You are driving on a country road at night when your vehicle headlights suddenly go out. What is the safest thing to do? Select all that apply. You are driving on a country road at night when your vehicle headlights suddenly go out. What is the safest thing to do? Select all that apply.

  • A. Slow down and prepare to stop somewhere safe

  • B. Stop on the right so you can attract the attention of cars coming towards you

  • C. Turn your hazard lights on

  • D. Carry on driving slowly with your hazard lights on until you reach your destination

  • E. Carry on driving with your interior lights on

  •  
    The correct answer is A, C
     
    Correct. Without lights you won't be able to see dangers ahead, and you are much less visible to other vehicles. You should put your hazard lights on and park as far left as possible in a safe place.
     
 
 
 

What to do if your vehicle headlights go out at night

It's extremely unlikely that all your lights will fail at the same time when driving at night. However, if they do:

You should never park on the right facing traffic as there are no reflectors on the front of your vehicle - you can only park on the right on a one way street. Vehicles usually have reflectors either built into the rear lights, or on the rear bumper.

If your lights are out you will not be visible to other drivers and won't be able to see clearly where you are going.

Be careful when you park on the left that you don't run down a grassy bank. It's best to see if you can quickly locate a driveway or the entrance to a field. A bank's steepness can be hidden by long grass. There could also be a culvert or other obstacle hidden in the grass that could damage your vehicle further. 

You must wait until daylight before you move your vehicle, or you can have a tow truck come and collect it. 

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