It's been more than 10 years since the EU allowed new cars to drive with their taillights off to save energy. Robert Collin hates that.
Swedish car journalist Robert Collin is anything but enthusiastic about EU regulations that allow drivers to turn off their cars' taillights during daylight. He believes it creates dangerous situations in traffic, especially in poor lighting conditions.
The problem lies in the automatic lighting functions that cars type-approved after 2016 are equipped with.
These functions may cause the taillights to remain off even when visibility is reduced due to darkness, rain or fog.
Collin is not alone in his criticism. The Swedish motorists' association, Riksförbundet M Sverige, is also concerned.
"Drivers are responsible for their car's lighting," says Heléne Lilja, head of communications and community at the Swedish Motor Association.
– But car manufacturers haven't made it very easy. Symbols and automatic modes can be difficult to understand.
The EU regulations that allow taillights to be switched off during daylight hours were introduced to save energy and thus reduce fuel consumption. The reason was that older types of taillights used a lot of electricity.
But with the introduction of LED technology, this argument has become irrelevant. Modern LED taillights use minimal power, and the energy savings are therefore negligible.
– In Sweden, the new rules were a major step backwards, writes Robert Collin in Aftonbladet .
"We have had our low beam law since 1977, which required low beam, and thus also taillights. That law was replaced by the EU regulation."
Collin points out that the problem is particularly pronounced in countries with long periods of twilight and dusk, such as Sweden. Cars' automatic light sensors are often not sensitive enough to detect these transition phases, resulting in the taillights remaining off.
"When should the car's automatic headlights turn on?" asks Collin.
– Korean cars wait until it's almost dark, Japanese are a little faster, German even a little faster. But not enough.
After Collin raised criticism of the problem, Volvo has changed its cars so that the taillights are now constantly on. But many other car brands have not yet followed suit.
"To excuse oneself by saying that the taillights draw power (i.e. fuel, ed.) does not work," writes Collin. And he continues:
"Modern LED taillights draw so little power that it is almost unmeasurable. A sneeze when you accidentally step on the gas costs more energy than having the taillights on for a month."
It is therefore important that drivers are aware of the problem and manually turn on their tail lights when visibility is reduced. In Denmark, the police are also within their rights to ticket drivers who do not control their lights .
