In several studies (Allen and Clark, 1964; Cantilli, 1970; Andersson, Nilsson and Salusjarvi, 1976; Allen, 1979; Attwood, 1981; and Rumar, 1981) the use of daytime running lights as a conspicuity device has been demonstrated to reduce the frequency of certain classes of motor vehicle accidents. What has not been determined is a method to derive a functional relationship between photometric output of daytime running lights and accident rates. The authors discuss their approach in the development of a model for relating derived figures of merit (based on photometric measurements) of some 45 unique daytime running light units and accident rate.
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