Using your daytime running lights may seem like an extra step between headlights on and off, but they’re actually an important part of daily driving safety.
Daytime running lights (DRLs) are not practical or legal alternatives to your car’s headlights. The DRLs are low-intensity LED lights located at the front of a vehicle, typically positioned near or around the headlight housing. They are much brighter than the park lights, but are not as bright as the headlights. However, they glow brightly enough to make your car more visible to other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users during the day, especially during cloudy, foggy, or dusky conditions.
In most vehicles, the DRLs will turn on when the engine is started and will automatically turn off when the headlights are engaged. There’s no learning curve for using the DRLs in a modern car, as they turn on automatically after turning the key or pressing the engine start button. Once activated, the DRL warning light on the instrument panel will illuminate, alerting the driver. Some cars have a separate option to turn off the DRLs under certain conditions, such as when the vehicle is parked or idling with the engine running.
