A 4-minute lesson from the New Jersey course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Nearly 90 percent of driving decisions depend on what you see, and at night you see less. City streets bring pedestrians and frequent intersections; highways and work zones bring speed and surprises. Adjust your speed and scanning to each.
Know the rule
At night, slow down and drive within the range of your headlights; be sure you can stop within the distance you can see ahead.
Slow down for hills, dips, narrow bridges, bumps and railroad tracks. In farm country, watch for livestock or deer, and slow until an animal has passed.
Traffic fines are doubled in roadway construction zones. Work zones are marked by an advance warning sign or flashing lights up to one-half mile before the work area, and end with an End Road Work sign.
At 40 mph on a dark country road, you need about 211 feet to stop after spotting a deer, far more than the 167 feet you'd need in daylight. That's why you slow down at night.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
According to the manual's night driving stopping distance chart, what is the approximate total stopping distance at 40 mph at night?
167 feet
302 feet
135 feet
211 feet
Answer: 211 feet
The nighttime stopping distance chart lists approximately 211 feet total stopping distance at 40 mph.