An European Commission decision approved today makes Daytime Running Lights, or DRL, mandatory on all new types of passenger cars and small delivery vans. The mandatory Daytime Running Lights law will also cover trucks and buses from August 2012. The European Commission considers Daytime Running Lights, or DRL, to be special lamps which automatically switch on when the engine is started.
The DRLs are expected to increase road safety as they substantially increase the car's visibility for other road users. The DRLs will be preferred to existing 'dipped-beam' head lights because of their lower energy requirements. According to the EU, the Daytime Running Lights need just 25% - 30%of the consumption of a standard driving light.
When these DRLs are LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, the energy consumption is lowered by a further 10%.
In other words, all new cars sold in the EU will have daytime running lights, and most of those will be equipped with LEDs.
