When a car with bright headlights drives toward you at night, you should:
- Stop until the other driver passes.
- Look below their headlights.
- Glance toward the right edge of your lane. ✓
Answer: C. Glance toward the right edge of your lane.
Glance toward the right edge of your lane when an oncoming car's bright headlights come at you at night.
Why this is the answer
The California Driver Handbook addresses this exact situation. It says not to look directly into the oncoming headlights and instead to look toward the right edge of your lane, watching the other vehicle out of the corner of your eye. Keeping your eyes on the right edge of your lane gives you a steady reference point to steer by while the glare passes, and it keeps you from staring into the light. The handbook also warns against answering the other driver by leaving your own high beams on, since that makes it harder for both of you to see.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Stop until the other driver passes. — The handbook never tells you to stop for oncoming bright lights; stopping in your lane at night is not the response it describes.
- B. Look below their headlights. — Looking below the headlights is not what the handbook says to do, and it does not give you a lane reference the way the right edge does.
Remember it
Aim your eyes at the right edge of your lane, not at the glare, and track the oncoming car with your peripheral vision.