Headlights and night driving — Georgia Permit Test

High-beam headlights are for rural areas when no other cars are nearby.

Bright lights blind the driver coming at you, and a blinded driver steers toward what they can see.

Use high-beam headlights only when driving in rural areas and when other cars are not nearby.

Georgia requires headlights from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, any time it is raining, and whenever your view is limited.

Lights are as much about being seen as about seeing, and dusk is when neither works well.

You must use your headlights between one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise; at any time when it is raining; or when visibility is limited.

You dim your headlights when you come within 500 feet of an approaching vehicle, so you do not blind the other driver.

The other driver is looking straight into your lights, and what they lose is the road in front of you both.

You are within 500 feet of an approaching vehicle so as not to blind the driver

You also dim your headlights when you are following within 200 feet of another vehicle.

Your high beams land in the mirrors of the car ahead and take that driver’s night sight away.

You are following closely (within 200 feet) behind another vehicle

Georgia tells you not to overdrive your headlights: never drive at a speed that needs more stopping distance than your lights are lighting up.

At night the road ends where the light ends, and a car parked past that point arrives with no warning.

Don’t "overdrive" your headlights. When traveling at night or in other situations that make the use of headlights necessary for safe travel, do not drive at a speed that requires a stopping time greater than the distance illuminated by your headlights

Where your view at night is badly cut down, Georgia says to steer by the edge line, or by the center line where there is no edge line.

A painted line close to the car is easier to see than a road edge you are trying to guess at.

If visibility is greatly reduced, use the edge line as a guide to maintaining your lane of travel. If there is no edge line, use the center line to guide yourself

Georgia tells a driver who is tired not to drive, and offers more frequent stops, fresh air and lively radio programs as ways of staying awake.

Sleep is the one thing you cannot decide against, and it arrives without asking you first.

Do not drive if you are tired. More frequent stops, more fresh air, lively radio programs and other measures can help you to avoid drowsiness and inattention

When does Georgia say to use high-beam headlights?

In rural areas with no cars nearby. Bright lights blind the driver coming at you, and a blinded driver steers toward what they can see. Georgia Driver's Manual, p.59: “Use high-beam headlights only when driving in rural areas and when other cars are not nearby.”