Which of the following recommendations does not promote safe night driving?
- Keep your windshield clean.
- Be aware that tinted windows reduce visibility in the dark.
- Carry a flashlight in your vehicle.
- Look into the headlights of oncoming vehicles. ✓
Answer: D. Look into the headlights of oncoming vehicles.
Looking into the headlights of oncoming vehicles is the one that does not promote safe night driving.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's night driving guidelines tell you not to look directly at oncoming headlights. Instead, you use the lane lines as visual guides and only glance quickly to check where the other vehicle is every few seconds. The reason given is glare: the handbook says glare from oncoming traffic can cut down your vision even more at night, and you already cannot see as far ahead in the dark. Staring into those lights works against your ability to see the road, which is the opposite of safe night driving.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Keep your windshield clean. — A clean windshield helps you see the road clearly at night, so it works with the handbook's advice to drive with extra care after dark rather than against it.
- B. Be aware that tinted windows reduce visibility in the dark. — Knowing that tinted windows cut down what you can see in the dark is a sensible caution, since the handbook stresses that reduced visibility is the main problem at night.
- C. Carry a flashlight in your vehicle. — Carrying a flashlight is a practical item to have with you and does nothing to harm your vision, so it does not fit a question about an unsafe night driving habit.
Remember it
At night, your eyes belong on the lane lines, not on the lights coming toward you.