Night Driving: Practice Questions & Explanations

When meeting an oncoming vehicle at night with headlights that are blinding you, look slightly down and to the right, toward the right edge of the road or the right shoulder line. This protects your night vision from the direct glare and lets you use the road edge as your steering reference until the vehicle passes. Staring directly at oncoming headlights causes temporary blindness that can last several seconds after the vehicle passes, which is plenty of time to drift out of your lane. Flashing your high beams to retaliate blinds the oncoming driver and creates real danger for both of you. Closing one eye is a partial trick used historically, but is unreliable and not recommended. Keep both eyes open and use the right edge as a guide.

OVERDRIVING HEADLIGHTS means traveling at a speed where your stopping distance EXCEEDS your headlight sight distance — so if a hazard appears at the edge of what your headlights illuminate, you physically cannot stop before reaching it. THE MATH: Low beam headlights illuminate approximately 250 feet ahead. At 55 mph, a loaded truck's minimum stopping distance is 300-400 feet. Result: even at moderate highway speeds, a loaded truck CANNOT stop within low-beam headlight range if a stationary obstacle appears at the limit of visibility. This is why night driving requires reduced speed or the use of high beams (when appropriate). HIGH BEAMS: illuminate approximately 400-500 feet; must be switched to low beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle or 300 feet when following a vehicle; high beams help reduce the overdriving problem. ADDITIONAL NIGHT HAZARDS: Impaired and fatigued drivers are much more common at night; pedestrians and cyclists are harder to see; animals are more active; fatigue is a greater personal risk at night (circadian rhythm). ADJUSTMENTS FOR NIGHT DRIVING: Reduce speed to match sight distance; increase following distance (other drivers' brake lights are your warning — you need time to react); ensure all lights are working during pre-trip; clean lights and mirrors before night driving; keep windshield clean (glare from oncoming headlights is worse on a dirty windshield).