More than half of Tauranga drivers surveyed by the Bay of Plenty Times this week failed to use headlights in fading light.
Legally, headlights need to be used during the official hours of darkness - 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before the next sunrise. This includes any other time when a person cannot clearly see a person or vehicle 100 metres away.
However, the Motor Trade Association said the time leading up to sunset was the most risky and not enough people were paying attention to the dangers of fading light.
An unscientific survey carried out at the intersection of Cameron Rd and Elizabeth St on Tuesday found 128 motorists out of 347 travelling south did not use their lights in the 15 minutes before sunset at 5.11pm.
Western Bay of Plenty head of road policing Ian Campion said motorists not turning on their lights was a major problem, not only with fading light but in different driving and weather conditions.