Learn how to use your headlights correctly: when to switch on high beams, fog lights, and DRLs, plus state rules examiners test. Pass the road test confident.
To use your headlights correctly, switch on low beams from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise and any time visibility drops below 1,000 feet, switch to high beams only on dark rural roads with no oncoming traffic within 500 feet and no car ahead within 200 to 300 feet, use fog lights only in fog, heavy rain, or snow, and treat daytime running lights as a visibility aid that does not replace your real headlights at night.
Last reviewed: 2026-06-07.
Key Takeaways
- Most states require headlights on from sunset to sunrise and whenever windshield wipers are running in continuous use, a rule the NHTSA backs because nighttime crash rates run roughly 3 times higher per mile driven than daytime rates (NHTSA, 2023).
- High beams reach about 350 to 500 feet ahead while low beams cover only 150 to 250 feet, so the right beam choice can double your reaction distance at 55 mph.
- Fog lights are aimed low and wide to cut under fog, but using them in clear weather can blind oncoming drivers and is a ticketed offense in 24 US states.
- Daytime running lights (DRLs) make your car easier to see in daylight, but they often leave your tail lights off, which is why DRLs alone do not count as headlights at dusk or in rain.
- Wheelingo is free to download and uses animated night-driving scenarios from your state's official DMV handbook to drill exactly when to switch beams, so you walk into the road test knowing the rule for your state.
What does it mean to use your headlights correctly? Using your headlights correctly means matching your beam choice to the conditions: low beams for normal night driving, city streets, rain, and any oncoming traffic; high beams for dark open roads with no traffic; and fog lights only in true low-visibility weather. It also means turning them on before sunset and leaving them on until after sunrise, and never relying on daytime running lights as a substitute for real headlights.
If you have ever flinched at a wall of high beams on a two-lane road, you already know why this topic matters. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, half of all traffic fatalities happen at night even though only about 25% of driving is done after dark (AAA Foundation, 2023). Getting your lights right is one of the simplest, highest-leverage safety habits you can build, and road test examiners notice when you do it well. Wheelingo built a whole module around it because so many new drivers lose easy points on night and weather scenarios.
Examiners rarely give you a night drive, but they do test your lighting habits in three ways: they watch whether you turn lights on in rain or low light, they listen for the switch when a tunnel comes up, and they ask quick verbal questions about high beam etiquette. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that improper use of headlights and signals was cited in roughly 1 in 8 road-test scoring deductions in 2023 (GHSA, 2024), which is a big bucket for something most drivers think of as automatic.
You can prep for this in the same way you prep for any other maneuver. Learn the rule, learn the why, and rehearse the muscle memory. For a wider scoring framework, our guide on what the DMV examiner is grading breaks down the full deduction sheet.
Do I need to know headlight rules for the written permit test? Yes. Most state permit tests include 2 to 4 questions about headlights, including when to use high beams, when low beams are required, and how far ahead each beam reaches. If you want a quick refresher on test format and timing, see how long the permit test takes.
Low beams, sometimes called dipped beams, are the standard nighttime setting. They light up about 150 to 250 feet of road ahead, aimed slightly down and to the right so you can see the road edge without blinding oncoming drivers.
Use low beams whenever you are:
If you ever feel unsure, the safe default is low beams. Examiners never deduct for using low beams in conditions that arguably called for high beams. They will deduct for the reverse.
For a deeper look at safe night habits beyond beam choice, our drive at night safely guide for new drivers and night driving tips walk through following distance, glare recovery, and fatigue control.
High beams reach roughly 350 to 500 feet ahead, almost double the visibility of low beams. That extra distance gives you about 4 more seconds of reaction time at 55 mph, which is huge on a dark country road where a deer or pedestrian can appear with no warning.
High beams belong in a narrow set of conditions:
Switch back to low beams when:
Should I flash my high beams at someone who forgot to dim theirs? A quick flash, one or two on-off taps, is legal in most states and is the polite signal. What you should never do is leave them on as retaliation, which the NHTSA notes increases head-on crash risk because both drivers are now blinded (NHTSA, 2023). If they do not dim, look at the white line on the right side of your lane and slow down until they pass.
For more on staying calm when other drivers act badly at night, see our guide on how to handle road rage and stay calm and safe.
Fog lights, also called fog lamps, are mounted low on the bumper and aimed wide and short. They cut under the fog layer that sits a few feet off the ground, lighting up the road surface and lane lines without bouncing glare back at you the way high beams would.
Fog lights are for fog, heavy rain, snow, smoke, and dust storms. They are not a styling upgrade and they are not extra night vision. Using fog lights in clear weather is a ticketable offense in at least 24 US states and Washington, DC, with fines ranging from $25 to $250 depending on the state.
Rules to remember:
If you live somewhere with heavy weather, pair this with how to drive safely in heavy rain, winter driving tips, and how to drive in snow and ice.
Daytime running lights (DRLs) are low-output forward lights that turn on automatically when your car is running. They have been standard on most US vehicles since the mid-2010s. The NHTSA estimates DRLs cut daytime multi-vehicle crashes by about 5 to 10% by making vehicles easier to see at a distance (NHTSA, 2023).
Here is the catch new drivers miss: DRLs alone often leave your tail lights and dashboard lights off. That means at dusk, in light rain, or inside a parking garage, the driver behind you cannot see your back end clearly even though you can see the road in front of you just fine. Hundreds of rear-end crashes a year happen because a driver thought their full lights were on when only the DRLs were.
The fix is simple:
This same habit comes up in our dashboard warning lights new driver guide, because confusing the DRL icon with the low beam icon is one of the most common dashboard mix-ups.
Most states share core rules, but the details differ enough to get you on a written test. Here are highlights pulled from 2024 state driver handbooks.
| State | Headlights required when | Wipers-on rule? |
|---|---|---|
| California | 30 min after sunset to 30 min before sunrise, plus low visibility | Yes |
| New York | Sunset to sunrise, plus rain, snow, fog, or visibility under 1,000 ft | Yes |
| Texas | 30 min after sunset to 30 min before sunrise, plus visibility under 1,000 ft | No (but recommended) |
| Florida | Sunset to sunrise, plus rain, smoke, or fog | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Sunset to sunrise, plus any time wipers are in continuous use | Yes |
| Ohio | Sunset to sunrise, plus low visibility | No |
| Illinois | Sunset to sunrise, plus rain, snow, sleet, or fog | Yes |
For full state guides that include lighting questions, see the California DMV written test guide, the New York DMV written test guide, the Pennsylvania PennDOT permit test guide, and the Ohio BMV permit test guide.
"The biggest lighting mistake we see on road tests is not high beam misuse, it is drivers who never turn on their headlights when the rain starts. It is a one-second action that costs them three to five points." — DMV road test examiner, quoted in a 2024 GHSA driver education report.
You do not need a night drive to lock this in. You need 15 minutes a day for a week and a parked car you can sit in safely.
Pair this with our road test day checklist so lighting joins your full pre-test routine.
If you want to drill the rules before test day, here is how the most-used DMV practice apps compare on what actually matters for night driving and weather scenarios.
| Feature | Wheelingo | DMV.org | Zutobi | Driving-Tests.org |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to start, one-time unlock for all 50 states, no subscription | Free | $14.99/mo subscription | Free, ad-supported |
| State-specific headlight questions from official handbook | Yes, all 50 states | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Animated night and weather scenarios | Yes | No | Partial | No |
| Readiness score before you test | Yes | No | No | No |
| Adaptive difficulty on missed lighting questions | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Subscription required for full access | No, one-time unlock | No | Yes | No |
Data based on publicly available information, May 2026.
Wheelingo is the option built around official state handbook content with animated driving scenes, which is why it is the fastest way to lock in beam choice and weather rules from your couch. Download Wheelingo free on the App Store and your first study plan plus two drill sets cost nothing.
If you have already had a rough written or road test on rules like these, our guide on what to do after failing the permit test three times is a calm reset that applies here too.
Most states require headlights from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, plus any time visibility drops below 1,000 feet. Twenty-two states also require lights any time your wipers are in continuous use. Check your state handbook for the exact wording, because the wipers rule is a popular permit test question.
Low beams light up about 150 to 250 feet of road ahead. High beams reach about 350 to 500 feet. At 55 mph that difference is roughly 4 extra seconds of reaction time, which is why high beams matter on dark rural roads with no traffic.
No. High beams reflect off the water droplets in fog and rain and bounce glare straight back into your eyes, making visibility worse. Use low beams in fog and rain, and add front fog lights if you have them.
No. DRLs are low-output forward lights designed for daytime visibility and they often leave your tail lights and dashboard lights off. At dusk, in rain, or in tunnels you need full low beams so the car behind you can see your tail lights too.
It depends on the state. At least 24 states and Washington, DC issue tickets for misused fog lights, with fines ranging from about $25 to $250. Some states also issue a fix-it ticket if your fog lights are aimed too high. Always pair fog lights with low beams, never with high beams.
Yes. Wheelingo is free to download and your first study plan plus two drill sets cost nothing. Full 50-state access is a one-time unlock, no subscription ever. Get the app free on the App Store.
Wheelingo uses real driving animations and visuals instead of text-only questions, so you can actually see when low beams should switch to high beams and how fog lights light up the road. It gives you a state-specific learning roadmap pulled from your official DMV handbook, adaptive difficulty on the questions you miss, and a readiness score that tells you when you are genuinely ready to test. Full access is a one-time unlock, no subscription.
Knowing how to use your headlights correctly is one of the easiest wins on your road test and one of the most important habits for the rest of your driving life. Low beams as your default, high beams only on dark empty roads, fog lights only for real fog, and never trust DRLs at dusk. Practice the switches in your driveway until they feel automatic, and the test version is just another rep.
When you are ready to drill night and weather scenarios against your state's exact road-test scoring rules, Download Wheelingo free on the App Store. Your first study plan and two drill sets cost nothing, and you will see the same lighting rules your examiner uses on test day.