Why do you have your car lights on in the day?

[Rubbleonthedouble2]

It's a bright, sunny day and we're driving to my mum's on the motorway and I have seen so many cars with their headlights on.

I don't drive. DP helpfully says "they just do" 🙄 what am I missing?

No I will not be googling this, it's a long drive and I'm bored.

To make you more visible to other road users so they see you and reduce the risk of a crash. In my old job it was a job requirement to always drive with headlights on while on company business, day or night. In Scandinavian countries is was/is the law to drive with them on. Then cars came in with day time running lights (DRLs) which are now mandated in all new cars. I have an older car without DRLs but always put my lights on, as (stupidly) DRLs only lights at the front. Put your side lights on the your rear lights come on too.
FYI “bright sunny days” are some of the worst for visibility. The lack of shadows, heat haze and other factors can make it difficult to discern a moving car. It tricks your brain. You get a lot of “I just didn’t see him” type accidents on bright sunny days as a result.
Bottom line - put your lights on. It doesn’t hurt and might just save your or someone else’s life.

The law and guidance. Why do you not have daytime running lights is the question.

Daytime running lights (DRLs) are actually brighter than headlights as they need to overcome daytime brightness. They should switch off when you put your headlights on to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles.

Very dangerous to put it in auto and forget about it. You should be assessing the driving conditions constantly and putting your lights on or off as needed. Auto lights don’t always come on in rain with reduced visibility for example as it can still be bright enough for the sensor.

I sometimes forget to turn them off, it’s not really obvious they are on from inside the car. My lights go off automatically when I stop the car so I don’t need to turn them off when stopped so if I was driving in the dark yesterday and drive somewhere today in the light I won’t always notice they’re on to turn them off. If I’m doing a long journey and will be driving in the dark but start off when it’s light I also sometimes turn them on when I start off in case I forget to turn them on when it starts getting dark.

The lights on permanently is definitely a thing now, don't know when this started but I have a momentary panic if I realize they aren't on. I drive a banger so no automatic lights.

Many cars have running lights on permanently, it’s a safety thing, cars with lights on are more visible to other road users.

Every single person on here who has responded along the lines of “I leave it in auto and the car decides and I never touch it” is a lazy, dangerous driver.
Day Time Running lights (DRLs) are on all the (day)time and only work at the front. In poor visibility you should be putting your side or main lights on manually so your rear lights also come on. How many of you have driven down the motorway in the rain and can barely see the car in front because if has no rear lights on? This is why.
Automatic headlights (which include rear lights) only respond to changes in light level below a certain limit. Again, during the day if conditions deteriorate eg it rains and sprains being kicked up, auto lights might not come on. As above you need to recognise the changing conditions and manually turn your lights on. Again the main reason for this is so you have viable rear lights for others to see you, not so you can see ahead of you in the dark. As a driver you should be constantly asking yourself “Can others road users see me, and what can I do to make myself more visible”

OP, as a non-driver, I presume you’re a pedestrian - and it’s much easier to see a car coming if it has its headlights on. I don’t know why you would care - if you have your mead lights on during the day, it just makes you more visible.

I keep my lights on because it has been recommended for decades as an important road safety practice.

😂

mine can also be set to do high beams on auto! It freaked me out when I did it by accident, and I e never done it again!

Oh yes, and I also do tend to put my lights on on an overcast day, or early morning or evening. Visibility - as in having the other drivers actually be able to see you - is much better.

Mine too !

I have daylight running lights but tend to have full lights on all the time as
it helps for others to see you in murky grey conditions and I would rather have them on. Mine are not the new dazzling type so no harm done having them on all the time.

No I will not be googling this, it's a long drive and I'm bored.

Take you less time to google than going on mumsnet lol

Dangerous, lazy owner.
Idiots gonna idiot.

Mumsnet at its finest, the usual superior replies to a simple question (it’s been especially bad lately).

Am I a dangerous, lazy owner for not using a manual choke, preferring to leave it up to the car to decide on that (and there’s no manual control anyway)? Are those who drive automatic cars dangerous, lazy owners because they don’t like manual?

Modern cars do a lot of automatic stuff which you don’t even think about. Is every driver who doesn’t understand double declutching a dangerous, lazy owner?

My dad told me to always have my lights on especially on a motorway. Even on sunny days where there can be glare, headlights make you more visible. Lights on always.

I do! It's still annoying though. And it's a dangerous invention imo.
I miss the days when the driver was in charge of everything, not have to turn everything off before back in charge!

Our Volvo does that. Our Skoda doesn’t. So there’s always a few seconds where I’m expecting it to come on and then remember it won’t depending on which car I’m driving!

Same.

My car lights are always on. That is how the car works.

we own 3 cars. All operate the same way.

I agree with the PP I believe you are referencing. Some of the responses on here are shocking! You always drive to the conditions and if you don’t know -or are scared(!) - of your car lights then do yourself and the rest of us a favour and take some time to understand how your car works.
Your example about other automatic features such as double declining etc is a deflection and not relevant. This thread is about safety and being visible to other drivers and recognising that the automatic systems have their limitations.

And in most states in the America.

It’s proven to be safer, particularly in darker, Northern European countries. In my car, it’s also automatic.