Night Driving, Weather, Floods and Skids

Key points

1. Use your lights any time conditions keep you from seeing 1,000 feet ahead.

   Source: Handbook p. 61

   “Use your lights any time conditions keep you from seeing 1,000 feet ahead.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 61

2. Dim high beams before you get within 500 feet of an oncoming car.

   Source: Handbook p. 60

   “dim your lights before you get within 500 feet of the oncoming car.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 60

3. When following a car, dim your lights within 300 feet of it.

   Source: Handbook p. 60

   “If you are following a car, dim your lights when you are within 300 feet of the vehicle ahead of you.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 60

4. At night, increase your following distance by at least 2 seconds.

   Source: Handbook p. 61

   “Increase your following distance at night by at least two seconds.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 61

5. Your car may hydroplane at speeds over 35 mph.

   Source: Handbook p. 61

   “Your car may start to hydroplane at speeds over 35 mph.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 61

6. Black ice is hard to see and looks more like a wet spot than ice.

   Source: Handbook p. 61

   “Black ice is difficult to see on the roadway and appears more like a wet spot than a patch of ice.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 61

7. In a skid, slowly ease off the gas and turn your front wheels the same way the rear wheels are skidding.

   Source: Handbook p. 62

   “If you do skid, slowly take your foot off the gas pedal. • If your rear wheels skid to the right, turn your front wheels to the right. • If your rear wheels skid to the left, turn your front wheels to the left.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 62

8. Studded snow tires may be used from October 15 through March 31.

   Source: Handbook p. 63

   “Snow tires with metal studs may be used from October 15 through March 31 of each year.”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 63

9. 6 inches of water reaches the bottom of most cars, and 2 feet of moving water can carry most vehicles away.

   Source: Handbook p. 58

   “Six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, causing loss of control or possible stalling. • Two feet of moving water can carry away most vehicles”
   Utah Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 58

Numbers to know

3 questions from the Utah practice test

1. 1. At about what speed does the Utah handbook say a car may begin to hydroplane on a wet road?

   1. Over 70 mph
   2. Any speed above 10 mph
   3. Over 35 mph
   4. Only above 55 mph
   Show answer

   Over 35 mph. Hydroplaning happens when the tires ride on a film of water instead of the pavement, and the handbook says it can start at speeds over 35 mph. That is well below highway speed, which is why rain calls for slowing down rather than holding the posted limit. The other numbers are either too high to be safe or too low to match the handbook. If the steering suddenly feels light, ease off the gas, keep the wheel straight, and let the car slow until the tires grip again.

2. 2. Why is black ice especially dangerous, according to the Utah handbook?

   1. It only forms at midday
   2. It only forms on bridges
   3. It is thicker than regular ice
   4. It is hard to see and looks more like a wet spot than ice
   Show answer

   It is hard to see and looks more like a wet spot than ice. Black ice is a thin, clear glaze that takes on the color of the pavement, so the handbook warns that it is difficult to see and appears more like a wet spot than a patch of ice. It forms wherever moisture freezes, not only on bridges, it is thin rather than thick, and it is most common at night and early morning. Treat any dark, shiny patch on a cold road as ice, slow before you reach it, and avoid braking or steering sharply on it.

3. 3. Under Utah's rules on speed, what does the handbook say about the posted limit at night?

   1. Driving the posted limit at night may be too fast
   2. The posted limit is always the safe speed at night
   3. You may exceed the limit at night if traffic is light
   4. Night speed limits are 10 mph higher
   Show answer

   Driving the posted limit at night may be too fast. At night you can only see as far as your headlights reach, so the handbook warns that driving the posted speed limit at night may be too fast. The limit is a maximum for ideal conditions, not a promise that the speed is safe, and there is no night bonus or light traffic exception. Drive at a speed that lets you stop within the distance your headlights illuminate, and slow further when rain, snow or fog cut that distance.

Source: the Utah Driver Handbook, Section 11: Distractions and Driving Challenges. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.