Safe driving and emergencies
You are driving at night with your high beams on and come up behind a vehicle going the same way. Within what distance of it must you switch to low beams?
- 300 feet. Correct answer
- 500 feet.
- 1,000 feet.
Why
The handbook gives two dimming distances, and the shorter one is for a vehicle you are following: switch to low beams once you are within 300 feet of it. The 500-foot figure is the rule for a vehicle coming toward you. And 1,000 feet comes from a different rule altogether, about when headlights must be on: whenever it is too dark to see from that far away. One more headlight rule sits right beside these numbers in the handbook, and it is easy to overlook: driving with only your parking lights on is illegal.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is 300 feet.
The rule behind this one
Safe driving and emergencies in California goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on safe driving and emergencies
- You are carrying lumber that sticks out 5 feet past your rear bumper. What must you display during the day?
- Your friends want to ride in the open bed of your pickup truck for a short trip. When is that allowed?
- How does the handbook tell you to check your blind spots?
- At night, a vehicle showing only one headlight is coming toward you. What should you do?