Night driving

When to use headlights

You must turn on your vehicle’s headlights:

from 30 minutes after sunset, until 30 minutes before sunrise on the next day
at any other time when you can’t clearly see a person or vehicle 100 metres away.

Never drive with just the park lights on.

Important

Be aware that at night, because most road signs are highly reflective, your lights shining on them may make you think you can clearly see further than you really can. Make sure you drive more slowly and carefully at night, particularly on unfamiliar roads.

Speed at night

At night, just as during the daytime, you must drive at a safe speed. This means that:

on a road with lanes, you must be able to stop in the length of clear road you can see in front of you
on a road with no lanes, you must be able to stop in half the length of clear road you can see in front of you.

Use markers to guide you when driving at night

Many roads have reflectors and guide posts to help you ‘read’ the road at night. Some examples of these are shown below.

Left side of road marker post	Right side of road marker indicating left-hand bend	Left side of bridge	Right side of bridge
Left side of road	Centre line	No passing	Fire hydrant

Online services

When to use headlights

Important

Speed at night

Use markers to guide you when driving at night