Night driving glare — Delaware Permit Test

Delaware's manual warns that the glare of oncoming headlights makes your pupils contract, and it takes time for them to readjust, so during that recovery you may be driving as though blind.

For a few seconds after a bright pair of headlights passes, a person walking on the road can be invisible.

The glare causes the pupils of the eyes to contract, and it takes time for them to readjust to less intense light.

Delaware's manual says the most important way to make night driving safer is not to over drive your headlights: keep your speed low enough to stop in the distance you can see.

Per mile, the fatal crash rate at night is two and a half times the day rate, and outrunning your lights is how it starts.

Most important of all, don’t over drive your headlights.

When meeting vehicles at night, Delaware's manual says not to stare at their headlights but to use quick glances to check lane positions, the road edge, and objects ahead.

Staring into oncoming lights leaves a driver blind just as the car passes and the road ahead matters most.

When passing vehicles, do not stare at their headlights.

What happens to your eyes after the glare of oncoming headlights?

They take time to readjust to dim light. For a few seconds after a bright pair of headlights passes, a person walking on the road can be invisible. Delaware Driver Manual, p.125: “The glare causes the pupils of the eyes to contract, and it takes time for them to readjust to less intense light.”