Guide: Night Driving and Managing Poor Visibility

Driving after dark asks more of you than daytime driving: depth perception, peripheral vision, and colour recognition all decline, while glare and fatigue increase. The same applies in fog and heavy rain. Here's a general educational overview of adapting to poor visibility.

Outdriving Your Headlights

On an unlit road, low beams illuminate a limited distance ahead. If your stopping distance at your current speed exceeds that, you're effectively driving into a space you can't see — often described as "outdriving your headlights." The general guidance is to reduce speed at night so that you could stop within the illuminated distance.

Using High Beams Well

High beams substantially extend visibility on dark rural roads, but they must be dimmed for oncoming traffic and when following another vehicle closely, since they cause dangerous glare. Ontario has specific distance requirements for dimming. Switching them on and off as conditions change is normal practice, not an inconvenience.

Handling Glare

When facing oncoming headlights, a widely taught technique is to shift your gaze slightly toward the right edge of your lane — using the lane marking as a guide — rather than looking directly into the lights. This preserves your night vision while keeping you positioned correctly. Keeping the windshield clean inside and out makes a substantial difference too, since film and streaks scatter light and dramatically worsen glare.

Fog, Rain, and Snow

In fog, high beams reflect off water droplets and reduce visibility. Low beams, or fog lights if the vehicle has them, generally work better. Heavy rain reduces visibility and grip simultaneously, and can cause hydroplaning at higher speeds — easing off the accelerator smoothly, rather than braking hard, is the commonly taught response if you feel the steering go light.

Fatigue

Night driving coincides with the body's natural low points, and drowsy driving impairs reaction time in ways that are genuinely comparable to other forms of impairment. The only reliable fix is rest — opening a window or turning up music doesn't meaningfully restore alertness. If you find yourself drifting, missing exits, or struggling to focus, stopping somewhere safe is the appropriate response.