The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence regarding the road safety benefits of motorcyclists using their headlights during daylight hours. Motorcycle safety has been a particular area of concern for road safety authorities around Australia. Each year about 300 people are killed and 4,000 seriously injured on motorcycles. It is estimated that the cost of motorcycle crashes is about $800 million per year. This represents an annual cost of about $2,500 per registered motorcycle, compared to a similar figure of $500 for other vehicles. It is clear that the cost to society of motorcycle crashes is largely met by the general public rather than motorcyclists themselves. The issue of daylight running lights has a long and emotive history. It has long been known that a large proportion of motorcycle crashes take place as a result of collisions with other vehicles. In spite of the fact that most such crashes take place during daylight hours, it is commonly found that drivers of the other vehicle in the crash claim not to have seen the motorcycle. Experimental evidence indicated that k was possible to significantly increase the daytime conspicuity of motorcycles through the use of daylight running lights. Several countries around the world were quick to take advantage of the opportunity to address this serious problem through such an easily implemented countermeasure. At present, the compulsory use of daylight running lights has been instituted in the United States, Canada and several European countries. In addition, a number of countries.
Samenvatting