At night you see less, other drivers see you less, and glare can blind you for a few seconds at a time. The K53 rules give clear numbers for headlights, and they come up often in the test.
When headlights must be on
From sunset to sunrise, and at any other time when you cannot clearly see people and vehicles 150 metres ahead, for example in heavy rain, fog or smoke. You may not drive with only your parking lamps on.
Main beam and dipped beam
| Beam | Must light up a person, vehicle or object at least | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Main (bright) beam | 100 metres ahead | On open roads, when there is no vehicle ahead of you or coming towards you |
| Dipped beam | 45 metres ahead | When meeting oncoming traffic, when following another vehicle, in lit streets and in fog |
The rule to remember: dip for oncoming traffic and when you follow another vehicle. Your main beam reflects in the mirrors of the vehicle in front and dazzles its driver.
Seeing and being seen
- Drive at a speed that lets you stop within the distance your lights show. On dipped beam that is not far, so slow down.
- If an oncoming vehicle dazzles you, look towards the left edge of the road and slow down until your eyes recover.
- Keep your windscreen, mirrors and lights clean. A dirty windscreen scatters light and makes glare worse.
- Watch for pedestrians and cyclists without lights, and for animals on rural roads.
Tunnels and fog
Switch on dipped headlights before you enter a tunnel. In fog, use dipped beam and, if visibility is poor, your fog lamps. Our guides to tunnels and fog and smoke cover these in more detail.
Test yourself
These questions come from the K53TestsOnline question bank. Choose an answer to see if you are right.
The furthest that your vehicles dim lights may shine in front of you, is:
Practise more rules of the road questionsWhen should you dip the main beam (bright) of your vehicle.
(i) For oncoming traffic.
(ii) When following another vehicle.
(iii) When you want to see better.