Porsche Daytime Running Lights

When I was watching the news about the Porsche Panamera accident on the Hanshin Expressway the other day, my husband said,

This Panamera (970) seemed to be speeding, but I wonder if the lights were on. This model of Panamera was made before Japan’s DRL standards changed, so the headlights should come on automatically after driving above a certain speed for a while.

Come to think of it, we once talked about how the Panamera Edition (970) we had at home had its daytime running light function set to sleep mode (disabled), or something like that… with my husband.

Revision of DRL Standards

Daytime Running Lights, or DRL, are called Daytime Running Lamps in English, and as the name suggests, they are “lights turned on during the day for safer driving.” Previously in Japan, DRLs were classified as “other lighting,” and the brightness standard was set at However, 300 candelas is quite dim, and European cars equipped with DRLs were too bright to meet Japan’s standards, so they couldn’t have their DRLs on in Japan. (Lexus models, for example, were made much dimmer for the Japanese market.)

Because of this, European cars like Porsche were delivered with their DRL functions preset to sleep mode (disabled).

That said, being European cars, if you drive above a certain speed on the highway (according to the manual, 140 km/h) for a while, the headlights automatically turn on for safety. However, in Japan, many drivers prefer to turn off their lights altogether because daytime full lighting is often mistaken for forgetting to turn off the lights, which they dislike. (If DRL is on, this automatic headlight activation does not occur, but since Japanese models don’t have DRL settings, this function activates. To prevent it, the lights must be turned off.)

Then, in October 2016, Japan revised its safety standards for DRLs, raising the brightness limit to 1,440 candelas, (Europe revised its upper limit to 1,200 candelas, so Japan may align with the European standard of 1,200 candelas in the future) allowing European cars’ DRLs to operate without issues in Japan. Therefore, the 971 Panamera we currently have at home now has DRLs that stay on whenever the engine is running.

I really like how cool DRLs look when they’re on during the day. More importantly, DRLs are said to have safety benefits. There is data showing that “when early headlight activation was implemented, accidents decreased by 17% year-over-year, and for smaller cars driving in urban areas, accidents dropped by 34%.” (This data is actually for headlights, not DRLs)
*Headlight Early Activation Research Institute: Report on Early Activation by Nippon Express

On the other hand, some say DRLs can be distracting to drivers and thus dangerous. But my husband says that when DRLs are on, the chances of other drivers suddenly cutting in front of you during lane changes or pulling out suddenly from parking lots like convenience stores are clearly lower compared to when DRLs are off.

What About Our Boxster?

I said, “So that means models sold in Japan before October 2016 don’t have DRLs, right? That’s inconvenient and a safety disadvantage.”
My husband replied,

That’s why people ask specialists to enable DRLs through coding. But then, the car might fail inspections or dealer checks, so you have to go back and have the settings reverted each time, which is a hassle. Also, some people who thought “they might overlook it a little” and took their cars to Porsche dealers for inspections ended up having conflicts with the dealer and were banned from the dealership.
So, for my 981 Boxster, I avoid the hassle of going back and forth by not doing coding. Instead, I use a device that lets me enable or disable DRLs by plugging it into the car myself.

By the way, this is it:

For safety, my husband always drives with the DRLs on and sets the headlights to AUTO so they come on automatically as soon as it gets even a little dark. He also says that imported cars’ AUTO headlights turn on earlier in dim conditions or rain, which is very helpful.

Since Porsches have strong acceleration and power, it’s easy to reach the speed limit quickly. So, if someone suddenly cuts in front of you, it can be dangerous. That’s why to help other drivers notice you early and to prevent accidents as much as possible, it’s best to keep your DRLs on and turn on your headlights early when it starts to get dark.