Night driving — Minnesota Permit Test

Nearly half of all fatal traffic crashes in Minnesota happen after dark, though there is usually less traffic then.

Fewer cars and more deaths is the whole argument for treating night as its own kind of driving.

Although there is usually less traffic at night, nearly half of all fatal traffic crashes in Minnesota occur after dark.

Before a night drive, study your route, check that your lights work and make sure the windshield is clean.

Dirty glass turns every oncoming headlight into a star that hides whatever is behind it.

Ensure your windshield is clean and free of defects.

Within 1,000 feet of an oncoming vehicle your headlights must be on low beam.

High beams at that distance put the other driver in the dark just as you are meeting them.

When you are within 1,000 feet of an oncoming vehicle or following another vehicle at a distance of 200 feet or less, your headlights must remain on low beam.

Following another vehicle at 200 feet or less, your headlights must be on low beam.

High beams fill their mirrors, and a driver who cannot see behind them cannot judge a lane change.

following another vehicle at a distance of 200 feet or less, your headlights must remain on low beam

You should be able to stop within the distance your headlights light up, which is no more than 350 feet on high beam.

Driving faster than your lights means arriving at something before you have seen it.

You should be able to stop within the distance your headlights illuminate the road. For most vehicles, this distance is no more than 350 feet on high beam.

If you are blinded by glare from oncoming headlights, use the white line along the edge of the road as a reference.

The edge line is still there when the middle of the road has been washed out by light.

If you are blinded by the glare, use the white line along the edge of the road as a reference.

For glare from behind, use a day-night mirror or adjust your regular mirror.

The mirror is throwing somebody else’s high beams into your eyes, and tilting it sends them to the roof.

For glare caused by headlights from behind you, use a “day-night” mirror or adjust your regular mirror.

When do nearly half of Minnesota’s fatal crashes happen?

After dark each day. Fewer cars and more deaths is the whole argument for treating night as its own kind of driving. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.72: “Although there is usually less traffic at night, nearly half of all fatal traffic crashes in Minnesota occur after dark.”