[CalCarNut]

Mine are off. I figure if you can't see a car in daylight, you need to turn in your license.

There's no fog etc here. Pointless to put wear and tear on them imo just to look 'cool' (?).

[Littlebear]

"First I put in my earing, then put on my necklace, a few rings, then I get into my BMW with the angel eyes...."

Um, no. The only thing worse than 'Angel Eyes', is the name.

"I'm no angel. Let me show you my tatoos...." G.Allman

Murf

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by CalCarNut

Mine are off. I figure if you can't see a car in daylight, you need to turn in your license.

There's no fog etc here. Pointless to put wear and tear on them imo just to look 'cool' (?).

Same here. And when I do have them on, they have been coded to 50% brightness. Maybe if I leased my car I would keep them on all the time. But I purchased mine and plan to keep it a long time.

[NavS]

I think 30% of the reason why I bought a 440 over the 435 was the DRL of the LED lights.

[Gen13 F36]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

Same here. And when I do have them on, they have been coded to 50% brightness. Maybe if I leased my car I would keep them on all the time. But I purchased mine and plan to keep it a long time.

How long? Maybe you should wrap everything.... like seat cover, steering wheel cover and dash board cover.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by CalCarNut

Mine are off. I figure if you can't see a car in daylight, you need to turn in your license.

There's no fog etc here. Pointless to put wear and tear on them imo just to look 'cool' (?).

DRL's are not just to look "cool" they make your car more visible to other motorists. They exist for your safety and the safety of others including bikers and pedestrians. Studies show that it decreases collisions by as much as 5-10%.

Source

Not only that, but some countries actually require DRLs as standard equipment on motor vehicles.

As for wear and tear, they are also good for at least 3000 hours.

This is one of those instances where there is no significant disadvantage to DRLs, including "wear and tear", that to turn them off makes little sense given the advantages they provide. Certainly vanity should take a back seat to safety in something so easy and painless to implement, especially considering most people don't find them aesthetically unpleasant.

[outofphase]

Originally Posted by Cherry2.0

I leave mine on and, honestly, they make me smile when I see the reflection of them from the vehicle in front of me while stopped.

Agreed! In windows too couldn't resist snapping an awful cell pic the other day because of it

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by jmg

DRL's are not just to look "cool" they make your car more visible to other motorists. They exist for your safety and the safety of others including bikers and pedestrians. Studies show that it decreases collisions by as much as 5-10%.

Source

Yes, but that study is from Minnesota, ie: way north. Canada likes DLRs too. Pls find me a study from Florida.
In normal lighting, I find the unnatural contrast DRLs make causes me to look away, which probably isn't good.
For most climes & most daytime hours, the added glare & annoyance to other drivers could negate any imagined increase in visibility.
When visibility is bad, my car has this "switch" which turns on all kinds of external lights, suited to conditions!

Murf

PS: Do you all have your fogs on too?

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by jmg

DRL's are not just to look "cool" they make your car more visible to other motorists. They exist for your safety and the safety of others including bikers and pedestrians. Studies show that it decreases collisions by as much as 5-10%.

Source

Not only that, but some countries actually require DRLs as standard equipment on motor vehicles.

As for wear and tear, they are also good for at least 3000 hours.

This is one of those instances where there is no significant disadvantage to DRLs, including "wear and tear", that to turn them off makes little sense given the advantages they provide. Certainly vanity should take a back seat to safety in something so easy and painless to implement, especially considering most people don't find them aesthetically unpleasant.

+1. If someone hits you and points out that your car had the built in capability of being more visible but you deliberately turned it off, you are facing a possible civil defense and/or comparative negligence defense.

[BP340]

On but that is just how they are set. I do not take the time to scroll through I-Drive to turn them off, but I would leave them on anyway. As for iconic look, etc., all the cars DRL's look the same to me. I don't see DRL's and go, oh wow, he has a BMW. In fact, all E90's, F30's, etc, look the same to me, e.g. 340 and 320, 328 and 335....and on and on. They are a very common car here.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

Yes, but that study is from Minnesota, ie: way north. Canada likes DLRs too. Pls find me a study from Florida.
In normal lighting, I find the unnatural contrast DRLs make causes me to look away, which probably isn't good.
For most climes & most daytime hours, the added glare & annoyance to other drivers could negate any imagined increase in visibility.
When visibility is bad, my car has this "switch" which turns on all kinds of external lights, suited to conditions!

Murf

PS: Do you all have your fogs on too?

DRLs are not bright enough to cause glare to deem them unsafe. The solution to your glare problem is similar to how to deal with headlights at night: simply don't stare right at the light. It's similar to the sun: don't stare directly at it. You are not supposed to stare at the DRLs, your supposed to notice the car. Just look at the car. :

I'm honestly not sure why I have to teach a grown adult how to deal with a bright light.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

How long? Maybe you should wrap everything.... like seat cover, steering wheel cover and dash board cover.

I don’t know. At $1k a pop to replace when they go bad, that’s money that can be used for tires, maintenance, and more important repairs. To each their own.

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by jmg

...It's similar to the sun: don't stare directly at it. You are not supposed to stare at the DRLs...
I'm honestly not sure why I have to teach a grown adult how to deal with a bright light.

Dang! All these years I've been staring at the sun. And like a moth, those DRLs make me want to steer right into the oncoming cars &....
Thanks JMG. I'll work on it.

From my above post:
"In normal lighting, I find the unnatural contrast DRLs make causes me to look away, which probably isn't good."
So you don't have to teach me nothing.

Murf

[outofphase]

Originally Posted by jmg

DRLs are not bright enough to cause glare to deem them unsafe. The solution to your glare problem is similar to how to deal with headlights at night: simply don't stare right at the light. It's similar to the sun: don't stare directly at it. You are not supposed to stare at the DRLs, your supposed to notice the car. Just look at the car. :

I'm honestly not sure why I have to teach a grown adult how to deal with a bright light.

Our DRLs (and frankly 95% of the DRLs/accents I've seen) aren't even bad. I have sensitive eyes and can get really frustrated driving at night -- but here in Chicago everyone and their mother runs with their freakin' brights on because they're too lazy to replace a headlight, or they're running improperly installed HIDs where one points to the sky and another off to the side. It's not rare to even see someone with one bright on

Now the new LEDs on Acuras/Hondas are a bit ridiculous IMO. I've flashed my brights at them several times now only to realize their brights aren't even on!

But agreed, DRL's should be mandatory in the US IMO. Our licensing practices are so lenient in general, I'll take any added safety I can get.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by jmg

DRL's are not just to look "cool" they make your car more visible to other motorists. They exist for your safety and the safety of others including bikers and pedestrians. Studies show that it decreases collisions by as much as 5-10%.

Source

Not only that, but some countries actually require DRLs as standard equipment on motor vehicles.

As for wear and tear, they are also good for at least 3000 hours.

This is one of those instances where there is no significant disadvantage to DRLs, including "wear and tear", that to turn them off makes little sense given the advantages they provide. Certainly vanity should take a back seat to safety in something so easy and painless to implement, especially considering most people don't find them aesthetically unpleasant.

Safety is huge, no argument there. I just turn my headlights on in lowlight conditions like we did for decades before DRL’s were even a thing.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by IraHayes

Safety is huge, no argument there. I just turn my headlights on in lowlight conditions like we did for decades before DRL’s were even a thing.

We didn't have airbags for decades either. That doesn't mean we don't need them.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by jmg

We didn't have airbags for decades either. That doesn't mean we don't need them.

As someone who has been permanently maimed by a Takata airbag, I would forgo them if given the option.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by jmg

.

I’m not trying to argue with you over who is right or wrong here friend. You are definitely not wrong, but I don’t think I’m wrong in my decision to prefer not to run daytime running lights either. Different strokes for different folks as the saying goes.

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

+1. If someone hits you and points out that your car had the built in capability of being more visible but you deliberately turned it off, you are facing a possible civil defense and/or comparative negligence defense.

What if you buy a black car instead of a red car? You could have bought the more visible car, but no....

Murf

[NavS]

If I could make my DRL 200% brighter I would. Shit looks cool.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

What if you buy a black car instead of a red car? You could have bought the more visible car, but no....

Murf

All the more reason to use the DRLs if you have a black car. My preference is white btw. I have a white and a grey bimmer.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

What if you buy a black car instead of a red car? You could have bought the more visible car, but no....

Murf

Nice try but not a good analogy. The DRLs are a safety feature, the color of a car is not.

I am not arguing whether the DRLs add to safety, merely that having them and not using them could hurt your legal position should you get in an accident.