With the Winter Solstice falling on December 21, it means that daylight time starts to get slightly longer each day, however, Continental Tyres Ireland is advising motorists not to wait until darkness to turn on their lights.

Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland, commented: "A lot of newer cars come with day-time running lights (DTRLs) as standard, this means they have lights on once the engine is running even during daylight time. This is a huge boost to road safety as the old adage for pedestrian safety: 'Be safe, be seen'! is equally true for motorists and other road-users".

"However, there is a significant amount of older vehicles on our roads and many of these cars and vans do not have daytime running lights, so for the drivers of those vehicles our advice is to drive with dipped headlights all day long.  If motorists take this small step of always driving with their lights on, day and night, we believe it would be a great improvement for road safety this Christmas and into the New Year".

The issue of visibility is a leading contributory cause to road accidents in Ireland.  Poor lighting outside of built up areas and bad road conditions compound this problem.  So as New Year approaches, Continental Tyres Ireland is urging Irish motorists to make an extra New Year resolution to always (day and night) drive with headlights on (dipped when appropriate).

Driving with lights on is of particular importance when weather conditions demand it.  Without question, drivers should switch on their lights in falling rain, snow or misty conditions.

The advice in relation to driving with lights on all day is part of Continental Tyre Group's commitment to its Vision Zero strategy, a long term commitment to reduce accidents through tyre technologies and innovative automotive systems.