The effect of daytime running lights on crashes between two vehicles in Saskatchewan: a study of a government fleet

Keeping vehicle lights on to increase vehicle conspicuity during daytime hours has been found to reduce crashes in Scandinavia and the United States. Crashes of vehicles with and without daytime running lights owned by the Central Vehicle Agency of the Province of Saskatchewan were compared to a random selection of crashes drawn from provincial crash files involving vehicles without daytime running lights for the years 1982 through 1989. Daytime two-vehicle crashes involving vehicles approaching from the front or side were reduced by about 28% for the daytime running-light equipped vehicles. A 28% reduction in daytime running-light relevant daytime two-vehicle crashes corresponds to a 15% reduction in all daytime two-vehicle crashes.