Nevada Following-Distance & Headlight Rules
How far back to follow another vehicle, when to dim high beams for oncoming and following traffic, and the move-over law for emergency vehicles.
- Following-distance rule
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At 40 mph or less, stay at least two seconds behind the vehicle ahead. The two-second rule is a minimum; most driving instructors recommend up to four seconds. As speed and stopping distance increase, give yourself more room: at 55 mph, perfect-condition braking takes nearly seven seconds. The manual also recommends a 12-second look-ahead in normal traffic and a 20- to 30-second look-ahead at freeway speeds.
Source: Nevada Driver's Handbook (March 2024), Chapter 3, Defensive Driving Tips, p. 42
- Dim high beams within (ft) — oncoming
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500
Source: Nevada Driver's Handbook (March 2024), Chapter 5, Night Driving, p. 56
- Dim high beams within (ft) — following
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300
Source: Nevada Driver's Handbook (March 2024), Chapter 5, Night Driving, p. 56
- Headlight requirements
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Headlights are legally required from a half hour after sunset until a half hour before sunrise, whenever there is insufficient light, whenever persons or vehicles cannot be clearly seen at a distance of 1,000 feet, and when directed by an official traffic control device. Headlights are also advisable in rain, snow, or fog. In open country at night, use high beams; switch to low beams at least 500 feet before any oncoming vehicle and 300 feet before any vehicle you are following. Driving with only parking lights on is not permitted.
Source: Nevada Driver's Handbook (March 2024), Chapter 5, Night Driving, p. 56
- Motorcycle following rule
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Nevada's manual does not give a specific car-length or second count for following a motorcycle. The rule is to slow down sooner than you would for another vehicle and leave plenty of space, with even more following distance in rain or on slippery roads.
Source: Nevada Driver's Handbook (March 2024), Chapter 6, Motorcycles, p. 63
- Cyclist safe-passing rule
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When passing a cyclist on a road with more than one lane in the same direction, move into the lane to the left if doing so is reasonably safe. If an adjacent lane does not exist, pass to the left of the bicycle at a safe distance of at least three feet, and do not move back to the right until your vehicle is safely clear of the bicycle. Driving in a marked bicycle lane is prohibited.
- Move-over law (stopped emergency vehicles)
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When approaching any vehicle stopped on the roadway and displaying flashing emergency lights, including law enforcement vehicles, fire engines, ambulances, tow trucks, NDOT vehicles, garbage trucks, and any other vehicle displaying non-flashing blue lights, you must decrease speed to less than the posted limit, proceed with caution, be prepared to stop, and if possible drive in a lane that is not adjacent to the lane where the vehicle is stopped (NRS 484B.607). This duty also applies when someone is attending to a vehicle repair on the roadside. Effective January 1, 2024 (AB 56 of the 2023 Legislature, NRS 484B.210), certain authorized emergency vehicles, traffic-incident-management vehicles, tow cars, coroner vehicles, and public-transit buses may use the paved shoulder where signage authorizes it; drivers of non-emergency vehicles may not stop on a shoulder marked for emergency use.
Source: Nevada Driver's Handbook (March 2024), Chapter 5, Approaching a Stopped Emergency Vehicle, p. 61
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