FOR RELEASE: November, 1996 CONTACT: Kyle Johnson Phone: 313-974-1369
United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a top-rated insurance firm with more than 2.7 million members, began offering a nationwide five percent discount on insurance premiums for DRL-equipped vehicles, on April 1, 1995. And thanks to a new state law, New York drivers began receiving insurance discounts for DRLs as of January 1, 1996. Owners of DRL-equipped cars and trucks should ask their underwriters if they provide similar discounts.
GM will measure the real-world effectiveness of this technology in the United States; however, the international evidence is impressive. GM's adoption of this safety feature is based on actual crash statistics from nations where DRLs are required. U.S. safety researchers estimate that one of every seven vehicle crashes occurs simply because the driver "didn't see" the other vehicle. The obvious potential benefit of DRLs is the reduction of multiple-vehicle, daytime crashes, by making cars and trucks easier to see.
This feature is especially effective on overcast days, in rain, fog and snow, and at dawn and dusk. But because they are more attention-getting, DRLs can also help in urban areas filled with distractions, at high noon, and with young drivers.
The DRLs improve vehicle conspicuity, a fundamental aspect of cutting-edge, crash avoidance research and improvements. Conspicuity (or conspicuousness according to Webster) refers to the ability of a vehicle to get the attention of other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
GM engineers are working with concepts and lessons learned from the military. By applying the Army's knowledge of camouflage, in reverse, GM is discovering more about measuring vehicle conspicuity. These efforts may lead to some innovative, future possibilities to improve vehicle conspicuity. Highway statistics indicate that each year, intersection crashes cost the U.S. 14 billion dollars in lost productivity due to property damage, injury and death. In the meantime, DRLs are a simple, affordable, important step toward enhancing vehicle conspicuity for millions of drivers, very quickly. The potential benefits are significant.
How do these lamps work? GM installs three configurations of DRLs on vehicles: low-beam head lamps with slightly-reduced brightness, high-beam headlights with greatly-reduced intensity, or some models use the signal lights as daytime running lamps. Most DRLs automatically illuminate when the car or truck is started, but some models require the transmission or transaxle to be engaged before they come on. Because of the reduced intensity glare is not an issue.
Anytime the driver turns off the ignition or activates the normal headlights, the DRLs automatically turn off. On GM vehicles equipped with light sensors that measure ambient light and automatically manage the lighting system, DRLs will deactivate when the system turns on the normal headlamps. DRL operation varies among models and is explained in each GM Owner's Manual.
In 1995, GM became the first auto manufacturer to begin installing DRLs across all its domestic models. Volvo quickly followed suit on all its U.S. vehicles, approximately 75,000 of them. The Swedish manufacturer had been previously required to install them on its vehicles in Sweden, which is one of seven nations to mandate DRLs. Since 1995, other European car companies have embraced this safety feature for their U.S. models. GM took a leadership role with this crash avoidance feature, without any U.S. federal requirement. In fact, it was GM's petition of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 1985, that preceded the agency's decision to preempt state laws and permit manufacturers to offer DRLs in all fifty states. Coincidentally, GM was also the first domestic auto company to install the center-high-mounted-stop lamp.
Insurance industry statistics from countries where DRLs have been used for years show substantial reductions in multiple-vehicle crashes, especially those involving vehicles approaching from the opposite direction or the side. The following industry data were gathered before January 1995:
| Country Mandating DRLs | Multiple-Vehicle Crash Reduction |
| Sweden | 23% |
| Finland | 37% |
| Norway | 40% |
The crash reductions are not a function of the feature's novelty -- that is, they do more than grab driver attention while they're new, when they stand out as unusual. These studies also show that the benefits of DRLs continue over time, as more and more DRL-equipped vehicles hit the road.
American drivers who do business or vacation in Canada have grown accustomed to turning on their headlights when traveling there, as Canada has mandated DRLs on new vehicles since December 1, 1989. Transport Canada, the government agency responsible for Canadian traffic safety, conducted a study that measured the performance of their DRL program in its first four years. The research indicated an eight percent reduction in opposite-direction, two-vehicle daytime collisions. The reduction grew to more than 11 percent when the data was adjusted to accommodate the impact of voluntary DRLs, on vehicles manufactured before the Canadian regulation.
About half of all police-reported, U.S. crashes involve multiple vehicles during daylight hours. If DRLs are five-to-ten percent effective in reducing crashes and all vehicles had them, they would have helped to prevent hundreds of thousands of collisions in the U.S. in 1993 alone. Some researchers expect the feature to reduce multiple-vehicle crashes by nearly 15 percent. Avis conducted a seven-month study (1993 - 1994) with rental vehicles and found that those equipped with DRLs averaged 69 percent less damage than rentals without them. GM believes that after all U.S. cars and trucks are equipped with DRLs, the chances of a daytime, frontal crash with another vehicle would be reduced by about seven percent, overall. This estimate is based on a thorough evaluation of current studies and considers differences in highways, climates and geographic latitude or brightness of the sun.
The expense of operating these lights is so low that even modest crash reductions would be cost effective. GM estimates the average driver pays about three dollars annually to power DRLs. The lights make a tiny impact on gas consumption and virtually none on battery power, while the company installs them at minimal wiring costs.
There is significant consumer interest in this feature. GM dealers offer kits to retrofit cars and light-duty trucks with DRLs for about 50 dollars plus installation. And in one year, beginning June 1995, dealers retrofitted an average of over 2000 vehicles per month. These lamps are only one component of GM's Total Safety Systems approach that focuses the corporation's efforts on enhancing crash avoidance, crashworthiness and driver behavior or performance. It appears that American drivers are becoming increasingly enamored with this simple, safety enhancement and its ability to help prevent crashes and save lives. (DRL video news release available.)
