Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are any laws regarding the use of dimmed headlights on any category of road during day light hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53559/12]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Daytime Running Lights (DRL) involve motorists either using their dipped headlights during the hours of daylight or fitting dedicated daytime running lights in an effort to make vehicles more conspicuous and hence increase road safety by reducing the number and severity of road traffic collisions.  An increasing number of vehicles have dedicated DRL fitted as standard, and it became mandatory on all new cars entering the national fleet from 2011 onwards in accordance with EC Directive 2008/89/EC.  New trucks and buses are required to have dedicated DRL from August 2012.  It is estimated that through the gradual renewal of the national fleet almost all vehicles will be equipped with DRL by 2024.

DRL is not mandatory in Ireland. In recent years the RSA undertook a review of the policy options available for the mandatory introduction of DRL and concluded that DRL should not be made obligatory at this moment in time. Experience in other countries especially Sweden where DRL has been mandatory since 1977, shows that mandatory DRL works best where all vehicles are fitted with dedicated DRL and where there has been intensive promotion and awareness campaigns prior to DRL being made mandatory. In Ireland most vehicles do not yet have dedicated DRL and the RSA analysis has shown that the costs of retrofitting DRL at the current time outweighs the benefits. The RSA has recommended that the position be reviewed again in circa 4 years.

In the meantime, the RSA will intensify the promotion of DRL with a view to significantly increasing the use of DRL on a voluntary basis, in particular, during the period September to March and in wet or poor conditions. With this in mind the RSA recently launched an awareness campaign promoting the use of DRL on national radio which is reinforced by "The Bright Way To Save Lives” section on its website   which extols the benefits of DRL.