22 ~ Friday, June 39, 1989 ~ North Shore News

All 1990 models tc be equipped with automatic daytime lights

“I DIDN’T see the other car in time!”’

That’s the most often heard ex- euse’ from drivers involved in automobile coilisions — if they’re lucky enough to survive.

Faulty perception — the failure to see an oncoming vehicle clearly and soon enough — has been cited in some studies as the cause of nearly half of all road accidents.

That’s why the federal govern- ment has decided that all cars, buses and trucks sold in Canada, starting with the 1990 models, must be equipped with automatic oa running light (DRL)

WT hese lights will be activated whenever a vehicle is operated without its regular headlights on. They'll go out when the headlights are turned on or the motor turned off.

Some carmakers have already installed DRLs in a few of their 1989 models, but they won’t become mandatory until next year’s cars come on the market.

Ottawa’s decision to amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations was not made lightly. It came only after extensive research by Trans- port Canada and successful ex- periments with daytime lights in Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Finland became the first country to require DRLs as standard motor vehicle equipment, in 1972. Since then, the number of collisions there has dropped by 27 per cent.

The results in Sweden, which made DRLs compulsory in 1977, have been equally impressive. Multiple vehicle collision rates dur- ing the winter months have gone down by 20 per cent in urban areas and by 17 per cent in rural areas, with slightly smaller reductions during the summer. -

The success of DRL use in the northern European countries had a strong influence on Canadian road safety experts, because Canada’s climate and light conditions are very similar. Tests in Canada have also been conclusive.

One study by Transport Canada of Department of Defence vehicles fitted with automated daytime lights found they were involved in 20 per cent fewer accidents than were the unmodified vehicles.

Grant Smith, Transport Canada’s chief of road safety promotion, predicts that the in-

Glas takes first place

NORTH VANCOUVER’S Harald Glas came out on top at the recent Westcoast Challenge at Westwood raceway, plowing ahead of Maple Ridge’s Martin McGill to take first place in Pro Battle of the Twins. Glas led the pack on his Honda NT 650, beating out. McGill and Langley’s Bryan Henderson.

Glas missed a first place win in | . :

Pro 600 Production to hard charg- ing newcomer to Westwood Phil Domkins of Australia to take se- cond place. New Westminster’s Darryl Fletcher had to console himself with winning both 750 Production and Pro Superbike.

North Vancouver’s Dave Sjoblom, meanwhile, was back to * winning form, coming second in Pro Formula 2, beating Darrin Gilmore of Sardis.

The June 25. race was the fourth of the 1989 Westcoast Challenge at Westwood. The upcoming Canada Day weekend marks the 30th anni- versary of Westwood racing, which will be co-sponsored by ail the clubs who have raced at Westwood Motorsport Park.

troduction of mandatory DRLs in Canada will prevent as many as 38,000 multi-vehicle accidents each

year.

“Such a reduction,’’ he says, “means that at least 120 lives will be saved annually, there'll be 11,000 fewer injuries and a $200- million savings in medical costs. These benefits greatly outweigh the estimated purchase and operating costs of daytinse running lights.”’

The costs will be low. The new regulation calls for DRL systems that are very economical, having two low-intensity lights and ex- tended bulb life. They’ll add no more that $15 a year to the costs of eperating a car or light truck, and probably no more than $120 in total over the life of an average vehicle.

“That’s surely a small price to pay for such a major improvement in driving safety,’’ says Grant Smith.

Dennis Attwood, a specialist in human factors engineering, says that scientists have seldom been as unanimous as they are in support- ing the federal DRL initiative.

His research has focused on the ability of the human eye to detect and respond to moving objects. He found that ‘drivers habitually

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underestimate the speed of an ap- proaching car that js unlit. That miscalculation can have tragic consequences, not just in passing other cars on a two-lane highway, but also in city driving.

Intersections, for example, are notorious ‘‘accident black spots.” Turning left acress conflicting traffic or turning right on a red light both require accurate judg- ment of other cars’ velocity.

The high rate of intersection ac-

cidents sterns largely from failures ©

of perception, which in turn can often be traced to poor vehicle visibility.

“The contrast between a motor vehicle and its background js crit- ical for detection,’”? says Jim White, a crash avoidance engincer with Transport Canada’s road

safety directorate. ‘‘Color alone is

not enough, because a color that is conspicuous in one situation will not provide enough contrast in another. A white car, for example, will stand out on an asphalt road in summer, but can be nearly in- visibie on the same road in winter. A car with its lights on, however, is easily seen no matter what the background.’’ See Daytime page 23

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