Night Driving Tips: How to Drive Safely in the Dark

To drive safely at night, make sure your lights and windscreen are clean, use dipped headlights in built-up areas and main beam on empty unlit roads, dip your lights for oncoming and leading traffic, slow down so you can stop within the distance you can see, and take breaks if you feel tired. The Highway Code also advises new drivers to avoid driving between midnight and 6am unless it's necessary.

Night driving feels very different from daytime driving. Here's how to adapt.

Why night driving is harder

• You see less, and later. Pedestrians, cyclists and road edges are harder to spot.
• Judging speed and distance is harder when all you see is a pair of lights.
• Glare from oncoming headlights can dazzle you for several seconds.
• Tiredness is more likely, especially late at night.

Before you set off

1. Clean your windscreen inside and out. A dirty screen scatters light and increases glare.
2. Check all your lights work: headlights (dipped and main), sidelights, brake lights, indicators and number plate light.
3. Clean your headlights and mirrors.
4. Dim the dashboard if it's very bright.
5. Plan your route and breaks.

Using your lights correctly

The Highway Code lighting rules (113 to 116), in brief:

• Sidelights and rear number plate lights must be on between sunset and sunrise.
• Headlights must be used at night (half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise) on roads without lit street lights, and whenever visibility is seriously reduced.
• Dipped headlights should be used at night in built-up areas and in dull daytime weather.
• Don't dazzle others. Dip your lights for oncoming traffic and when following another vehicle. When overtaking, keep them dipped until you're level with the other vehicle.
• Fog lights are only for seriously reduced visibility; switch them off when it improves.
• In stationary queues, apply the parking brake and release the footbrake so your brake lights don't dazzle the driver behind.

Dealing with dazzle

If oncoming headlights dazzle you, the Highway Code (rule 115) says to slow down or stop if necessary. It also helps to:

• look towards the left edge of your lane (in the UK) rather than straight at the lights
• keep your windscreen and glasses clean
• avoid tinted glasses at night

If someone behind you has bright lights, many cars have an anti-dazzle setting on the interior mirror.

Driving to what you can see

Highway Code rule 126 says to drive at a speed that lets you stop well within the distance you can see to be clear. At night, that distance is often the reach of your headlights.

• Slow down on unlit roads, especially on bends where your lights don't reach round the corner.
• Use other road users' lights as clues. Headlights sweeping over hedges or trees can warn you of a car approaching a bend.
• Look for reflective road studs and markings, which help you follow the road.
• Expect pedestrians and cyclists who may be hard to see, especially near pubs, schools and bus stops.

Our guide to stopping distances shows how quickly the distance adds up.

Staying alert

Rule 91 advises against starting a journey when you're tired, avoiding long journeys between midnight and 6am, and taking a break of at least 15 minutes every 2 hours. If you feel sleepy:

1. Stop somewhere safe and legal as soon as possible (not on a motorway hard shoulder).
2. Have a caffeinated drink and a short nap if you can.
3. Don't rely on opening the window or turning up the music; they don't fix tiredness.

Night driving tips for new drivers

• Practise with your instructor or supervisor at dusk and after dark before driving alone at night.
• Start with familiar routes and build up to unlit country roads.
• Limit passengers at first, and keep distractions to a minimum.
• Never drive after drinking. Read our guide to the drink-drive limit.

Night driving combines well with other conditions, so read driving in rain, fog and snow and our defensive driving guide too.

Summary

At night, see and be seen: clean screens and lights, the right headlight setting for the road, and no dazzling other drivers. Slow down to match what you can see, watch for vulnerable road users and take breaks before tiredness sets in.

Learn more with Co-Drive

Co-Drive is an iOS app with new-driver lessons for conditions like snow and ice and tunnels, plus theory practice questions written from The Highway Code (not official DVSA questions) that cover lighting and visibility rules. Find out more.