Transport Canada has announced new vehicle lighting safety standards.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Wednesday all new vehicles sold in Canada starting in 2021 will be required to be more visible in darkness and low light conditions.
He said new cars will have to be built in one of three ways:
The first is that new cars could have daytime running lights and tail lights that come on automatically when the vehicle instrument panel is illuminated and the vehicle is in operation.
The vehicle could be built so that the headlights, tail lights and side marker lights automatically turn on in low light conditions.
A third option would be that the driver’s instrument panel could stay dark until the driver turns the lights on.
"Phantom vehicles have been a nuisance and a safety risk on Canada’s roads for many years,” said Garneau in a statement announcing the new regulations. “The new measures we’re taking will improve nighttime visibility and safety for all Canadian road users.”
“As more new vehicles are built to our lighting safety standard, phantom vehicles will eventually become ghosts of the past.”
It is illegal in Canada to drive without your headlights on during low visibility conditions.
Transport Canada said it’s also partnering with CAA to renew a 2015 awareness campaign called “see and be seen.”
