When driving at night on a dimly lit street, you should:
- Drive slowly enough that you can stop within the area illuminated by your headlights. ✓
- Turn on your high beam headlights to better see the vehicles ahead of you.
- Keep the instrument panel lights bright to be more visible to other drivers.
Answer: A. Drive slowly enough that you can stop within the area illuminated by your headlights.
Drive slowly enough that you can stop within the area illuminated by your headlights.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's night-driving advice is to make sure you can stop within the distance your headlights light up. On a dimly lit street, that means matching your speed to how far ahead you can see, so you are not driving faster than your lights allow you to stop safely. The same passage also warns that high beams must be dimmed for oncoming drivers and cannot be used where illegal, so they are not a blanket solution. Turning up dash lights is not mentioned as a way to see or be seen.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Turn on your high beam headlights to better see the vehicles ahead of you. — High beams can help on some dark roads, but the handbook says to dim them to avoid blinding oncoming drivers and not use them where illegal, so they are not the rule for a dimly lit street.
- C. Keep the instrument panel lights bright to be more visible to other drivers. — The passages do not recommend bright instrument panel lights; they say nothing about dash brightness making you more visible, and the night-driving guidance centers on seeing and stopping distance.
Remember it
At night, let your headlights set your speed: if you cannot stop within the lit stretch, you are going too fast.