Nearly 200 of you voted in our poll asking if you think day running lights should be compulsory, and the result was a clear but far from unanimous No with 57.5%, against 42.5% saying yes.

Its an interesting result, and makes me wonder where the voters live, as there are some parts of the world where day running lights are already compulsory and others where constant dry sunny conditions would make them a nonsense.

My personal view is that for most countries, there's little sense in them and the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. The benefits claimed are that they make cars more visible in poor light conditions and therefore reduce the likelihood of accidents. That may well be true, but surely its better to educate drivers to use their lights intelligently, i.e. to switch them on in poor light conditions? Or if thats too much to ask, lets increase the use of automatic switch-on in low light conditions the technology exists and is not expensive, it could be incorporated in all new cars for a couple of pounds on the price.

We've even had suggestions in the past that all cars should run with dipped headlights at all times this is surely completely over the top and the disadvantages would far outweigh the benefits. Dipped headlights cause blinding glare in many curved or hilly road conditions, however well they are adjusted, and that is far more likely to cause accidents, as oncoming drivers are unable to see pedestrians or cyclists on the road ahead of them, because they are blinded by the headlights of oncoming cars.

The other strong case against headlights or even running lights is that of pollution: not just light pollution, but CO2 and general exhaust pollution. Many people think that switching car lights on is 'free' if the engines running: its not. It takes engine power, and therefore fuel, to drive the alternator or dynamo and the more electricity you use for lights or whatever, the more power it takes to drive it, so the more fuel is consumed. If you want to be environmentally friendly and reduce your fuel consumption, please don't drive without lights in the dark, but do think about the power you're consuming, turn down the fan if you don't need it and use sidelights until its dark enough that headlights will help you see the road ahead. That, surely, is the point - sidelights are there to enable you to be seen by other road users, headlights are there to enable you to see the road ahead when the ambient light levels fall to the extent that you can't see it. Switch on, switch off. Thank you for your votes!

Malcolm McKay, Motorbase News Editor