Friday, July 11, 2008
Do we really need headlights during the day?
We're certainly not surprised that Britain's Daily Mail picked up on this issue and reported (erroneously), in tones of panic that a new EU directive has been agreed, which will require vehicle headlights to be switched on whilst driving during daylight hours.
The European Commission says that this is a Euromyth and that:
"The European Commission is looking into ways of improving road safety and at equipping new cars with ecologically-friendly daytime lights - two separate issues. There is a commitment by EU member states to equip new vehicles with ecologically friendly daytime lights , though having such lights would not, of course, force people to use them."
The successful results in testing of daytime running lamps were obtained in Scandinavian countries. You know, those northern ones where they have part of the winter where both night and day is in total darkness.
In the Canary Islands, at a latitude of 28 degrees north - only just above the tropics and therefore with only a couple of hours difference between the length of day in summer and winter and, other than in odd inclement weather conditions, has light conditions that generally lead to photographic overexposure - such a measure seems absolutely pointless, at best.
At worst, at any location, having lights on during the day on cars and other vehicles, removes any previous safety advantage for motorcycles.
Nevertheless, apparently, in wonderfully similar fearmongering style, Spanish TV station, Antena 3 has also taken up the daytime lighting cause as part of their Ponle Freno (Put the brakes on) initiative.
I've not seen the public service ads myself, but Charlie at Canarias Bruta writes scathingly about the ill-considered "viral marketing" campaign. He also says that he has no intention of putting his lights on during the day and says that every time he comes across someone who does have their lights on, will say out loud, "Oh look, another dickhead who watches Antena 3".
Just how many road deaths?
Anyone who watches Spanish TV will know about the incessant obsession the media has with giving road accident body counts. It used to be at the end of major puentes (holiday weekends). Then it became constant, as in "lo que var" the weekend (so far) and, now is reported for all weekends, weeks, etc.
Just by chance while gathering this information, I came across this Press Release from RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), which mentions (in Britain) a "seven per cent fall in roads deaths in 2007 to 2,943" and that "Road deaths peaked in 1941 when 9,169 people were killed."
As they say, the numbers are a record LOW. (Could that situation be mirrored in Spain?) Given what must be tremendous growth in traffic since 1941, the drop in road deaths, in percentage terms, is HUGE. So the situation does not appear to warrant any more regulation than it already has.
