Night driving

When to use headlights

You must turn on your vehicle's headlights:

• from 30 minutes after sunset, until 30 minutes before sunrise
• at any other time when you can't clearly see a person or vehicle 100 metres away.

Never drive with just the park lights on.

When to dip your vehicle's headlights

You must dip your vehicle's headlights:

• when other vehicles are coming towards you, so that you don't blind the oncoming driver
• when you are following other vehicles
• when a police officer is directing traffic
• when you park.

If there is plenty of street light, you should be able to drive with your headlights dipped the whole time.

Speed at night

At night, just as during the daytime, you must drive at a safe speed. This means that:

• on a road with lanes, you must be able to stop in the length of clear road you can see in front of you
• on a road with no lanes, you must be able to stop in half the length of clear road you can see in front of you.

Safety tips for night driving

Driving at night is more dangerous than driving during the day. To improve your safety on the road at night:

• make sure your windscreen and lights are clean
• never wear dark glasses
• watch for pedestrians and cyclists – they are harder to see at night
• stop and rest if you are sleepy
• don't blind other drivers with your vehicle's headlights – dip them when vehicles are coming towards you or when you are following another vehicle
• if you are blinded by the lights of oncoming vehicles:
  • slow down or stop
  • try to keep your eyes on the left side of the road, so you aren't looking directly at the light
• drive at a speed that means you can see the road at least two seconds ahead.

Use markers to guide you when driving at night

Many roads have reflectors and guide posts to help you 'read' the road at night. Some examples of these are shown below.

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