Video – Driver with no headlights speeds on Al Salmi Road

Picture this: you’re driving along Al Salmi Road at night, everything normal, when suddenly a car appears right behind you out of nowhere. No headlights. No warning. Just there, fast and silent, until it’s almost on top of you.

That’s exactly what one driver on Al Salmi Road says happened to them. They described being startled to find another car behind them with no lights on and no flashing to warn of its approach, travelling well above the street’s speed limit. It’s the kind of moment that lasts only a few seconds but stays with you much longer.

The driver who shared this didn’t hold back their frustration, saying people who drive like this deserve to have their car impounded and face real discipline. It’s strong language, but it comes from a real scare on a real road many of us use every day.

What exactly happened

Details here are limited to what the affected driver described. They were driving on Al Salmi Road when another vehicle came up behind them with its headlights switched off. There was no flash of lights, no horn, nothing to signal the car was approaching fast. It was only when the car was close that its presence became obvious.

The driver says the other car was exceeding the street’s speed limit at the time. No date has been given for when this happened, and there’s no confirmation yet of a licence plate, a report to police, or whether anyone else witnessed it. We don’t know if this was caught on dashcam or simply described from memory.

This sits alongside other driving habits caught and shared by residents recently. Just last week, we covered a driver caught eating from a pot while driving, part of a wider pattern of risky behaviour behind the wheel that keeps showing up on Kuwait’s roads.

Why driving without headlights at night is so dangerous

Headlights do two jobs. They let you see the road ahead, and just as importantly, they let other drivers see you. A car with no lights on, especially moving at speed, becomes almost invisible until it’s dangerously close. On a fast road like Al Salmi, that gap between noticing a car and reacting to it can be a matter of a second or two.

Add speed on top of that, and the risk grows fast. A driver going well above the limit has less time to brake, less room to steer away from trouble, and less chance of avoiding whatever is ahead of them, whether that’s another car, a pedestrian, or debris on the road.

Kuwait’s traffic rules require drivers to use headlights after dark and to stick to posted speed limits. Breaking either of these isn’t a small thing. It puts the driver’s own life at risk, along with everyone else sharing that stretch of road with them.

What this means for people living in Kuwait

For everyday drivers, citizens and expats alike, this is a reminder that night driving on Kuwait’s main roads carries real risk, not just from your own mistakes but from other drivers you can’t predict. Al Salmi Road connects traffic heading out of the city, and it sees a steady mix of fast-moving vehicles, trucks and commuters, especially after sunset.

If you’re driving this stretch at night, keep extra distance from the car ahead and behind where you can, and check your mirrors often. If a vehicle appears to be approaching too fast or without lights, it’s safer to ease off and let it pass rather than react suddenly.

For those on the other side of this, drivers who skip their headlights or push past the speed limit, the risk isn’t only to themselves. A car stopped and impounded over dangerous driving isn’t cheap or quick to get back, as we explained in our guide on getting an impounded vehicle released in Kuwait. It’s a long process nobody wants to go through because of a few reckless minutes on the road.

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