Ten per cent of Dublin motorists are using dipped headlights during the day, according to Dublin City Council.This is an initial finding from research conducted during the council's campaign to encourage the daytime use of headlights.
The "Lights On Daytime" campaign was initiated almost a month ago. It was based on research, mainly from Scandinavia, that greater visibility of motor vehicles led to fewer accidents. Dipping main headlights is recommended over sidelights, since some manufacturers' sidelights are quite dim.
The full results of the campaign will be available next month. A city council spokeswoman said the council would be very happy if the results showed a daytime usage of 10 per cent or more.
A figure for the traditional usage of daytime driving lights is not yet available, but it is thought to be a very low percentage.
The spokeswoman said anecdotal evidence suggested the campaign was working.
Observers have pointed out that public bodies, such as the Garda Síochána, An Post and the ESB, were not taking part.
The city council spokeswoman said the council had discussed the issue with some of these bodies. "However, it is a voluntary effort for everybody involved," she said. Imposing it on certain groups would distort the result of the voluntary initiative.
A Garda spokesman said the force did not have a policy on dipped headlights but was now looking at the issue.
The ESB was "actively considering the issue", a spokesman said yesterday. He pointed out that ESB vehicles were already highly visible because of their bright yellow colour. "That is specially for safety reasons but we are considering the issue of dipped headlights as well," he said.
An Post is also considering the issue, according to its spokesman, Mr John Hynes. The company has about 650 to 700 An Post and SDS vans in Dublin.
Some manufacturers, such as Volvo, have made dipped headlights an automatic feature, once the ignition is switched on.
The Department of Psychology in Trinity College Dublin is analysing the campaign and traffic surveys are being carried out in Dublin and outside the city. After the research findings are issued in September, a decision will be taken on extending the campaign to the rest of the State.
"It's an incremental process," the city council spokeswoman said. "We didn't expect to be suddenly dazzled by a blaze of headlights but we are getting a very positive response."
Driving with dipped headlights has a negligible effect on motoring costs. For every 100 miles driven, it adds less than three cent to the fuel bill.
The Automobile Association (AA) has welcomed the campaign and urged other local authorities to follow the lead of Dublin City Council. Mr Conor Faughnan, AA public affairs manager, said his own observations suggested the campaign had been very positively received by motorists. "The fact that the biggest local authority in the country is being pro-active in pushing a road safety message has got to be a good thing," he said.
