Safe driving and emergencies
At night, a vehicle showing only one headlight is coming toward you. What should you do?
- Move as far to the right as possible. Correct answer
- Keep to the center of your lane, since it is probably a motorcycle.
- Turn on your high beams so you can see what it is.
Why
A single light coming at you could be a bicyclist, a motorcyclist or a car with one headlight out, and the handbook's instruction covers all three: get as far to the right as you can. Assuming it is a motorcycle is only a guess, and if it turns out to be a full-size car with a dead headlight, the center of your lane is the wrong place to be. Flipping on your high beams helps nobody. You are supposed to dim them for oncoming drivers, and answering bright lights with your own leaves both drivers seeing less.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Move as far to the right as possible.
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
- Your car has four-wheel antilock brakes (ABS) and goes into a locked wheel skid. What should you do with the brake pedal?
- You have just driven through water and your brakes are wet. How does the handbook tell you to dry them?
- On a cold, wet day, which part of the road tends to freeze before the rest?
- A patrol car ahead turns on its emergency lights and starts weaving slowly across all the lanes. What should you do?