*Updated for 2025*
Collecting and driving your hire car at night can be unavoidable if you’re picking up your vehicle from the airport after your flight has arrived. If you’re planning long journeys or visiting a country that has few daylight hours, driving in the dark can be a necessity. Our tips below will help make your collection and night-time driving as stress-free as possible.
Photo by: Kurmyshov/Adobe Stock
What is an Out of Hours Fee?
An out of hours fee is an additional charge applied when a customer collects a vehicle outside a car rental company’s typical opening hours. It helps cover the provider’s operating costs of ensuring a member of staff is available to assist with your collection.
The charge varies for each car rental provider. We recommend making comparisons on the quote results page, as you may be able to get a better price with a different provider.
It is also worth checking the opening hours of different providers operating in your destination. You may be able to avoid the charge if collecting the vehicle inside their opening hours is viable.
The out of hours charge can be found in Step One of the booking process, located under ‘mandatory charges payable locally’. This are paid upon collection.
Surveying the vehicle
No matter what time you collect the vehicle, always take the time to thoroughly survey the vehicle. Make sure the supplier’s representative records any pre-existing damage. If they seem hesitant, remember that we can be contacted at the time on our emergency 24/7 support line and we can liaise with the supplier to resolve this.
Feel free to take photos of pre-existing damage on your smartphone or camera as evidence. Check before completing the survey that your photos have come out clearly and you can see the extent of the damage. Use the flash function if necessary.
If you know it will be dark when you collect the vehicle, consider taking along a small torch to assist the inspection. It can also help highlight damage when taking photos. Should you not be able to take a torch, consider downloading a torchlight app onto your smartphone to use. The torch will also come in handy if you breakdown at night!
Lights
Check that all the lights of the vehicle work before driving off and leaving the supplier. In some countries, it’s a legal requirement to carry a spare set of headlight bulbs so ensure these are in the vehicle if necessary. If there’s any problems, request a lightbulb change from the supplier before leaving.
This may be obvious but we all fall into the trap sometimes- if you’re departing from a multi-storey car park in the dark, make sure you switch your lights on!
Cassowary crossing warning sign. Photo by: Johan Larson/Adobe Stock
Driving at night
Local hazards
It’s a good idea to read up on general driving tips before visiting any new country. Our driving guides contain lots of handy information you should know before driving your hire car. Often at night, certain risks are increased specific to that country. For example, it’s advisable to avoid driving at night if possible in remote parts of Australia due to the high risk of hitting animals, especially cassowaries. If you must drive outside cities and towns in the dark, be extra alert and drive slowly. Bear in mind that if travelling across remote distances at night, there may not be any petrol stations, so ensure you have enough to make your trip.
South Africa is another country renowned for increased risks at night. If possible, avoid driving in the dark. If you have to, stay alert. Don’t stop in an exposed area for anyone, even police. Keep your windows rolled up and if you must stop, be alert for car-jackings.
Don’t stop unnecessarily. Don’t leave the vehicle unlocked and unattended. Don’t make yourself an easy target.
Plan your journey
Familiarise yourself as much as possible with the route you need to take when driving at night. We recommended taking a SatNav, or ensuring your mobile phone can act as a GPS navigator.
Rent a car with Zest for your next getaway!
Take the stress out of car rental with Zest. We keep you protected during your rental with excess protection included with every booking. We also have an industry-leading Top-up insurance available as an added extra.
So, what are you waiting for? Put something in the calendar today and join thousands of other travellers using Zest!
