If, at night, you pass another car lighting the road with its lights, can this stop you from noticing any obstacles on the road?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
A. Yes, because there is a possibility of being temporarily blinded by the lights.
Explanation
In the photo, you are driving at night on a poorly lit road; a vehicle with bright headlights is approaching from the opposite direction. When at night you pass an oncoming vehicle that is lighting the road in front of it, you take into account that being temporarily blinded may limit your ability to notice obstacles - answer A.
An eye adjusted to darkness has wide-open pupils. Bright headlights from the opposite direction, even dipped headlights, "burn out" the image for a moment, and after the vehicle has passed, your eyes need a few seconds to see in the dark again. During this time it is easy to miss a pedestrian without reflectors, a cyclist or an animal on the right shoulder. That is why before passing an oncoming vehicle you slow down, look at the right edge of the roadway and not into the lights, and stay in your lane. Answers B and C are wrong - bright lights from the opposite direction do not improve visibility, they only blind you and make it harder to notice what is hidden in the shadow at the right edge. A dirty windscreen and scratched glasses make the blinding even worse.
Legal basis: Art. 19 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)