1analguy

Are the DRLs also used for fog lights or turn signals? If not, why couldn't you simply unplug them? On my '11 VW, I only had to remove a single wire from the back of the wiring harness connector at the headlight switch and, viola, no more DRLs. Then, though not necessary for killing the DRLs, I gained additional, separate control of my running (parking) lights and head lights by replacing my "dumb", two-position U.S.-spec headlight switch with the European version (<$80), which has separate positions for "off", "parking lights", "head lights", "fog lights", etc. With Porsche being part of the VAG, and with the 991's headlight switch looking suspiciously familiar, I have to wonder if the same procedure would work on the 991. You might even be able to use the Euro VW switch and no doubt save a bundle in the bargain. It bares consideration...

Larry Cable

c.f WWI "dazzle" camouflage ...

jets

When I apply my practical high school knowledge at work; I usually have professional consultants scrambling for answers because all they know is textbook and little about the reality of things many times.

All I'm talking about is my personal experiences driving in the US after driving in Canada regularly. I'm telling you that it's freaky to see cars all over with no lights on and when I think I spot a moving object from over a mile away in Canada I don't need to guess if its a car or not - otherwise I'd have to sit there for a few seconds minimum to gauge whether there is movement and in which direction and or if it is a vehicle. I drive here everyday and when I see cars signalling it stands out. Part of it is being used to it I suppose.

It'd be interesting to find stats from each country to determine the number of collisions per capita over the last 50 years and compare the data.

Either way it's the internet so everyone wins.

pfan

I was driving right around dusk yesterday and was about to make a left turn into my driveway. Just prior to initiating the turn I was startled to see a dark grey vehicle headed in my direction (no headlights or DRLs) that almost perfectly blended in with the background. Had I not been alert there's a high likelihood that I would have turned in front of him. This reaffirmed my belief that DRLs are in fact a worthwhile safety device.

Is it just in So. Calif. that a lot of drivers don't turn on their headlights until it's pitch black out?

jets

Sometimes people don't even bother turning them on.

RobC4sX51

Didn't read all the thread but make sure your insurance co knows you "turned off" this safety feature if you do so. I personally love the look Porsche did starting with the 997.2 as compared to say Audi, Luxus, etc!

1analguy

So, an individual's subjective personal experience always trumps carefully-conducted objective statistical research?



Obviously, lighting/background conditions "right around dusk", at your driveway, might be another matter. The research and discussion are more about whether or not DRLs constitute a general safety benefit in broad daylight, all traffic conditions considered. They are, after all, called Daytime Running Lights. I would never argue that there are no circumstances under which operating headlights would make a car more visible.

David A

They can be coded by your friendly tech ($20 tip) so they show as a feature on your OBC.

Noah Fect

There's a lot of junk science out there. A study that claims that cars with DRLs are equally or more likely to be involved in collisions than cars without DRLs is making an extraordinary claim, and needs to supply extraordinary proof to go with it. Call it a hunch, but I'm guessing no such proof was provided. I'm also going to guess that nobody has consistently reproduced these particular results.

We heard similar goofy claims when the CHMSLs were being introduced. Every time I look ahead through somebody else's windshield and gain insight into traffic conditions that I wouldn't otherwise have known about, I think about how forehead-slappingly stupid the anti-CHMSL arguments were. Better visibility is ALWAYS a good thing.

jets

analguy doesn't buy it. Even though "Numerous studies done worldwide since the 1970s have tended to conclude that daytime running lights improve safety. A 2008 study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analysed the effect of DRLs on frontal and side-on crashes between two vehicles and on vehicle collisions with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. The analysis determined that DRLs offer no statistically significant reduction in the frequency or severity of the collisions studied, except for a reduction in light trucks' and vans' involvement in two-vehicle crashes by a statistically significant 5.7%.

No matter how anyone interprets that the worst they can say is that the improvement over not using them is not mind-blowing.