MOTORISTS could be forced to drive with their headlights on during the day under plans to be considered by the European Commission.
The move would mean the rest of the European Union following Austria, which will next month become the first west European country outside Scandinavia and Iceland to make daytime use of dipped headlights compulsory.
However, motoring groups said
the measure would merely increase fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, while the government said it was "unconvinced" by the benefits.
The commission has yet to decide whether to back the proposal; if it does, the measure could become law across the EU by 2010.
Daytime use of headlights was first made compulsory in Finland in 1972. In the UK, imported Volvos with their lights permanently on also became a familiar sight. The countries that followed Finland's lead included Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Hungary and Canada. Others, such as Italy and Israel, require headlight use in certain conditions, while motorists are advised to use them on French motorways.
Several manufacturers offer daytime running lights as standard, or as optional extras, on their models.
The AA Motoring Trust pointed to research from the Federal Highway Research Institute in Germany, which showed dipped headlights increased fuel consumption by 3 per cent, as extra power has to be generated.
The trust favours instead the use of light-emitting diode (LED) lights, which, it said, produced a negligible increase in pollution while increasing the visibility of road vehicles and reducing accidents.
However, it admitted LED lights could feasibly be fitted only to new cars and not existing ones. Andrew Howard, the trust's head of road safety, said: "We would support moves to make daytime running lights a mandatory fitting on new cars. These lights should be less bright than dipped headlamps, but brighter than side lamps, and should be LED-style lights with low energy consumption. These lights would be likely to make the roads safer by allowing road users to distinguish easily cars that are on the move."
He went on: "However, the AA Trust would not support a requirement that cars not fitted with daytime running lights should be required to drive with dipped headlamps on at all times.
"This would increase fuel consumption and mean that lamp bulbs had to be replaced much more frequently. It would also produce complaints about dazzle from many road users, while many motorcyclists and cyclists would feel they would become less conspicuous."
The Department for Transport said it was unconvinced about the benefits of all-day headlight use and agreed it could make those on two wheels less visible.
Studies have shown the use of lights reduces accidents. A United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report and an EC review in 2004 showed they cut collisions by between 5 per cent and 23 per cent, with the largest reduction in head-on crashes with motorcycles.
However, critics disputed the figures, claiming the evidence showed the use of lights increased accidents by up to 8 per cent.
New Scientist magazine reported last year that fuel bills for drivers travelling 9,000 miles a year would increase by an average of nearly £25 if they used headlights all the time, compared with £5 for LEDs. The latter consume 2 watts, compared with 13 watts for newer daytime running lights and 55 watts for headlights.
The Carbon Trust has estimated that if every car in the UK used headlights, it would create an extra 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The full article contains 615 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
