Authorities in Canada have introduced world-leading regulations that aim to stop
“phantom ” motor vehicles being driven blind at night.The number of cars driving in darkness with headlights switched off has risen sharply over the past decade.
This is because most new vehicles are equipped with hi-tech instrument displays that are illuminated day or night – whether headlights are switched on or not.
Many drivers are often unaware their headlights are switched off at night because the instrument cluster on modern cars displays normally whenever the engine is running.
Japan mandated automatic headlights on all new motor vehicles sold there from April 2020.
However, Canada has taken the safety measure one step further – by requiring car companies to program their vehicles to disable the illumination of the instrument cluster unless headlights are switched on.
Car headlights and instrument illumination have been linked since the earliest days of the automobile.
But the arrival of new technology in the early 2000s saw car companies adopt instrument displays that illuminate day or night – whether or not the headlights are on.
It explains why there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people driving at night with their vehicle’s headlights switched off.
The only telltale signs headlights are switched on in modern cars: small symbols in the instrument display (examples of which are shown above).
But many motorists either don’t notice the discreet symbols, or are unaware what they signify.
Adding to the confusion: most new cars have bright daytime running lights that also automatically operate at night and emit a powerful glow.
Daytime running lights can give drivers the mistaken impression their car headlights are on. However, daytime running lights don’t provide the same illumination as proper headlights.
In this scenario – headlights switched off and daytime running lights on – drivers can’t see as far down the road as they would with headlights activated.
Such vehicles are also hard to spot from behind because the tail-lights are not illuminated (as they would be if the headlights were on).
Although automatic headlights are not yet mandated in the US – and authorities there are only just now in the process of permitting matrix headlights that can activate partially blanked high beams without dazzling oncoming drivers (example shown below) – data out of the US shows driving at night is “three times as risky as driving during the day.”
Road safety bodies in the US now measure the brightness and effectiveness of headlights, which are used to compile safety ratings.
Authorities in Canada mandated automatic headlights and blacked out instrument clusters (when headlights are not in use) on all new cars sold there from September 2021, after feedback from concerned citizens and road safety groups in 2018.
Australia is yet to mandate automatic headlights, but road safety experts here are hopeful policymakers will adopt the more detailed version of the regulations introduced in Canada.
“Automatic headlights are no use if the driver toggles the switch to the manual setting,” said an automotive engineer who worked for one of Australia’s three remaining vehicle manufacturers before assembly lines closed in 2017.
“Drivers need the option of automatic and manual headlight activation, for those instances where driving with headlights on during the day is advisable. But the key thing is to disable the instrument cluster illumination when the headlights are switched off, whether in auto mode or in the manual setting.”
Covering the world-leading decision by Canadian authorities, US magazine Car And Driver reported: “All new vehicles sold in Canada need to have headlights, taillights, and side lights that automatically turn on in the dark. Also, the dashboard won’t light up until the headlights are turned on. With more lights on, cars won’t look like ‘phantom vehicles’.”
Readers of Car And Driver agreed with the decision by Canadian authorities. “I see more and more people who are driving with their headlights off because they don’t have them set to automatic, yet due to the fact their all electronic instrument cluster is lit up like Las Vegas, they think their headlights are on.”
Another Car And Driver reader summed up the sentiment of many motorists: “In the old days, before automatic headlamps were standard and every car had electronic gauges, you knew your headlights weren’t on at night because your whole dash was dark and you couldn’t see a thing. We need to get back to that.”
In Australia, the fines for driving a motor vehicle at night without headlights activated are as follows:
ACT: $205, one demerit point
VIC: $273, one demerit point
NSW: $119, one demerit point
QLD: $137, one demerit point
SA: $265, one demerit point
WA: $100, one demerit point
TAS: $173, one demerit point
NT: $157, no demerit points
The post World first: Canada mandates automatic headlights, blacked out dash displays when not in use appeared first on Drive.
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