• zurohki
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    9 months ago

    Headlights are designed to illuminate the road in front of you. DRLs are designed to be seen by others.

    Headlights deliberately avoid sending light up or sideways towards the eyes of other drivers, so they often aren’t very visible during the day. DRLs send light in all directions and are bright points or strips of light, so they stand out more without blinding other drivers.

    If your DRLs aren’t very good, that’s a different problem. Older ones with incandescent bulbs weren’t. They do have a purpose that headlights aren’t great at, though.

    • kautau@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Yeah many modern vehicles do this really well. My car has a bright LED strip that runs over each headlight. Those are my DRLs. They don’t get in anyone’s eyes, they don’t reflect off glass, but they are very clear to see when driving during the day. At night, I have headlights. They do an excellent job at illuminating the road, but they can also shine in people’s eyes going over an incline, reflect in people’s mirrors, etc