Vehicle Lighting

Image from BBC/Getty

WHAT HAPPENED TO DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS on our automobiles? I estimate that 1/3 of the vehicles I encounter are dark during the day.

I’m acutely aware of this issue because I’ve developed wet AMD in my left eye, and it comes with consequences in driver safety - for all parties, I might add.

I have trouble spotting moving vehicles in the shade, in foggy weather, and at dusk on our two-lane highways in NW Michigan. Vehicles with daytime running lights are much easier to spot under these conditions. The issue is that simple.

I thought they were mandatory? I learned that GM tried to get NHTSA to mandate daytime running lights nationwide twenty-five years ago. The agency decided that available data did not justify a federal safety mandate. (Google AI).

Hello.

Discussions about running lights can really get me revved up, especially now that my vision issues have surfaced. Just ask my girlfriend. I’ll engage just about anyone at my watering holes if they give me a few minutes to talk about automotive daytime lighting. If given a little more time, I can move further into the broader automotive lighting issue where newer headlights, especially at night, produce near-blinding glare.

Good Lord!

Let's hope the officials who came up with that regulatory position are older and wiser and might still be around to do something for vehicle safety.

OK, I got that off my chest.

A time for action is in order.

Thank you.