Daytime Running Lights (DRL) have now evolved into an essential component of modern four-wheeled vehicles. In addition to defining a manufacturer's design character, these lights, which remain constantly illuminated during the day, have become a global safety standard crucial for traffic safety.
Unlike headlights, which function to illuminate the road at night, DRLs are specifically designed to increase vehicle visibility. With this light emission, other drivers can more easily detect the presence of a car from a distance, which has been proven effective in reducing accident rates, especially at intersections or during foggy and cloudy weather.
Training Director of the Jakarta Defensive Driving Consulting (JDDC), Jusri Pulubuhu, explained that this technology is not a new innovation. Based on his experience living abroad, DRLs were already commonly implemented on various vehicle models since the late 1970s. In fact, by the mid-1990s, this automatic feature had already become standard equipment for many Japanese-made cars in the United States.
Historically, the roots of DRL can be traced back to 1977 through a prototype vehicle developed by Saab for the Northern European market. This step was followed by Volvo, which officially installed DRL as a built-in feature on the Volvo 240 model in 1984. Awareness of the importance of this feature grew stronger after Canada mandated the use of DRL in 1990, which was later followed by the European Union through strict regulations for new passenger cars since 2011.
