5.3 Night & Bad-Weather Driving

Night Driving

A large share of Ghana's rural road network is unlit, and night driving multiplies every hazard: pedestrians in dark clothing, cyclists and motorcycles without lights, broken-down trucks parked without warning triangles, and animals on the road.

Before You Set Off: The Lighting Check

Make a walk-around lighting check part of every pre-drive routine, especially before a night journey: confirm that the headlights (dipped and full beam), tail lights, brake lights, and indicators all work, and wipe dust and mud off every lens — a film of harmattan dust can noticeably shorten a headlight's reach. A failed headlight or brake light is both an offence and an invitation to be hit from behind.

Headlight Discipline

• Dipped (low-beam) headlights are the default: use them in built-up areas, whenever you are following another vehicle, and whenever you are meeting oncoming traffic. Dip early — before your lights dazzle the other driver.
• Full (main) beam is for unlit roads with no vehicle ahead of you in either direction. It extends your view but blinds others, so switch back to dipped the moment an oncoming vehicle appears or you catch up with traffic.
• If an oncoming driver fails to dip and dazzles you, slow down, look toward the right edge of your lane rather than into the lights, and be ready to stop. Never stare into oncoming beams — even a moment's glare leaves a blind after-image — and never retaliate with your own full beam.

Speed After Dark

The golden rule: drive at a speed that lets you stop within the distance you can see — on dipped beams that may be only 30–40 metres. If your stopping distance exceeds your visible range, you are effectively driving blind, and an unlit obstacle beyond the beam's reach becomes unavoidable. Watch especially for:

• Unlit or poorly lit vehicles: bicycles, motorcycles, and broken-down trucks with no lights or reflectors.
• Pedestrians and animals: nearly invisible until very close, particularly on unlit rural stretches.

Overtaking and the Dawn–Dusk Trap

Overtaking at night is riskier than by day: glare distorts distance judgement, and the speed of approaching lights is hard to estimate. Overtake only where you would in daylight, and never assume a single distant light is a slow motorcycle; it may be a vehicle with one failed lamp closing fast. Take extra care at dawn and dusk, when low sun glares down the road and many drivers have not yet switched on their lights — switch yours on early so others can see you.

Parking at Night

Avoid parking on an unlit carriageway at all. If a breakdown forces you to stop, pull as far off the road as possible, leave the sidelights or parking lights and hazard lights on, and place the warning triangle 45 metres behind the vehicle as LI 2180 requires — further back on fast roads.

Driving in Rain

Rain season turns roads treacherous. The first rain after a dry spell is the most dangerous: it lifts oil and rubber dust into a greasy film before steady rain washes it away, and unpaved laterite surfaces become slippery like soap when wet.

1. Reduce speed well below the posted limit — wet roads roughly double braking distances.
2. Double your following distance to at least four seconds.
3. Switch on dipped headlights so others can see you through the spray.
4. Use demisters and wipers before the windscreen fogs up.
5. Brake, accelerate, and steer gently — any harsh input can break traction.

Aquaplaning

Aquaplaning (hydroplaning) happens when a wedge of water builds between the tyres and the road, so the car skates on water with almost no grip. Warning signs: the steering suddenly feels light and the engine note rises. The correct response: ease off the accelerator smoothly and keep the steering straight — do not brake hard or swerve, which would throw the car into a skid. Grip returns as speed falls. Prevention is better: slow down in standing water and keep tyres well treaded and inflated.

Flooded Roads and Deep Water

Never enter floodwater you cannot judge: it can hide missing culverts, wash away the surface, stall the engine, or sweep the vehicle aside. If you must cross shallow water, go slowly in a low gear with steady revs. After passing through deep water, test your brakes gently at low speed — light pressure as you drive dries the linings and restores their effectiveness.

Harmattan Dust and Fog

During harmattan, dust haze can cut visibility as severely as fog:

• Slow down to a speed matching the visibility — be able to stop within what you can see.
• Use dipped headlights or fog lights; never full beam, which reflects back into your eyes and worsens visibility.
• Use the road edge line or kerb as a guide to hold your lane, rather than staring into the murk.
• Keep a much larger following gap.
• Never park on the travelled portion of the road in poor visibility. Pull completely off the carriageway, switch on hazard warning lights, and place a warning triangle. A stopped vehicle in a dust storm is a collision waiting to happen.

Conditions at a Glance

Exam Pointers

• Full-beam traps: meeting or following traffic at night always means dipped headlights; full beam is only for an empty, unlit road.
• Aquaplaning traps: hard braking or swerving is always wrong; ease off the accelerator and hold the steering straight.
• Parking traps: in fog or dust, never stop on the travelled portion of the road — get off the carriageway with hazard lights on.

Bad conditions do not cause crashes — fair-weather speed in foul-weather visibility does.