Our lights are off when we're on our way home

Experts have also reminded those without the technology to make sure they light up at night and at dusk. 

With daylight savings about to end, an NRMA Insurance study of peak-hour traffic at sunset found 14 per cent of cars didn’t have their headlights on. Part of the cause is the increasing number of new vehicles equipped with instruments that are backlit both day and night.

“In the old days you could tell when your headlights weren’t on because the speedometer wasn’t illuminated,” said NRMA Insurance head of research Robert McDonald. “But with many new cars the speedometer is illuminated even when the headlights are not on.”

The change in technology prompted NRMA Insurance to test a range of automatic headlight systems. The study found not all are created equally. Among the eight popular new and used cars tested there was a difference of up to 34 minutes in the time it took the headlights to illuminate at dusk.

“Automatic headlights are a great backup but drivers shouldn’t totally rely on them,” McDonald said. “There is a difference in calibration of the sensors and the position of the sensors. The car’s direction of travel is also a factor.”

In the peak-hour study -- which monitored traffic on Parramatta Road at Burwood at nightfall -- Toyota cars were over-represented among those vehicles without their headlights on. Toyotas represented 34 per cent of the cars without their headlights on, even though Toyotas account for 20 per cent of all new cars sold.

Hondas were the next brand of cars over-represented, accounting for 10 per cent of all cars without their headlights on, even though they account for 4 per cent of cars sold.

NRMA Insurance says the number of crashes doubles between 3pm and 6pm in the winter months compared to the daily average -- and dark-coloured cars are involved in 10 per cent more collisions than light-coloured vehicles.

“Our claims data shows black, dark green and dark blue cars are over-represented in crashes in low light conditions,” McDonald said. “They are involved in 10 per cent more crashes in those conditions than yellow and white cars. This implies they’re not being seen.

“On roads with bright city streets, some drivers might think they don’t need headlights to see. But it's equally important to be seen by other cars.”

The old method of using the street lights as a guide to switch on your headlights is also flawed, McDonald said. “Street lights don’t come on at the same time from suburb to suburb, and in some cases they come on at different times in the same street.”

Many drivers may be unaware they’re in the dark because their car’s instrument display is brightly lit. But the law is crystal clear when it comes to driving without headlights: in NSW the offence carries a $99 fine and one demerit point.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling