How do Daytime Running Lights work?
It seems like every couple of decades a new type of exterior light joins the automotive industry. Headlights, taillights, turn signals, high beams, fog lights and now, the focus of this week’s How’s This Work article, Daytime Running Lights. That’s not to imply that DRLs are new by any means, in fact they’ve been required on all vehicles made in or imported to Canada since 1990. However, out of all the lights on the front fascia, these are likely the least well-known.
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What are Daytime Running Lights?
When you think lights on a car, you might not realize that they’re technically safety features. Safety features in the most general sense are things like seatbelts and airbags, although today the term is starting to become more synonymous with things like backup cameras and blind spot alerts. But technically speaking, headlights, turn signals and all of the other lights on a car are safety features. Headlights, taillights and similar lights alert other drivers to your presence while reverse lights and turn signals alert drivers to your intentions.
Daytime Running Lights belong to the former explanation. You might think headlights are just for helping illuminate the road in front of you, but they’re also to notify other drivers of your presence. DRLs work much the same, as they are dimly lit up all day to help drivers see that you’re there. In situations like heading into sundown or in the wee hours of the morning, these lights pick up where your regular headlamps leave off.
In this day and age, DRLs are generally just an added function of your LED headlights. Whereas they will light up with the full power of their voltage at night, a reduced low-voltage operation will power on during the day to help you stay visible without wasting too much fuel. They are a great safety feature for cars and, as we mentioned, are required on all cars in Canada. If you have any questions on how they work or their purpose, feel free to give us a call here at the sales desk. The video below gives you a better look at how the different lights illuminate the front end of your Toyota vehicle.