Headlights & Vehicle Lighting

Headlights light up the road ahead when visibility drops, and they also make your vehicle easier for others to spot.

Your vehicle's headlights have to:

• Cast a white light seen at least 150 metres ahead
• Be bright enough to reveal objects 110 metres away

In addition, you need:

• Red rear lights visible from a distance of 150 metres
• A white light illuminating the rear licence plate whenever the headlights are on

You're required to switch your headlights on:

• From half an hour before sunset until half an hour after sunrise
• During any other stretch of poor light -- fog, snow or rain, for instance -- that stops you from clearly seeing people or vehicles closer than 150 metres

Don't drive with a single working headlight or with lamps that are poorly aimed. Get the entire lighting system inspected on a regular basis, keep the lenses clean, and swap out burned-out bulbs as soon as you can.

Your headlights have two settings: high beams (which extend your view farther down the road) and low beams (which cut down glare when you're close to other vehicles).

When to switch:

• Once an oncoming vehicle is within 150 metres, drop to your low beams
• When following, keep your low beams on if you're closer than 60 metres to the vehicle ahead -- the exception being while you pass it
• These rules hold on every road, divided ones included

Switching on your headlights also powers the other required lights:

• Parking lights
• Tail lights
• Rear licence plate light

Parking lights exist for parking and nothing else. When the light is low, reach for your headlights rather than your parking lights.

Daytime running lights exist to boost your vehicle's visibility while the light is good. They come on by themselves once the vehicle is running and the headlight switch is set to off.

Important: DRLs are not meant to stand in for headlights when the light is poor. They:

• Can throw unsuitable glare toward others
• Can leave other required lights switched off, such as your tail lights
• Belong only to good-light conditions

If your vehicle has no DRLs, switch on your headlights to achieve the same boost in visibility.

Whenever your vehicle offers the option, leaving the full lighting system on automatic is the recommended choice. It does a better job of making sure the right lights are in use.

Even so, keep an eye on how and when your lights turn on and operate throughout your drive, so you can be sure the lighting in use is the appropriate one.