Hi,

i’ve seen a lot of newer cars were the owner decides to switch off the daytime running lights. I’ve heard that people wanted to move their S2000 to Canada, and the earlier models did not have them, so they had to add them somehow. Has anyone turned off their DRL‘s on an S2000? Could you please explain to me why you would get rid of this important safety feature?

 

I'm probably going to be flamed for saying this, but I think that only time that daytime running lights are any safety enhancement at all is if you're driving on a two lane road, they could make oncoming cars a little more visible and make passing safer. Having driven cars for longer than I care to admit, I have not once ever had an accident or a near-accident where the absence of drl's was a factor. I have one car that has them, and if they burn out I will not have them replaced. And it's truly pleasant to be driving my S2000 in front of someone in either a pickup truck or SUV who insists on driving with their headlights on in the middle of the day in sunny weather. After all, who minds being unnecessarily blinded in all 3 mirrors?

 

If you have them and want to turn them off there will be a relay and a fuse, just deactivate one of them. They work by powering the high beam lights at 1/2 power, so if the bulbs burn out you lose your high beams, it is better to keep the high beams and just deactivate the DRL circuit.

I had a US S2000 that I drove in Canada, I can tell you that if you have a small low sports car with no DRL in Canada you become blind to many drivers as they just don't see you, you disappear among a sea of DRL vehicles here. My US car did not have DRLs and I was getting cut off all the time, I had people pulling out in front of me all the time too. I created a custom set of DRLs which I installed shortly after getting my car and I am positive that the number of accident causing events dropped dramatically for me. Basically, if you have a non-DRL car in an area that doesn't have large numbers of DRL vehicles then there isn't much benefit to them, but if you have a non-DRL car in an area that is predominantly DRL then the risk increases for you. I kind of feel sorry for motorcycles, they used to stick out like sore thumbs before DRLs, now they just blend in and I suspect they have more of a chance of being in accidents since cars started using them.

Please note everything mentioned above is pure conjecture, with some hyperbole, and with no scientific basis to back up my findings. Everyone should do what they feel works best for themselves.

 

Interesting. I remember when they first started making them a guy was walking under a shadow from a mountain and he said can you see me? Then he pulled out a light bar and said “now I’m a car!” Often find it so much easier to see them at dusk or when it’s raining or other low light conditions when they don’t have the lights on. I think it’s a safety issue but I don’t know why people would disconnect something if it doesn’t hurt anything? The new ones are LEDs and should outlast the car. Why would someone go out of their way to defeat them?

I recall when the third brake lights first came out people hated them, but they had done a study in taxi cabs with them in New York and they got in less accidents and when there was an accident there was less damage with the third tail light. Now they’re normal and people even put flasher units on them! Why would you turn this off? I think it’s the same thing.

 

I installed custom LED lights on my AP2, where the "dummy" air-scoops are and wired them to the ignition. I also installed a flashing module for the 3rd brake light. Maybe it's just the pilot in me, but I preferred the "see" and "be seen" idea.

 

Read a lengthy study/article by an ophthalmologist researcher. Pretty in depth and detailed but it was explained how the human brain processes so much visual information especially at speed, which we were not "designed" for. We only "see" or are aware of a very small slice of the visual field that is out there that our brain has to process and give you only what is important. (This is why alcohol even in small amounts can be so bad) You have heard the phrases "He came out of nowhere" or "Never saw him". We are drawn to brighter objects so DRLs can help to a degree. Someone making a turn on a highway from a T might see the car with DRLs and not turn into him etc. Someone else will "see" the DRL in the side mirror and not suddenly change lanes.

The big deal is for motorcycles and cyclists not being seen by drivers. The key is to break up the visual pattern so as to make the "brain" take special notice. That can be accomplished by a CHANGING flashing light in random fashion. (fast strobe followed by slow flash, quick flash, then alternating flash) You are seeing more cyclists with those kinds of white and red flashing lights, not just the standard flash that doesn't change.

 

Do turn them off the only way is to pull the fuse. You will have a DRL warning on your dash once you do so.

 

You live somewhere sunny. Not everyone else does. Canada requires DRL's because of their insurance laws and their climate.

Why are you being blinded by headlights that are on when its sunny? The sun is out...how could headlights possibly blind you?

Also, by your own admission, even in broad sunny daylight, a truck with headlights on is more noticeable.

You've also absolutely seen situations where DRL's protect from a potential accident. A few examples...

DRL's work when its cloudy. It just makes the car more apparent and visible. Human eyes will notice light even if they're not directly focused on it. For example... I could sneak up on you and then shine a light in your peripheral spots to get your attention.

What if you start your drive when its sunny...but then go into a tunnel? Or it gradually gets overcast? Guess what's already on. Some lights.

What if the driver forgets to turn on their lights at night? A lot of people do this. Would you rather:

• See them and avoid an accident because of a simple, totally unintrusive automatic feature?
• Or get into an accident with them just to be able to tell each other how little you've needed to rely on this feature in the past?

What about when YOU forget to turn on your lights? Rather:

• Avoid the accident
• Tell each other stories about how only dummies forget their lights

Of course...this isn't me trying to tell you what to do. I'm just pointing out some simple logic. I'm barely literate. Think of how many reasons there are FOR having DRL's.

Now compare them to the reasons why NOT to have them.


As far as you opting not to replace a burned out DRL...
there will be a warning on your dash
The DRL bulb is the same as the one for brights. So...that bright won't work.

Added bonus to DRL...the dash tells you that your brights have a malfunction. It lets you know this before you unwittedly get caught on a dark country road.

 

My only complaint with DRLs are ones that just run the headlights at normal brightness. And the only reason is that you see people all the time driving at night with no tail lights on because they can see (from the full brightness DRLs) and apparently do not notice their dash is F***ING DARK. Again, pretty unobservant of them, but I see it a lot. Our 3rd gen 4runner just has full time headlights. They are always on, so you can make this mistake ... again only if you cant tell that your dash is completely dark unless you turn on the headlights.

I love the ones on our Tacoma. They are actually the parking lights, but they are a very bright orange. I have noticed when passing other ones on the road, you can see those things for a LONG ways even in full daylight. Anything that helps others see you coming better is good in my book. No reason to go out of your way to turn them off. The Tacomas are switchable but I just leave it on DRL mode all the time unless it is night, then switch on the headlights.

 

You have an automatic headlight setting then? This can get you in some trouble if the valet turns them off and you assume they're still working.

S2000 DRL's are totally passive/undefeatable.

But I agree on the struggle of ppl driving around with headlights but no tail lights. Maybe the DRL is causing the issue because they see their headlights and assume everything is OK.