I agree they should come on but it’s not a requirement at this point. On low visibility days but not dark enough for the system to turn my lights on, I just have hunk of leftover headliner material that I put over the light sensor on the dash. Then the car thinks its night and turns the lights on. Also shuts them off again when I stop the car so I don’t have to remember to shut the lights off.
The auto function of the light switch is the problem.
NY State requires headlights, not DRLs, on when it is raining.
A lot of drivers think the auto function takes care of everything and have no Idea that their tail and side lights are not on in the rain and snow. Gray or silver cars can be just about invisible ahead of you in the rain if they don’t have their tail lights on.
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I live in snowy Michigan and I do not need any stats to know that DRLs reduce accidents. During a very heavy snow or fog, many times a car can not be seen for literally 100 feet from where you are if there are no headlights on. Yet there are MANY ignorant and frankly, in my opinion some are just plain stupid idiots that do not turn on their headlights in these conditions because it’s daytime. And it doesn’t help them see any better, so why inconvenience themselves to reach down and flick a switch. Many, many times, when turning right or left from a stop sign onto another road, all I have is a prayer or chance that some idiot is not coming with their headlights on. I think you can tell that this is a pet peeves (and rightly so). I wish it weren’t true, but I often take a count of how many cars do not have lights on during dangerous conditions, during my 12 Mile drive from work. In most cases I believe that people have a right to choose what they do except when truly enfringing on others. People are smarter than I give them credit for. But there are enough real idiots out there, that I think that ALL vehicles should have mandated DRLs. As far as tail lights they would be nice for daylight running tails, but usually it is not as terrifying following someone you can’t see as pulling out in front of them. My tail lights are on in storms, and if there is little to no visibility, I occasionally ride my brake switch for short spans, especially when I see headlights in my rearview.
My wife’s last three cars have had a user setting to turn lights on with wipers
Same for MD. A lot of the time my headlights turn on when it’s raining, but sometimes I need to switch to on from auto. There are also rural roads with passing zones that require headlights on at all times. Vehicles blend into the forest background well enough that lights are needed.
It is possible that Subaru has recently changed their design in regard to how the headlights are wired, but all of mine–including my current 2011 Outback–turn the headlights off when you shut off the ignition, and then the headlights come on again when the engine is restarted. As a result, on overcast days, I turn my headlights on right after I start the car, and the headlights will then turn themselves off–and on again–throughout the day, until I decide to switch them off manually.
That’s pretty much how it operated back in 2007 (and before) where I modded my Subbies.
I had more time on hands (and energy) to do all kind of things at the time and DRL annoyed me enough to make me add that “control switch”.
Later, all my cars were including a proper lights auto-control, where ambient lighting would determine on/off state, plus it was a position on the control switch to use automatics or not, which pretty much put my mind at ease.
Well, it was still that way as recently as the 2011 model year. If Subaru changed the way that the headlights are wired, it clearly took place after the 2011 model year.
It’s 30 minutes after sunset.
[quote="old_mopar_guy, post:24,
My wife’s last three cars have had a user setting to turn lights on with wipers
Good idea but it should not be a user setting it should be automatic as a lot of people would not bother to activate it.
Here’s a list of headlight use rules for each U.S. state from AAA. There’s a tab for Canada too.
I’d use this list as an example of why motor vehicle laws should be made at a Federal, not state, level.
A note about that list, DRLs are not headlights, not mentioned anywhere in those laws and if you leave your lights in automatic mode you are going to be in violation of some of those laws some f the time.
That would violate the 10th amendment to the constitution.
I’m not particularly big on the whole states’ rights thing. We’re either one country, or we’re not.
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We are The United States of America. 
And the question remains: Are we one country or a Federation of separate states? Is a law that’s good for me in new Jersey also good for you in Michigan?
10th amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.[5]
Then push for a constitutional amendment