When driving at night, what additional precautions should you take?

• A. Ignore other road users and maintain your daytime speed.
• B. Keep bright high beams on at all times.
• C. Use proper lighting, reduce speed, watch for pedestrians and animals, and avoid glare.
• D. Only rely on street lights; avoid using headlights.

Answer: (C)

When you’re driving at night, visibility is lower and glare from headlights can hide hazards, so you need to enhance visibility and give yourself more time to react. Use your lighting correctly: keep your headlights on, switch to low beams when there is oncoming traffic or you’re following another vehicle, and only use high beams on dark roads with no traffic ahead or nearby. Proper lighting helps you see the road surface, signs, pedestrians, and animals earlier without blinding others. Reducing your speed is essential because stopping distances are longer in the dark and your ability to react is reduced by limited visibility. Stay alert for pedestrians and animals, especially near intersections, driveways, and rural edges where they can appear suddenly in your path. Avoid glare by dimming interior lights, keeping your windshield clean, and not looking directly at oncoming headlights; this keeps your eyes focused on the roadway and reduces temporary blindness. This combination of lighting, slower speed, vigilant scanning for people and wildlife, and glare management is the safest approach to night driving.