Originally Posted By: earlyre
They were never mandated in the US, but i think (and please correct me if i'm wrong) they are mandated in Canada.
They are mandated here.
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
I don't think any study has ever shown DRL saving even one life.Yet its cost millions in replacement bulbs all these years (what,since 1995?)
I tell you that I spent a lot more money replacing marker lights and tail light lamps in the taxi fleet than I ever did on headlights, even after the DRL era began. In fact, I have never had a burned out headlight (other than one that failed immediately upon install and was a warranty issue on the Audi) on a DRL equipped vehicle since their introduction.
On the other hand, I used to replace plenty of headlights in the taxis before. I'm guessing that during implementation, at least some of the manufacturers looked at increasing reliability and longevity, to avoid customer complaints. And remember, this defence of them is coming from a guy that wished all vehicles still had two or four sealed beam halogens the old fashioned way. In my view, bulb technology (for performance and reliability) has improved dramatically. The housing and lens issues are the real money pits.