Dear North Dakota Drivers, Turn on Your Headlights

Dear people who drive without their headlights on. Please don't. It's dangerous and honestly annoying. Especially if its foggy or snowing, people can't see you.

I have noticed, recently, a huge increase in the number of people I see driving around without their headlights on early in the morning. I even flash my headlights lights to warn them, but to no avail. I also see this when it's foggy or snowing. There were a lot of foggy days in January. Days where the fog would linger all day.  Headlights should be on in those conditions, even when it's daylight. I often wonder how drivers could forget to turn on their lights. But I think I now know why.

It used to be when you got in your car at night, the instrument panel was dark and only lit up when you turned the headlights on. Now that the dashboard is illuminated as soon as you turn the engine on, people drive off, frequently in a well-lit area so it’s not immediately apparent, without turning on their headlights.

It's important to turn them on because it's dangerous, but it's also North Dakota law. According to nd.gov, North Dakota Century Code 39-21-01 states headlights are required from sunset to sunrise and on farm vehicles operating on a highway from one half hour after sunset to one half hour before sunrise. Headlights are also required when it is raining, snowing, sleeting, is foggy or is hailing or during other adverse driving or weather conditions when the conditions prevent a person from clearly making a vehicle discernible at a distance of 1,000 feet.

The North Dakota Highway patrol has posted Frequently Asked Questions and you can check them out by clicking below.

Frequently Asked Questions | North Dakota State Highway Patrol (nd.gov)