Over the last few months, I’ve noticed this thing where the more modern, and fancy the vehicle - the more likely they are to drive around with their lights off, the moment it’s legal to be unlit.
This seems a bit daft, in these dingy rush-hour mornings and evenings with dark skies, even in the full day time. If you’ve got lights, then why not use them?
Then there’s the people who have their lights on all the time, even in strong sunshine… With a dipped filament frequently blown, back stop light out, and rapid-flashing indicators on one side as well…
Is there an explanation for this, beyond public bone-idleness to reach over and twiddle that bloody knob?
Has anyone else had the experience in the morning traffic of some idiot in an Audi coming right at them, no lights, in the morning gloom and pouring rain?
Come to that, have you noticed just how many Audis there are about these days?
I put it down to automation causing dumbing down. Because most cars now have auto lights people seem to have lost the ability to think for themselves and realise the auto system needs overriding now and then.
Autolights? Are they timed to “Official lighting up time” rather than sense just how dark it is on these rainy mornings and evenings we get?
Doesn’t the dashboard on the more modern cars also have dashboard indications when a bulb is blown as well?
I mean, if we drove about like that - we’d get pulled by plod, and handed a PG9 woudn’t we?
I agree technology is making drivers lazy. Dont have turn lights on windscreen wipers are automatic. I posted similar post regards my new truck daf lf .it has all kinds of gadgets n stuff I don’t need do anything even stops when close to car in front and I hate it taking the fun out of driving and turning us into robots
I leave my lights on automatic all the time. They come on when needed and go out when not, although mine does have daylight running lights too.
But no they are not on a timer linked to lighting up time
Possibly a similar situation of forgetting to put the lights on in well lit areas because many older divers have been conditioned by years of associating the lights being on with the instrument panel lights.Then only realising that the lights are actually off when the headlights don’t light the road ahead.
Also ironically the paranoia that then creates in trying to instinctively remember to turn the lights on when driving off,means that the lights get turned on in perfect day light conditions.
Been there done all that. 
Many cars are now fitted with daylight running lights, which are very bright, and, on balance do offer increased safety in most cases. The down side of them , and I don’t understand why the manufacturers have done it, is that, when these lights are active, the car remain unlit at the rear.
The front lights are so strong that you often see cars being driven in almost fully dark conditions using only the automatic lights but are almost invisible from behind.
I drove a Scania recently and I got caught out a few times because the dashboard was lit up when the running lights were off, and weren’t lit up when they were on. If there’s a logic to that then it’s beyond me.
Old John:
Many cars are now fitted with daylight running lights, which are very bright, and, on balance do offer increased safety in most cases. The down side of them , and I don’t understand why the manufacturers have done it, is that, when these lights are active, the car remain unlit at the rear.
The front lights are so strong that you often see cars being driven in almost fully dark conditions using only the automatic lights but are almost invisible from behind.
You beat me to it John, I was going to comment about that.
On a motorway/dual at night time, you see the car coming up from behind, lights on, they go past you and there are no lights at the back.
You flash them and all that you see in front are :
the brake lights come on,
you see them turn off all the lights as you see their front light go off and come back on, but nothing at the back
you flash again:
and again you get the brake lights, then the indicators, left then right,
still no rear lights flash them again and you get now
the hazards, the brake lights
by which time I’ve lost all patients and thought oh F/it and they drive off into the dark…
still with no rear lights !!! 
I have always wondered what sort of system it is in new cars that when you turn the lights on, only the ones at the front come on.
And please don’t get me started on the pretend fog lights under the indicators that come on when a car is turning left or right !!! 
Got to say I have noticed a lot more cars driving in the dark with no lights on recently. You used to get the odd one but the numbers have definitely increased for some reason.
I put it down to drivers not being trained properly with the teach to pass method rather than teach to drive.
Also I think I am right in saying some newer cars have dash lights lit even when the exterior lights are off. Not much help to a dozy driver.
And please don’t get me started on the pretend fog lights under the indicators that come on when a car is turning left or right !!!
Ha I will get you started!
I take it you are talking about front lights because if you are they are not fog lamps as you suggest.
DRL’s only work on the front and come on with the ignition but with LED / laser technology theyre so bright many forget to switch on the main lights. Auto headlights are different, these are light detecting and switch on the vehicles lights on in full ie front and rear. Some vehicles are made with just drl’s, some with drl’s combined with the auto function, its the former you’ll see at night with just the fronts on…
jakethesnake:
And please don’t get me started on the pretend fog lights under the indicators that come on when a car is turning left or right !!!
Ha I will get you started!
I take it you are talking about front lights because if you are they are not fog lamps as you suggest.
Jake you know what I mean, it’s the lights set in the bumper that come on when the vehicle is making a turn. The right one when the car is turning right, like going round a roundabout and the left one when it’s turning left. They are infuriating!!
pierrot 14:
I have always wondered what sort of system it is in new cars that when you turn the lights on, only the ones at the front come on.
Those are just day running lights and they are permanently switched by the ignition switch and go off when the proper lights are turned on at the light switch.The problem being that the instrument panel lights are also permanently lit thereby fooling those of us to who the instrument lights being lit also automatically meant that the lights are on being switched by the light switch.
Realistically the electrical system of modern cars will probably make the things uneconomic to repair long before their useful working life is over.
Harry Monk:
I drove a Scania recently and I got caught out a few times because the dashboard was lit up when the running lights were off, and weren’t lit up when they were on. If there’s a logic to that then it’s beyond me.
I reckon you’ve got it licked here. I’d say this is the culprit. In older cars was more obvious lights were off as you couldn’t see the dash display 
. These modern ones using lcds everywhere are lit up like Blackpool. Coupled with bright modern urban lighting the absent minded driver doesn’t realise they’ve forgotten.
Old John:
Many cars are now fitted with daylight running lights, which are very bright, and, on balance do offer increased safety in most cases. The down side of them , and I don’t understand why the manufacturers have done it, is that, when these lights are active, the car remain unlit at the rear.
The front lights are so strong that you often see cars being driven in almost fully dark conditions using only the automatic lights but are almost invisible from behind.
Most cars now have rear lights on along with front DRL mine had front DRL and rear taillights on auto as well.
I’ve had a car with cornering lights and quite liked them. I’m now in a 2006 bmw which obviously doesn’t have them but does have auto lights. The key is to realise occasionally the sensor doesn’t always get it right so you need to manually turn the lights on, hardly mastermind is it! [emoji57]
I have got coding software so I can turn the sensitivity up and down as well as turning the halos on as DRL’s then there’s about 5 different brightnesses!
Harry Monk:
I drove a Scania recently and I got caught out a few times because the dashboard was lit up when the running lights were off, and weren’t lit up when they were on. If there’s a logic to that then it’s beyond me.
I was just about to say that Harry, it’s caught me out in the past also…bloody stupid idea.
I think cars with daytime front lights should have the rears on too, our lorries do, but a lot of cars don’t. I saw so many in heavy snow with no rear lights on, they probably thought they were on.