Florida Driver Handbook | Night Driving (2024)

Table of Contents

5. Driving Safety

• 5.1. Distracted Drivers
• 5.2. Getting Ready to Drive
• 5.3. Defensive Driving
• 5.4. Driving Safety for Mature Drivers - Tips to Help You Drive Safer .... Longer
• 5.5. When You Back Up
• 5.6. Avoiding Rear-end Collisions
• 5.7. Emotions
• 5.8. Basic Driver Improvement
• 5.9. Safety Belts
• 5.10. Protecting Children
• 5.11. Speed Limits
• 5.12. Following Officer's and Fireman's Instructions
• 5.13. Crossing Intersections
• 5.14. Right-of-Way
• 5.15. Stop Signs
• 5.16. Open Intersections
• 5.17. Roundabouts
• 5.18. Driveways
• 5.19. Emergency Vehicles
• 5.20. Making Turns
• 5.21. Turnabout (Three-Point Turn)
• 5.22. Turn Signals and Emergency Signals
• 5.23. Traffic Lanes
• 5.24. Blind Spots
• 5.25. Passing
• 5.26. Minimum Safe Following Distances
• 5.27. Parking
• 5.28. Expressway Driving
• 5.29. Night Driving
• 5.30. Animals
• 5.31. Reduced Visibility
• 5.32. Handling Emergencies
• 5.33. First Aid

You will need to drive with extra care at night. You cannot see as far ahead or to the side, and glare from oncoming cars can reduce your vision even more. Follow these guidelines for driving at night:

• Use your headlights (low beam or high beam) between the hours of sunset and sunrise.
• Low beam headlamps are only effective for speeds up to 20-25 MPH. You must use special care when driving faster than these speeds, since you are unable to detect pedestrians, bicyclists and others.
• High beam headlights can reveal objects up to a distance of at 450 feet and are most effective for speeds faster than 25 MPH.v
• Don't use high-beam headlights within 500 feet of oncoming vehicles.
• If you are behind other vehicles, use low beams when you are within 300 feet of the vehicle ahead.
• When leaving a brightly lit place, drive slowly until your eyes adjust to the darkness.
• Don't look directly at oncoming headlights. Instead, watch the right edge of your lane. Look quickly to be sure of the other vehicle's position every few seconds.
• Drive as far to the right as you can if a vehicle with one light comes toward you.

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