Adverse Conditions · Topic 3 of 3 · ~1 min read

Night Driving on Unlit Roads

Most of Kenya's road network has no street lighting, so night driving here isn't an occasional condition — it's half the driving year. The handbook is blunt about what changes: your vision and visibility are greatly reduced by the absence of natural light, and everything else follows from that. Vision & Perception already gave the rule this lesson is built on — your stopping distance must not exceed your seeing distance — and at night your seeing distance is whatever your headlights reach. This lesson makes that concrete on unlit Kenyan roads, where what's in the dark is often livestock or someone walking.

1. 1. Your Headlights Are Your Speed LimitApply the don't-over-drive-your-headlights rule as arithmetic, and recognise how a reflective surface misleads you about seeing distance.
2. 2. Dipping, and the Glare DefenceApply the dipping distances and the curve-and-hilltop rule, and protect your night vision against a driver who won't dip.
3. 3. Animals and Unlit PedestriansAnticipate the road users that make Kenyan rural nights distinctive, and apply the margin they require.
4. 4. Preparing the Vehicle and the EyesPrepare the vehicle and your own vision for night driving, and explain why clean glass is a night-safety item.