if you have a car without automatic lights do you put them on

[Marshtit]

i find it quite unnerving driving with so many cars with lights, i am tempted to put my side lights on.
driving through darker areas, with plenty of trees, or under a bridge for eg.
do you find yourself having side lights on simply because of all the automatic lights on cars?
somebody with an older car like mine was behind me while we drove up a darker road with a bridge, and put his lights on while driving this particular section, is this a rule now?

When I did my driving course in North America over 20 years ago they told us that daytime running lights reduce the occurrence of accidents during the day by 5-10%, since then I turn on my car lights regardless of time of day.

Yes, I drive a car without automatic lights & now put on side lights for normal every day driving, and headlights if it gets overcast .

My car has automatic lights but I do turn them to manual when it is grey / overcast/ driving through trees. I don’t think the sensors are sensitive enough as it needs to get quite dark to come on. I have noticed lots of people have lights on all the time, I don’t think it’s legally necessary

I would do in poorer visibility (dusk, heavy rain) especially on the motorway. Not in response to what others are doing, but because it feels like the right thing to do by increasing visibility and hence safety.

My current car has automatic lights but before that, yes I always put the lights on. Either side or main. Read somewhere it reduces accidents.

Why do you find it unnerving?

I’ll put my sidelights on when it’s dull but not dark. Especially if I see another non-automatic car without them on and I sense they should be more visible, it’s a sense check that I should be more visible.

because the majority of cars have their lights on, despite lovely sunshine, and i dont @AnOldCynic

No, if it's good light I don't.

Oh yes. I do it for tunnels, and narrow roads. I think it’s also best to do it on sunny days on narrow roads with trees: it gives oncoming drivers a few extra seconds to see you.

Motorcyclists and bus drivers often have lights on all the time.

My car with automatic lights put them on when it sees fit. I make sure that they're on all the time. Even on sunny days because if I'm coming out of the Sun motorists coming the other way might not see me so quickly.

These days I'm more unnerved by vehicles that don't have lights on because on first take they appear to be stationary.

In that case I’d just use your own judgement @Marshtit I think some of these lights are over sensitive.

My car is ancient so doesn’t have automatic lights and I’ve never really given it any thought as most of my driving is in daylight on A roads. Obviously if it’s getting dark or raining then I put them on. However I’ve recently been away for a few days and have been driving down narrow lanes with lots of dappled light and was quite surprised at how invisible that made cars with no lights on.

Yes, I often drive with sidelights. It doesn't hurt anyone, and certainly can help, so why not

My car has automatic lights, and I still put them on myself on occasion.

Modern cars have running lights which stay on all the time - but they are only front lights.
My automatic lights come on based on light levels, but are not affected by fog, drizzle etc. If visibility is poor, I want the people behind me to see me so I will put my lights on manually as the auto response doesn't work in those conditions.

My car has running lights at front only so if I think others are unlikely to see me from behind then I put my lights on. I judge this by looking at the car in front to see if its clearly visible or not. Same with fog lights, if I can't see others in time or clearly then others cannot see me. I would never rely on automatic lights either.

yes, it is the dappled light when driving.
if there werent cars driving with lights on, i dont think i would ever think about putting my lights on