ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE WITH PARKING LIGHTS AS RUNNING LIGHTS

AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO TEST THE NEED FOR BETTER VISUAL DEFINITION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE THROUGH THE USE OF RUNNING LIGHTS DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. IN LIEU OF THE ADDITION OF SPECIAL LIGHTING SYSTEMS, THE PARKING LIGHTS AND TAILLIGHTS OF SOME 200 MOTOR VEHICLES WERE MADE TO TURN ON AUTOMATICALLY ON IGNITION. AFTER 1 YEAR, OBSERVATION OF THESE VEHICLES, AND OF ABOUT 400 UNMODIFIED VEHICLES AS A CONTROL GROUP, GAVE RESULTS INDICATING THAT THE MODIFIED VEHICLES AS A GROUP HAD A BETTER ACCIDENT RATE (SOME 18 PERCENT BETTER OVERALL) AND A BETTER SEVERITY RATE (66 PER-CENT LOWER ON A NUMERICAL SCALE) THAN THE UNLIGHTED VEHICLES. SPECIFICALLY, THE REAR-END ACCIDENT RATE WAS REDUCED BY 45 PERCENT, WITH SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS OF OTHER ACCIDENT TYPES. VARIATION BY TYPE OF VEHICLE AND COLOR OF VEHICLE ARE ALSO DISCUSSED. /AUTHOR/