Night driving, headlights and bad weather in NSW

Headlight and high beam rules

Lights help you see, and just as importantly they help others see you.

• Headlights go on at night, and in daytime too whenever it is so dull that a person 100 metres off cannot be seen: at dusk or dawn, under heavy cloud or in a storm. Low beam is the setting for those times.
• Dip to low beam within 200 metres of a vehicle in front or an oncoming vehicle.
• High beam is allowed on any road, with or without street lights, as long as no vehicle is within 200 metres.
• A short flash from low to high beam just before you overtake is allowed.
• No light may be used in a way that dazzles another driver or a pedestrian.
• Fog lights are reserved for fog, mist and other conditions that cut how far you can see. Switch them off when the view clears.
• Parked at night on a road with no street lights? Your parking lights must be on. For a quick stop after dark, leave the car where other drivers can clearly see it, or put the parking lights on. Headlights stay off while parked, except during a passenger drop off or pick up.

High beam dazzles through mirrors as well as windscreens, so the 200 metre rule covers cars ahead of you too.

Driving in the dark

At night hazards appear late, so your speed has to match what your lights show.

• Drive at a speed that lets you stop within the distance your headlights light up.
• Low beam reaches only a short way, so you can be too fast at night even under the limit.
• Expect kangaroos and other wildlife on country roads, most of all around dawn and dusk.
• Dazzled by oncoming lights? Ease off and fix your eyes on the left edge line until they pass. Glare from behind? Switch the rear view mirror to its night position.
• Keep the windscreen clean inside and out, because smears scatter light and add glare.
• Brake before a bend, not halfway through it.

Rain, aquaplaning and floodwater

Water takes away grip and visibility at the same time.

• Slow down, turn your headlights on and stretch your gap to four seconds or more.
• The first rain after a dry spell lifts oil and dust into a slick film. Any wet surface, morning dew included, stretches the time and distance you need to stop.
• Brake firmly but smoothly. Stamping on the pedal in the wet can lock the wheels and send the car into a skid.
• Aquaplaning means the tyres are skimming on a film of water. Lift off the accelerator, keep the wheel straight and do not brake hard.
• Worn tyres clear water poorly, so aquaplaning becomes far more likely.
• Never drive into floodwater when you cannot see the road surface. Turn around.
• After a puddle or a flooded dip, test your brakes gently.

Floodwater can be deeper or faster than it looks, and it can carry a car away.

Fog, glare, wind and smoke

Each kind of poor visibility has its own fix.

• Fog: slow down and use low beam, plus fog lights if fitted, never high beam, which bounces back at you. No fog lights? In thick fog you may switch on your hazard lights so others can spot you.
• Low sun: sun visor, sunglasses and a slower speed.
• Strong wind: slow down and grip the wheel firmly, especially when passing trucks.
• Dust or smoke: headlights on and speed down. If the view goes, get right off the road.
• Fogged windscreen: run the demister or air conditioning until the glass is clear, then continue.

Gravel and ice

Loose or frozen surfaces reward gentle driving.

• On gravel, lower your speed, allow more distance to stop and avoid sudden steering.
• In alpine areas on frosty mornings, black ice hides on shaded parts of the road, on bridges and in hollows.
• Keep every input smooth: steering, braking and accelerating.