When should you use your headlights while driving?

Using your headlights during bad weather or reduced visibility is essential for several reasons. Headlights enhance your ability to see the road and any potential hazards, such as other vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles that may be hard to discern in conditions like fog, rain, or snow. Additionally, using headlights in poor visibility situations helps other drivers see you, reducing the risk of accidents. This practice aligns with safe driving principles that emphasize visibility and awareness, highlighting the importance of ensuring both your own ability to see and others’ ability to see you.

Other circumstances also warrant the use of headlights, such as nighttime driving and driving in rural areas, but the primary focus of this particular answer is on using them when visibility is compromised, which can occur at any time of the day. The option of using headlights at all times during the daytime can be beneficial under certain conditions, like in heavy traffic or on overcast days; however, it's not a universal requirement in all jurisdictions. On the other hand, only using headlights at night ignores the necessity of being visible in adverse weather conditions, which is crucial regardless of the time of day.