NHTSA Complaint #718111 — 1999 UNKNOWN UNKNOWN

MY COMPLAINT HAS TO DO WITH DAYTIME DRIVING LIGHTS. DRIVING LIGHTS HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE BEST SAFETY ADDITIONS TO AUTOMOBILES IN YEARS. HOWEVER, ALMOST EVERY MANUFACTURER HAS FORGOTTEN ONE ADDITIONAL SAFETY FACTOR. WHEN DRIVING LIGHTS ARE ON, THE TAIL LIGHTS ARE NOT ON. THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM ON FAIR DAYS BUT DOES PRESENT A PROBLEM ON RAINY OR FOGGY DAYS. I HAVE NOTICED RECENTLY WHEN APPROACHING A VEHICLE FROM THE REAR ON A RAINY OR FOGGY DAY WITH POOR VISIBILITY, THE TAIL LIGHTS ARE NOT ON, BUT WHEN PASSING THE VEHICLE, THE DRIVING LIGHTS ARE ON. I FEEL THIS IS A DEFINITE SAFETY ISSUE. EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN SEE A CAR APPROACHING YOU ON A DAY WITH POOR VISIBILITY, YOU CAN NOT ALWAYS SEE A CAR IN TIME FROM THE REAR ON A DAY WITH POOR VISIBILITY. I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE A PRUDENT ACTION BY THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, TO HAVE CAR MANUFACTURERS BEGIN INTERCONNECTING THE DAYTIME DRIVING LIGHTS WITH THE TAIL LIGHTS. IT MAY EVEN BE ADVISABLE TO HAVE ALL CARS MANUFACTURED PREVIOUSLY WITH DAYTIME DRIVING LIGHTS THAT DO NOT HAVE TAIL LIGHTS THAT BURN WITH THE DRIVING LIGHTS TO BE RECALLED AND HAVE THIS INTERCONNECTION MADE. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY CONCERN.*AK