Not for IVA, but for cars coming out of factories?
If yes, from what date? I keep seeing 12 plate Ford police cars without DRLs on. Yesterday I saw one with sidelights on (tail lights lit up) and one with nothing. Thought cars have to have them by law now...

From 7th February 2011 apparently.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ACArticleDisplay?storeId=10001&categoryId=245215&articleId=809953

In my new Audi which was a 61 plate you could switch off the drl's in the mmi menu so maybe others have too! Also police vehicles are built to a different spec on certain models so may be a 12 plate but actually a different model year.

They r a requirement and cars from 2012 can't disengage them. However, they do t have to be LED ;-)

The local hicks in my neck of the woods disconnect the relay then drive their Cummins powered pickups in stealth mode in the fog.

I don't know how they afford a $50,000.00 pickup truck with a minus quantity in the brain bucket.

My Sept 2012 Audi A3 Sportback (old model) has them but you can turn them off on the light switch.

Also keep in mind that DRL's turn off or dim when you put sidelights on (depending on whether the car uses the same lights for DRL and sidelights).

From Feb 2011 all "new types" of passenger car had to have DRL fitted. "New type" essentially means new design, but what qualifies as a new design is complicated. In many cases manufacturers have chosen to fit DRL to ensure their vehicles look modern, even though they may not be legally required for that vehicle.

For vehicles for which fitment is not mandatory, it must be possible to switch the DRL off without the use of tools; this is usually done through a menu option or sequence of button presses. For vehicles which must have DRL fitted, this should not be possible.

There is currently no date from which all vehicels must have DRL, so if a vehicle design is not updated significantly, it can carry on without DRL indefinitely.

Note the above only applies to type approved vehicles.