What are daytime running lights for?

They make a car easier to see in daylight. Daytime running lamps have been mandatory on new cars type-approved in Europe since February 2011, following research showing that conspicuous vehicles are involved in fewer daytime collisions with pedestrians and other traffic. They are front-facing only, they light automatically when the engine runs, and the regulations require them to switch off or dim when the headlamps come on so they do not add glare at night.

Do daytime running lights come on at the back of the car?

No, and this is the fact behind a great many near misses. Daytime running lamps are fitted at the front only. A car being driven on DRLs in heavy rain, spray, fog or winter gloom has completely unlit rear lamps, so from behind it looks like an unlit vehicle. Some cars have since been programmed to bring the rear lamps up in poor light, but you cannot assume yours does. Whenever visibility is poor, switch to dipped beam, which lights the whole car.

Do daytime running lights fail an MOT?

Only on newer cars. DRLs are inspected under section 4.2 of the inspection manual, but the tester only checks them where they were fitted as original equipment to M1 vehicles first used on or after 1 March 2018. On those cars a DRL that is missing or does not work is a major defect. Where the lamp uses multiple LEDs, up to half of them out is a minor defect and more than half out is a major. Cars first used before that date are not inspected for DRLs at all.

Can I turn my daytime running lights off?

Some cars offer a menu setting for it and some do not, but on a car that was type-approved with DRLs you should leave them alone. Where they are fitted as original equipment to a vehicle first used on or after 1 March 2018 they are a testable item, so disabling them creates an MOT failure. On older cars where they are not tested, disabling them is not an offence but removes a safety feature that costs nothing to leave switched on.

Dashboard warning light

Daytime running light indicator

Last updated 27 July 2026

Quick answer

The daytime running lamps are on. This is normal and automatic on any car built to recent European rules — they light whenever the engine is running and there is no fault. The important thing to understand is that DRLs are fitted at the front only, so a car running on DRLs alone has nothing lit at the back.

What to do: No action needed
Can you drive?: Yes

Why it is green

Confirms something is switched on and working. Not a fault.

What turns it on

Starting the engine. Daytime running lamps have been required on new cars type-approved in Europe since February 2011, and the regulations require them to switch off or dim when the headlamps are switched on, so on most cars you will only see this tell-tale in daylight with the light switch off or in the automatic position.

What to do about it

In poor daytime visibility, switch to dipped beam. This is the single most useful thing on this page: rain, spray, fog and gloom are exactly the conditions where a car on DRLs is invisible from behind, because the rear lamps are not lit.
Get out of the habit of judging your lights by the brightness in front of the car. Modern DRLs are bright enough to make a dark road look lit from the driver's seat.
If the light switch is in the automatic position, check that the tell-tale for dipped beam has appeared when the weather closes in. Light sensors respond to brightness, not visibility, and often leave the headlamps off in fog.
If one DRL is out on a car first used on or after 1 March 2018, get it fixed before the MOT. They became testable items that year, and many are sealed LED units rather than replaceable bulbs.

Can you keep driving?

Yes

Yes. This is a confirmation lamp and nothing is wrong. The only risk attached to it is complacency: drivers who see a well-lit road ahead assume the whole car is lit, and in bad weather the car behind sees nothing at all.

What causes it

The engine is running and the light switch is off or in automatic — the ordinary case
The DRLs are doubling as front position lamps and have dimmed rather than switched off
The car has been fitted with aftermarket DRLs wired to the ignition

Does it fail an MOT?

Not on its own — but what causes it often does.

There is no MOT defect for the DRL tell-tale. The lamps themselves became testable with the 2018 changes and are inspected under section 4.2, but only where they were fitted as original equipment to M1 vehicles first used on or after 1 March 2018. On those cars a daytime running lamp that is missing or inoperative is a major defect, as is a defective lens or a lamp likely to become detached; a multiple light source with up to half its LEDs out is a minor defect, and more than half out is a major one.

Common questions

What are daytime running lights for?: They make a car easier to see in daylight. Daytime running lamps have been mandatory on new cars type-approved in Europe since February 2011, following research showing that conspicuous vehicles are involved in fewer daytime collisions with pedestrians and other traffic. They are front-facing only, they light automatically when the engine runs, and the regulations require them to switch off or dim when the headlamps come on so they do not add glare at night.
Do daytime running lights come on at the back of the car?: No, and this is the fact behind a great many near misses. Daytime running lamps are fitted at the front only. A car being driven on DRLs in heavy rain, spray, fog or winter gloom has completely unlit rear lamps, so from behind it looks like an unlit vehicle. Some cars have since been programmed to bring the rear lamps up in poor light, but you cannot assume yours does. Whenever visibility is poor, switch to dipped beam, which lights the whole car.
Do daytime running lights fail an MOT?: Only on newer cars. DRLs are inspected under section 4.2 of the inspection manual, but the tester only checks them where they were fitted as original equipment to M1 vehicles first used on or after 1 March 2018. On those cars a DRL that is missing or does not work is a major defect. Where the lamp uses multiple LEDs, up to half of them out is a minor defect and more than half out is a major. Cars first used before that date are not inspected for DRLs at all.
Can I turn my daytime running lights off?: Some cars offer a menu setting for it and some do not, but on a car that was type-approved with DRLs you should leave them alone. Where they are fitted as original equipment to a vehicle first used on or after 1 March 2018 they are a testable item, so disabling them creates an MOT failure. On older cars where they are not tested, disabling them is not an offence but removes a safety feature that costs nothing to leave switched on.

This is general guidance, not a diagnosis. Manufacturers draw the same system differently and reuse symbols for more than one function, so check the handbook for your own car before acting on anything here.

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