Using dipped headlights in daylight. Why?

I don't think you should be saying who should and shouldn't be on the road when you've been driving for a few years and failed your driving test.

Dipped headlights make cars more visible to all road users and pedestrians. Majority of modern cars automatically have the lights to come on as you'd be amazed the amount of drivers who drive at dusk or even night and forget to put on their lights.

If you have to ask…….

There was a campaign to use them years ago, and then DRLs became more prominent.

You could be taking greater care by having your dipped headlights on and be more visible to all others.

It's recommended by the RSA.

"If your vehicle is not fitted with daytime running lights, you should drive with your dipped headlights on during the daytime as they can help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads."

https://www.rsa.ie/road-safety/road-users/vehicle-components/vehicle-lighting/daytime-running-lights-(drl)

Maybe speak to your instructor and ask them why they didn't advise this?

I recall living in the UK in the 80s and a fleet manager of some large company stating on radio that the amount of tips and accidents fell dramatically throughout his company when he instructed all his drivers to drive with their lights on constantly.

I started doing that then and I remember vividly when I came home the amount of Irish drivers who would flash me constantly for doing so and others remarking that I would use extra fuel because of this.

How times have changed and it's almost a rarity not to see all vehicles lit up now.

Good to see!

Dip headlight use on a modern car uses such a negligible amount of power that you would be hard pressed to notice it. 30w for all lights, front and rear, would be normal enough.

Only cars with halogens use significantly more, but that is still likely ~130w or so.

You're really not getting this are you, or are you just being contrarian for the sake of it?

It's to make the car more visible to all road users and pedestrians alike. I wouldn't be worrying about the tiny wattage used by lights in terms of depreciation. I suppose you drive with the radio and heaters off too as these are not essential requirements?

You complain others are being snotty and continue with the "I still don't get how…" nonsense.

Because we are all human and the brain prioritizes what it wants to see. That might be a flashy car over instead of silver ordinary car thats at approaching from awkward angle from your line of sight.

Lots of blind spots in a car and in the human brain. It can block out stuff in error. Lights help with that.

Even if you don't believe that to be true you should just accept that's its true.

There is actually some evidence that having headlights on during the day obscures other road users such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians as it can be hard to see past the glare.

The drop in accidents between cars and other larger motor vehicles was matched by a slight rise in accidents in other categories in some early studies I saw back in the early noughties. (MAG Ireland, the motorcycle campaign group were trying to block it as I think in Austria there was a significant rise in accidents but I could be misremembering the country).

Later studies seemed to have reversed that but looking at the methodology used I'm not wholly convinced. My own personal experience is that people walking on the roads in low light but not after dusk are much harder to see.

Not sure what other people's personal experience is?

Daytime running lights are compulsory on new cars in the EU since Nov 2014.

If a car is equipped with DRLs it's an NCT fail if they are not working.

https://www.rsa.ie/road-safety/road-users/vehicle-components/vehicle-lighting/daytime-running-lights-(drl)