Many cars with no headlights on in heavy rain.

[ZML]

Majority of cars' auto headlights do not switch on when its dark from rain or fog. This morning, I saw about a third of cars with no headlights on.

Many drivers presume that the auto lights come on when it rains. No they don't. You need to manually switch them on.

If you don't know how to do this, surrender your licence.

Some of the headlights are so bright, i'm secretly grateful for that, in this one specific scenario

Imagine how many cars you didn't see because they didn't have their headlights on!

This is a symptom of automation I'm afraid. People just leave the car to it. I own a Volvo which has daytime running lights by default, which means the lights are on regardless of the conditions. I do agree, it's extremely dangerous. It takes mere seconds to turn the lights on, and the same amount of time again to check that they are indeed on.

I see this every autumn, cue everyone also driving around at 4&5 pm when the light is perfectly clear with their headlights on full beam.

Daytime running lights have been a legal requirement in the UK for new cars since 2011. So I suggest that cars with no lights at all are older ones, not newer ones that the automation has failed to turn on.

Of course in the cars we have had you can turn off the automation, so that too may be a problem.

I was wondering about this, but I’m guessing the reason they don’t come on is that, despite the rain, light levels are high enough to see other cars perfectly well, just not quite as well as when the sun’s out!

For instance, if I have my lights on, it barely makes any difference to my ability to see a parked car ahead of me…. Unlike when it is actually dark when I wouldn’t see the car at all without headlights.

Maybe wind your neck in a bit before telling people they should surrender their licenses

The purpose of daytime lights is to increase your visibility to others.

It doesn't help with seeing any other hazards though.

Day time running lights are only at the front. In poor visibility you need rear lights on also. So you need to manually put your side lights
on as a minimum.
Too many people use DRL as an excuse to be lazy and dangerous.

What about cars seeing you? Especially on a motorway when rain is really heavy it’s not easy to see people in your mirrors without lights on, especially grey/ silver cars.

Yes, except they only work at the front. In poor conditions you need to consider the people coming up behind you. So you need to manually switch on your lights.

These car drivers should put on their main headlights in poor weather, not just rely on the daytime running lights.

I didn’t realise that the daytime running lights on the first car I had with them didn’t come on at the back as well for a short while. The cars I have had since have had automatic settings to side lights on as a minimum regardless now.
Some cars also have really well lit up dashboards, even if the headlights are not on and I think this is possibly a reason why people just drive off in the dark and assume they have got their headlights on. My first car, late 90s, only had the illuminated dashboard when the headlights were actually on.

Why are British drivers so stubborn (or worse, quirky) when it comes to lights and driving?

Around my way in the South East we have a few of us who follow the code and understand lighting, but the rest fall into two main types of driver:

• The ones who as the OP said, don't have lights on "because auto-lights". They don't care, they don't even care about motoring. The car is on PCP anyway and it is the equivalent of their iPhone -you just keep until you get bored of it or tempted by a new model. They just want to walk up to the car, press a button, and then press a pedal. The main dashboard screen with CarPlay is the most important thing in the car.

• The ones who have decided they "want to look different" and so have two sets of headlights on - main beams AND fog lights. These drivers, who must think "wow, quad lights look cool" are driving around blinding most normal drivers. And no, it's not auto lights which is causing it to happen. I saw loads of these 'four headlight' drivers in summer, during the DAY.

I hate the way this country has gone. And you can't criticise any of the above because people never, ever like to be told.

Some cars also have really well lit up dashboards, even if the headlights are not on and I think this is possibly a reason why people just drive off in the dark and assume they have got their headlights on

i think you're right, but what a world we live in that people can get into a 1 or 2 tonne vehicle, one capable of killing another human, and just "assume" they have something critical to safety switched on.

It actually disgusts me that there are people who care so little for others that they would rather not inconvenience themselves to do a manual check of the lights switch before setting off, but instead just make an assumption.

You don’t put your main headlights on because it’s raining in the middle of the day!

Side lights if it’s a bit dark due to cloud cover, yes, but main headlights when it’s broad daylight??

It’s always the dark grey / black cars around our way that never have lights on when needed here and impossible to see at a distance in this weather.
I did smile to myself when a car passed me in the dark without headlights on and promptly got pulled over by a police car.

The rain is rarely ever that bad that you can't see other cars. Come on.

If you can't see them, maybe you need your eyes checked.

It's not just rain though - spray from the road surface can be just as bad, especially on motorways.

If the sky is grey and it's absolutely honking it down, why on earth wouldn't you put your headlights on?

If you’re driving and can’t see hazards such as traffic calming measures, pedestrians, cyclists etc then you need to ensure your lights are on dipped beam. If you still can’t see road obstructions then pull over and stop driving.

See and be seen!

Yes you do. It makes you more visible.
Not the massive full beams, but the actual headlights need to be turned on.

You don’t put your main headlights on because it’s raining in the middle of the day!

I don’t, but they come on automatically when the wipers turn on (automatically).

But if they didn’t, I would turn them on anyway. It’s only sensible.

The issue is not just the front headlights but that the rear lights are not on if the headlights are not on so in heavy rain or low visibility it makes it hard to see the car in front if they automatic lights don’t come on or just the daytime lights are on

😂😂😂