One of the major reasons why driving at night is more dangerous than driving during the day is that you cannot see as far. Never drive so fast that you can’t stop within the distance you can see in front of you with your lights. That means driving slower than usual, since under normal conditions you can see only 30 metres ahead on low beam and 110 metres ahead on high beam.

To reduce glare, don’t look directly at the headlights of oncoming traffic; instead, look to the right edge of the roadway. To cut glare from the rear, adjust your mirror or use a day-night mirror. Reduce your speed until your eyes have recovered from the glare.

Some additional pointers to minimize the hazards of night driving include:

• ensuring your low beams reveal objects at least 30 metres ahead without blinding oncoming drivers
• dimming your lights at least 450 metres from oncoming vehicles, and 60 metres when following vehicles
• keeping headlights clean
• keeping the interior lights off so that your eyes will remain adapted to the dark
• watching for pedestrians and vehicles stopped at the edge of the road
• if you must stop, pulling off onto the shoulder and using your emergency flashing lights or other approved warning devices such as flares
• watching for highway signs — they’re more difficult to see and read at night
• keeping both the inside and outside of the windshield clean