When driving at night and you must dim your headlights, what should you do with your speed?

When driving at night and you must dim your headlights, what should you do with your speed?

• A. Speed up
• B. Maintain current speed
• C. Slow down
• D. Stop

Answer: (C)

Dimmed headlights reduce how far you can see ahead. To stay safe, you should slow down. Lower speed shortens your stopping distance and gives you more time to react to hazards you might not see as far ahead due to the reduced illumination. Nighttime vision is already limited, so reducing speed helps you remain within the distance you can safely stop within the lighted area. Speeding up would leave less time to react, keeping your current speed doesn’t compensate for the reduced visibility, and stopping suddenly isn’t the goal of normal night driving. So slow down.

Dimmed headlights reduce how far you can see ahead. To stay safe, you should slow down. Lower speed shortens your stopping distance and gives you more time to react to hazards you might not see as far ahead due to the reduced illumination. Nighttime vision is already limited, so reducing speed helps you remain within the distance you can safely stop within the lighted area. Speeding up would leave less time to react, keeping your current speed doesn’t compensate for the reduced visibility, and stopping suddenly isn’t the goal of normal night driving. So slow down.