What is a recommended practice to enhance safety while driving at night?

Maintaining a safe following distance is crucial for enhancing safety while driving at night. At nighttime, visibility is significantly reduced, making it challenging to see potential hazards ahead. By ensuring a safe following distance, drivers give themselves ample time to react to any unexpected events, such as sudden stops or obstacles in the roadway. This practice helps to reduce the likelihood of rear-end collisions, which can become more dangerous in low-visibility conditions. Additionally, a greater distance allows drivers to better perceive their surroundings, including the brake lights of vehicles ahead and other critical cues that might not be as apparent at night.

In contrast, driving faster to reach a destination sooner increases the likelihood of being unable to react in time to hazards, while using high beams at all times can lead to glare for oncoming drivers, creating unsafe conditions. Avoiding the use of headlights altogether is unsafe, as it greatly diminishes visibility and makes it nearly impossible to see the road and any potential hazards. Each of these practices poses risks that compromise safety, whereas maintaining a safe following distance is a proactive approach to ensuring safe travel during nighttime driving conditions.