Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Adverse Conditions

You have to park on an unlighted highway at night. What does the manual tell you to leave on?

  1. A.
    Only your hazard flashers.
  2. B.
    No lights, so oncoming drivers see the road.
  3. C.
    Parking lights or low beam headlights. Correct
  4. D.
    Your high beam headlights.
The Why

The answer is "Parking lights or low beam headlights."

For a car parked on an unlighted highway at night, the manual says to leave your parking lights or low beam headlights on. Option D is the trap; drivers reach for maximum visibility with high beams, but oncoming drivers cannot judge distance to a fixed high-beam source and may steer toward it.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Only your hazard flashers.

The manual names parking lights or low beam headlights for a car parked on an unlighted highway at night; hazard flashers signal an emergency, which is a different situation. This answer carries the Vehicle Breakdown guidance for emergency warning lights over to a routine roadside park.

B. No lights, so oncoming drivers see the road.

Leaving no lights on removes the car from other drivers' view entirely. This answer extends the concern about glaring oncoming drivers with headlights into leaving a parked car dark, missing that traffic on an unlighted highway still needs to see the vehicle.

D. Your high beam headlights.

High beams from a parked car project as a fixed bright source that oncoming drivers can misjudge and drive toward. This answer reaches for maximum-visibility lighting, missing that a stationary car needs to be marked rather than spotlighted.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Adverse Conditions in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Chapter 9: Some Special Driving Situations - Headlights," p.47..

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