the ignition is turned on. My car pre-dates DRLs by 2 years.

Jackmydad

We probably need DRLs of different colours on every side of the car. Including the top where a big orange flashing light could be fitted.
A mandatory fluorescent paint job might help too.
. . . Or of course people could just turn their own lights on in bad visibility, and actually look around them properly while driving. (No hope at all of course!)

owen_money

The last two cars I've had the lights go on and off their own, you dont need to 'remember' to switch them on/off. Dont all new cars do this? Maybe the budget/cheap ones dont?

phill99

flashg67 wrote: »

The problem for me is that DRL means the dash illumination is always on too, which in the past only used to happen when side/headlamps were on. I'm guilty of having driven for a short distance on occasion, in well-lit towns, with just my DRLs on

No they aren't. My vehicle has DRLs but dash illumination only come so when headlamps/tail lights are turned by way of the switch.