In a couple of months, new provisions in Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard № 108 will take effect to try to cut down on “phantom cars” driving around after dark with only DRLs and no side or rear lights on.
Back in 2017 we reported on Transport Canada’s efforts toward these new requirements. Starting this September, new vehicles in Canada will have to turn the tail lights on when the DRLs are on, or turn the tail lights on automatically when it gets dark out, or keep the instrument panel dark until the driver manually switches on the full nighttime lights. Because the new requirements won’t apply to existing vehicles,
Transport Canada have published a chart with show-and-tell information on what the various lighting-related switch and telltale icons mean and when the car’s various lights should be switched on and off. They’ve also put up a see-and-be-seen website containing relevant information intended for drivers.