Safer vehicles by redesign

The good article on vehicle design and safety mentioned various innovations in the continuing effort to reduce traffic deaths. The best solution, of course, is one that prevents accidents rather than just reduces the severity of injuries. One contributing factor to the better Canadian statistics shown in the article’s figure 2 is the mandatory use of daytime running lights in Canada. For 20 years or more, headlights that turn on with the ignition have been required on all new cars sold in Canada, wherever they were made. In daylight they operate at a low power; in twilight or darkness they switch to full power. They greatly improve the visibility of approaching cars in dim light or poor weather, and they were generally credited with a reduction of 10% to 15% in the frequency of collisions when they were introduced. My car is six years old and I have never turned the lights on or off and don’t know how it could be done. I switch between high and low beams at night, but the automatic controls handle everything else. They even brighten the lights if I enter a tunnel for more than a few seconds.