Night driving — Washington Permit Test
Night driving on the Washington permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
At night a driver should travel at a speed that allows stopping within the glow of their headlights, usually 400 feet.
Beyond your headlights the road is a guess, and you cannot stop for something you have not seen yet.
Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop within the glow of your headlights (usually 400 feet).
When an oncoming vehicle has its high beams on, a driver looks toward the right side of the road to avoid being distracted by the headlights.
Looking at the light leaves you blind for several seconds after it has gone past.
If a vehicle comes toward you with its high beams on, look toward the right side of the road to keep from being distracted by the headlights.
Sunglasses and colored lenses must not be worn when driving at night or on overcast days, because tinted lenses reduce vision.
They take away light at exactly the hour there is least of it.
Do not wear sunglasses or colored lenses when driving at night or on overcast days. Tinted or colored lenses reduce your vision.
A driver increases their following distance for night driving and on unfamiliar roads at night.
At night you find out about the car ahead later than you would in daylight, so you need more room to use.
Increase your following distance for night driving conditions and driving on unfamiliar roadways at night.
Misaimed headlights make it harder for other drivers to see and reduce the driver’s own view of the road.
Aimed too high they dazzle whoever is coming; too low and the road runs out in front of you.
Misaimed headlights could make it difficult for other drivers to see and will reduce your ability to see the road.
On the test
How far do headlights usually let a driver see at night?
About 400 feet ahead. Beyond your headlights the road is a guess, and you cannot stop for something you have not seen yet. Washington State Driver Guide, p.166: “Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop within the glow of your headlights (usually 400 feet).”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
- One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
- Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
- Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
- Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
- Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Washington State Driver Guide, published by the Washington State Department of Licensing, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-14.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/WA.pdf (Washington State Driver Guide, Washington State Department of Licensing, retrieved 2026-09-14)
- https://dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/driver-training-and-testing/driver-guides
- https://dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/driver-training-and-testing/do-i-need-take-test