Now Europe wants us to keep headlights on ALL day - inflating fuel costs by up to £160 a year

Daily Mail 25 September 2008

Drivers face paying up to £160 a year more for fuel because of an EU directive forcing them to keep their headlamps on all day.

The European Commission wants all new passenger cars and vans to have lights that stay on while the engine is running.

It is estimated that this will increase fuel consumption by around 5 per cent.



The directive, which is being sent to the European Parliament for final approval, would come into force in February 2011.

Truck and bus manufacturers would have an extra 18 months to meet the new specifications.

Timothy Kirkhope, Tory transport spokesman in the European Parliament, said daylight running could make roads more dangerous.

'If all cars have lights on, there is a concern that drivers start looking out for lights, rather than pedestrians or cyclists,' he said.

'At a time when we are pushing for reductions in the use of fuel and resultant emissions, we must be certain we are not causing extra carbon emissions without an additional benefit.'

Britain has opposed the measure but is unable to block it because a majority of other EU nations were in favour and transport issues are not subject to veto.

According to the AA, the fuel bill for a typical family car would rise by £68 a year and by as much as &£160 a year for less efficient larger models.

Heavy goods vehicles would see costs shoot up by £260 a year.

Green campaigners say the ruling, which will be in force from Lapland in the north to Cyprus in the south, will waste fuel.

Daytime-running lights were made compulsory in Scandinavian countries in the late 1970s - which is why Swedish-built Volvos always have their lights on.

In 2006, Austria, Croatia and the Czech Republic-became the first outside of Northern Europe to follow suit. Daytime lights are used in 14 states.

A Dutch study found they could prevent 5,500 deaths and 155,000 injuries across Europe.

But Tory MP Greg Knight said: 'This idea was being pushed by Scandinavian countries and it's absolutely ludicrous that it should be imposed in a blanket fashion across Europe.

'The UK does not suffer from the short hours of daylight as in northern Europe, and places like Spain certainly don't.'

The proposal has been opposed by Stephen Ladyman, who was a transport minister during earlier discussions and is now a backbencher.

He said: 'This directive will kill a lot of motorcyclists. They use daytime lights to make them easier to see but if cars are using them as well, motorbikes will blur into the background.'