There are a number of potential dangers that apply to nighttime driving involving tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles regulated by the US Department of Transportation. The Federal motor carrier safety regulations apply to all such commercial vehicles with the DOT license, or meeting several requirements due to their weight that make the trucking company subject to federal regulations. A second source of rules or regulations that apply to these commercial truckers is the commercial driving license manual in the state in which the trucking accident occurs or in which the trucking company itself does business. As a general rule headlights on a tractor-trailer will shine about 250 feet with low beams and about 350 to 500 feet with high beams. Many commercial drivers license manuals advise truckers to use the high beams at night whenever possible and some of the same manuals advise truckers to slow down when they must use their low beams. When we can, we arrange for an inspection of the truck as soon as possible and in many cases will retain an accident reconstruction or trucking safety professional expert. Over-driving a trucker's headlights is one of many issues that an experienced trucking injury attorney will study and particularly if we are retained early in the process where we can analyze evidence before it is altered or destroyed.  Please contact us promptly for a free initial confidential consultation.