Night driving requires a different visual strategy from daylight driving. Objects beyond the headlight beam are harder to detect, pedestrians and bicycle riders may be less conspicuous, and glare can temporarily reduce what the driver sees. A good instructor teaches the driver to respond to those limits rather than rely on confidence gained in daylight.
Start with visibility as the controlling factor
The South Australian Driver’s Handbook requires the relevant vehicle lights to be used between sunset and sunrise and during hazardous weather causing reduced visibility. It also advises driving at a speed that permits stopping well within the distance the driver can see to be clear. This explains why a legal posted limit might still be too fast for a dark bend or poorly lit street.
Headlight settings matter. The handbook says to dip high beams within 200 metres when approaching an oncoming vehicle and when approaching the rear of another vehicle. Clean windscreens, headlamps and mirrors also make a practical difference to visibility and glare.
Prepare learners before the first night lesson
Begin with a review of lights, demisters, windscreen condition and dashboard controls. Discuss how street lighting, shop lights and reflective signs can compete for attention. Choose a familiar route with manageable traffic and gradually add darker sections, intersections and more complex hazards as the student’s skills develop.
The MyLicence Driving Companion Unit 4 Task 28B contains published learning requirements about explaining and demonstrating night-driving techniques. Instructors using that material for authorised training should apply the relevant official documents, not treat the examples here as a replacement assessment checklist.
Teach a wider safety margin
Ask the learner to identify where the usable view ends. Is a parked car concealing a person? Is an unlit side road ahead? Can the driver stop if something appears at the edge of the beam? Teach speed reduction and added space when visibility is restricted.
When dazzled by oncoming lights, the handbook advises avoiding direct eye contact with the headlights, looking towards the left side of the road, slowing and stopping if vision is inadequate. Rehearse the response in discussion, not by intentionally dazzling a student.
Review what the learner noticed
After a safe stopping point, ask which hazards were recognised later than in daylight and whether speed was reduced soon enough. Record observed behaviours: for example, “adjusted speed before the unlit bend without prompting; needed reminder to dip high beam”.
Night instruction is about seeing, being seen and leaving enough time to react; it is not about training a driver to maintain daytime speed after dark.
Official references and further learning
- South Australian Driver’s Handbook: Driving at night or in poor visibility
- MyLicence Driving Companion: Unit 4 Task 28B
Explore DAA defensive driving.
Road-law information checked against the linked South Australian Government sources on 16 October 2026. Educational commentary only; always check the currently authorised rules and the requirements applicable to a specific training or assessment program.