Section 5.9 - Driving at night

Section 5.9 - Driving at night

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Section 5 - Good driving practice

Print this page Section 5.9 - Driving at night

Section 5.9 - Driving at night

Make sure your lights, indicators, reflectors and number plate lighting are clean and in good working order so that you can see clearly and be seen at all times. A clean windscreen is also important when driving at night.

Drive at a speed that allows you to stop within the distance covered by your lights. Assuming good driving conditions on an unlit road, the headlights of a typical car let you see for about 100 metres. Dipped lights will let you see for about 30 metres and a car travelling at 100km/h will cover this distance in approximately a second.

Keep your headlights adjusted properly. If they are out of line, they may dazzle oncoming traffic, even when dipped.

Even with the best headlights, you can see less at night than during the day. Pedestrians and unlit bicycles are extremely difficult to see in the dark, particularly if you have to deal with the glare of oncoming lights.

If conditions require you to use headlights to drive safely, you must use them. Use dipped headlights at night or main beam headlights as appropriate. When in doubt, turn them on. Make sure that the red lights and number plate lighting at the back of your vehicle are working.

Use dipped headlights:

just after the beginning (dusk) and before the end (dawn) of lightingup hours,

as long as they are needed to let you see clearly,

when stopped in traffic,

when meeting other traffic,

in built-up areas where there is good street lighting,

on continuously lit roads outside built-up areas,

when following behind another vehicle,

where there is dense fog, falling snow or heavy rain,

when daylight is fading, and

generally to avoid inconveniencing other traffic.

It is good practice to use dipped headlights or dim/dip lights, where fitted, instead of only sidelights in built-up areas where there is good street lighting.

Use main beam headlights in situations, places and times outside of those listed above.

Use fog lights only during dense fog and falling snow. You must turn them off at all other times.

What to do if you are dazzled by another vehicle's headlights

Slow down and stop if necessary.

Always watch for pedestrians or cyclists on your side of the road.

If the dazzle is from an oncoming vehicle, avoid it by looking towards the verge (edge of your side of the road) until the vehicle has passed. If the dazzle is from a vehicle behind you and reflected in your mirror, operate the night-driving mode on the mirror.

Driving carefully behind other vehicles

Section 8 covers the importance of keeping a safe distance behind vehicles in front of you. In particular, don't drive on the tail lights of the vehicle in front. It gives a false sense of security and may lure you into driving too close or too fast, or both.