Visibility on the roadway is decreased at night and just before sunrise or after sunset. As visibility decreases your risk of being in a collision increases. To lessen risk, you must understand how reduced light limits visibility and how to manage the driving task in low light conditions. 

How Do Low Light Conditions Affect Visibility?

Your ability to see and to be seen diminishes when the amount of available light is lessened. Reduced sunlight during dusk and dawn hours makes it difficult to see the roadway and vehicles traveling on it. Other drivers as well as pedestrians have difficulty seeing your car, particularly if you don’t have your headlight on. 

Night driving presents special challenges as darkness limits your view of the road ahead and the surrounding area. Even with your headlights on your ability to see ahead when turning or driving around a curve is severely reduced. The glare of other vehicles headlight can be distracting or blinding.

How Can You Drive Safely When the Amount of Light is Low?

To drive safely in low light conditions, you must maximize visibility and manage time and space wisely. When your view of the road is limited, slow down this will maximize your ability to see and maneuver. Always keep your low beam headlights on day and night this will help to illuminate your car making it easier for others to see you in all kinds of light.

• During Dusk and Dawn Hours

All states require that you use your headlight either from sunset to sunrise or a half hour after sunset and a half hour before sunrise. Using your headlights makes it easier to see and be seen in the dim light of dusk and dawn. Do not use your parking lights as they are not designed to light the road ahead but to indicate your status when you are parked safely off the roadway. At dawn or dusk, increase the distance between your car and the one ahead, and use your turn signals well in advance.

• At Night

Night driving requires extra concentration and a greater level of awareness. With darkness limiting visibility, it is wise to drive slower at night than you do during the day and to leave more distance between your car and the car ahead. 

• Use low beams and high beams correctly. 

On dark roads with no other cars around, use your high beams to increase visibility. Be sure to switch back to low beams as soon as you spot the headlights or taillights of a car ahead of you as the glare of your high beams can momentarily blind another driver.

1. Don’t overdrive your headlights.
2. At night drive at a speed that will allow you to stop within the range of your lights that is within the distance you can see. Driving faster than that is called overdriving your headlights, and makes you vulnerable to unseen hazards. Use the 3 or 4 second rules you have already learned to help you judge a safe following distance.
3. Look beyond your headlights. Get into the habits of looking for objects just beyond your headlight beams to see possible threatening conditions. Looking beyond your headlights is essential when making turns or rounding curves.