Night Driving for Learners: Can You Drive in the Dark?

Driving in the dark as a learner can feel very different from driving in daylight, especially the first time you meet unlit roads, glare from oncoming headlights and bends you can't see coming. With a gradual approach, it soon becomes something you can handle with confidence. This guide covers what GOV.UK and the Highway Code say, and what night driving is really like, based on a night lesson I gave to one of my pupils.

Can Learner Drivers Drive at Night?

GOV.UK's page on learning to drive lists the rules that do apply to learners: you must be supervised when learning to drive a car, the car you learn in must display L plates, and there are conditions for driving on motorways. It does not set a time-of-day restriction. There is nothing to stop you having a lesson, or practising with a supervising driver who meets the rules, after dark.

What changes is the driving itself, which is what the rest of this guide covers. For the general picture of how lessons and private practice fit together, see our guide to how many driving lessons you need.

Why a Night Lesson Is Worth Having

My view as an instructor is that a night lesson is "a fantastic experience". If evenings are when you're free to learn, driving in the dark will simply become part of your normal lessons, and it builds real confidence. If you mostly learn in daylight, it's well worth having at least one lesson in the dark before your test.

I decided it was the right moment for one pupil partly because the clocks were about to change, which was moving them from evening lessons to weekend daytime lessons. That made it their last real chance for a dark lesson. They were an experienced learner who had already covered parking and driving across urban areas, so I felt they were ready and would benefit. I offered it: "it's pretty much dark now, would you like to do some nighttime driving on some country roads?"

The pupil was keen from the start. What surprised me most was simply how good and how useful the lesson turned out to be.

The clocks changing in autumn is a natural time for it.

Preparing: Lights, Controls and the Sat Nav

Main beam and dipping

Before setting off I asked my pupil how they could illuminate the road ahead in the dark. They said "main beam". I then asked how to switch it on, which they were not quite sure of, so I showed them. I also checked they knew when to dip the main beam, and they correctly said "when vehicles were approaching from the opposite direction."

The car's headlights were on automatic, so they came on by themselves and nothing needed setting up differently. My pupil knew roughly where the light controls were but fumbled the lever at first, nearly putting the fog lights on. Fog lights are not for ordinary darkness: the Highway Code says you must not use them unless visibility is seriously reduced (rule 114).

Lever layouts vary between cars, so check how yours works. On my car it is "pull back to flash, push forward for main beam".

What the Highway Code says about lights

• Headlights at night: rule 113 says you MUST ensure all sidelights and rear registration plate lights are lit between sunset and sunrise, and "use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h), or 20mph (32km/h) in Wales, unless otherwise specified". It defines night as "the period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise".
• Poor visibility: you must use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (rule 226).
• Dipped headlights: you should use dipped headlights, or dim-dip if fitted, at night in built-up areas so that you can be seen (rule 115).
• Main beam: rule 115 says to "keep your headlights dipped when overtaking until you are level with the other vehicle and then change to main beam if necessary, unless this would dazzle oncoming road users".
• Dazzling others: rule 114 says "You MUST NOT use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders". That rule is not limited to oncoming traffic: it applies to other road users generally.

My sat nav tip: use it as a moving map

In the pitch black you lose the visual cues you would get in daylight, like following a hedge or a field line round a bend. So before we set off we discussed using the sat nav, not for directions but so my pupil could see "where the road turns ahead".

For the first part of the lesson the sat nav had no route programmed. It was used only as a moving map, and I gave the directions. Later, after we parked, I entered a route home on the sat nav and my pupil followed it for the rest of the lesson.

For the rules on using a sat nav as a learner, see our guide to sat navs for learner and new drivers.

What Night Driving Is Like on the Road

Building up from lit roads to unlit ones

The route built up in stages. We started on the lit parkway, then went through a village with street lighting, then onto pitch black country roads, with speed limits stepping down from 60 to 40 to 30 through the villages. I had my pupil reading road signs throughout and reacting to them.

The Highway Code advises reducing your speed when the road layout or conditions present hazards, and it names "driving at night as it is more difficult to see other road users" among the reasons (rule 125).

Judging oncoming headlights

My pupil struggled at times to judge whether oncoming headlights belonged to a moving or stationary vehicle, saying that in the pitch black you get "no perspective on space, vehicle, the speed of vehicles travelling".

My pupil coped well with glare and did not mention any problem with it. If you are dazzled, the Highway Code says to slow down and, if necessary, stop (rule 115).

Positioning and the kerb

My pupil's main difficulty was positioning: they got close to the left-hand kerb on three occasions across the hour. I put that down to a mix of the dark, their seating position and possibly over-correcting away from oncoming traffic, though they did not give a definite reason when asked. Even so, they judged it overall as "an excellent drive".

At night, it can be harder to judge your position because you have fewer visual references to work with. Look well ahead, use the available road markings and kerb as references, and avoid making sudden steering corrections because an oncoming vehicle's headlights make you feel closer to it than you are. If you're unsure about your position or the road ahead, reduce your speed and give yourself more time to assess the situation.

Dipping for oncoming traffic

My pupil was quick and independent at dipping the main beam for oncoming traffic every single time, with one exception. At a T-junction a car crossed side-on and my pupil did not register needing to dip for it, so I prompted them.

That showed the difference between reacting only to what you can see and anticipating "what if a car comes".

Cyclists and pedestrians

Pedestrians and cyclists were scarce at that time of night, though my pupil did spot, and showed awareness of, children on push bikes through a couple of villages.

Coming back to lit roads

Coming back into town onto a fully lit dual carriageway, I asked my pupil how much difference the street lighting made. They clearly felt the contrast after relying only on headlights.

Night Lessons From the Instructor's Seat

In the dark I'm even more alert than usual to what might be round the next bend, ready to step in even without my foot hovering over the pedals. I can't see a pupil's feet as easily at night, so I watch other cues. At a level crossing, for example, I once checked a pupil's foot was on the brake by watching the glow of the brake lights reflecting in my mirror.

Tips for Nervous Learners

If the idea of driving in the dark worries you, my advice is to start somewhere partly lit before moving to roads with no street lights at all. My pupil's lesson built up in the same way, from the lit parkway to a lit village and then to the unlit country roads. If you would like to try one, talk to your instructor about a night lesson.

After You Pass: Pass Plus

If you want more night driving once you have passed, the DVSA's Pass Plus scheme includes it. GOV.UK says Pass Plus training takes at least 6 hours and has 6 modules, covering driving in town, in all weathers, on rural roads, at night, on dual carriageways and on motorways. Our guide to Pass Plus explains what it involves and whether it is worth it.

Common Questions

Sources

• GOV.UK: Driving lessons and learning to drive
• The Highway Code: General rules, techniques and advice (rules 103 to 158), rules 113, 114, 115, 125 and 150
• The Highway Code: Driving in adverse weather conditions (rules 226 to 237), rule 226
• GOV.UK: Pass Plus, how Pass Plus training works

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