Water on the pavement makes stopping take longer, so open up a gap of at least 4 to 5 seconds behind the vehicle ahead. Brake, steer and accelerate gently to avoid skidding.
Tip On wet pavement, plan on about twice your usual following distance so you have room to stop.
Passing must always be done on the paved, main part of the road. Pulling onto the shoulder or dirt edge to get by is never allowed, even next to a vehicle that is turning left.
To indicate a right turn, stick your left arm through the driver's window and bend it up at the elbow so your hand points toward the sky. A straight, extended arm signals a left turn, while an arm bent downward signals that you are slowing down or stopping.
Traffic on major highways moves fast, so trouble can develop in seconds. Staying alert, moving your eyes constantly, and being ready to react to hazards give you the time you need to avoid a crash.
All three situations call for a lower speed: narrow or curving roads leave little room for error, intersections and railroad crossings bring cross traffic and trains, and slick pavement makes stopping take longer. Driving slower buys you extra time to react.
You must not pass or go around a vehicle that has stopped for people at a crosswalk, because it may be hiding a child who is stepping into the road. Obeying the school speed limit and letting children cross first are things you must do, not things you must avoid.
For drivers 21 and older, the standard legal limit is a BAC of 0.08%. Drivers under 21 are covered by zero-tolerance laws with a far lower limit, so 0.08% is not the cutoff for 18- to 20-year-olds, and 0.06% is not the standard adult limit.
Tip Watch the decimal point closely: the adult limit is 0.08% BAC, not 0.8%.
A road test may be refused by the examiner if the vehicle is unsafe, has no seat belts, or contains equipment, for example a center console, that keeps the examiner from reaching the brake pedal. Check your vehicle ahead of test day so you don't forfeit the appointment.
One standard drink equals either 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits; each holds about the same amount of alcohol. Choosing beer or wine over liquor does not make you any less impaired.
Cutting across a parking lot, gas station, or other property to avoid a sign or signal is illegal. The only exception is when a police officer directs traffic that way.
Headlights are required from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise, plus whenever rain, fog, snow, or dim light makes people and vehicles hard to see. They help you see the road and help others see you.
Under implied consent, getting a license and driving on public roads count as advance agreement to chemical testing, such as a breath test, when you are arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Refusing the test usually brings its own penalties, including loss of your license.
No one number is safe in every situation. Choose your speed based on the weather, the road surface, how far you can see and how heavy traffic is, and remember that driving under the limit can still be too fast in poor conditions.
The commonly taught minimum is a 3-second gap, which you can check by counting from when the vehicle ahead passes a fixed object until you reach it. More space is wise in bad weather or heavy traffic, but 3 seconds is the basic minimum.
When vehicles arrive together, each driver yields to the vehicle on the right, and a driver turning left also yields to oncoming traffic. The yellow car has no one on its right, so it goes first; the blue car yields to it and goes second; the truck, turning left, yields to both and goes last.
Each of these lowers the force of the crash: objects that give way absorb energy, a stationary object adds no speed of its own, and a glancing blow transfers less force than a head-on hit. If a collision is likely, brake hard and steer toward the least harmful option.
Under Connecticut's nighttime curfew, license holders younger than 18 must stay off the road from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. Exceptions cover trips for a job, school, religious activities, or medical reasons.
Blinking your brake lights or turning on the hazard flashers lets the people behind you know early that traffic is stopping for a crash ahead, which gives them room to slow down. These signals warn of danger or an unexpected slowdown; they are not a way to thank another driver or something to use while reversing out of a parking spot.
Tip Hazard flashers are for warning others of a sudden danger, not for excusing double-parking or for ordinary driving.
Before you back up, change lanes or brake suddenly, check the traffic behind you with your mirrors and by turning your head. Look over your shoulder through the rear window when backing, and check your blind spot before moving into another lane. These are the moments when a collision with someone behind you is most likely: backing takes you toward whatever is back there, and if you change lanes or brake hard, a vehicle coming up behind you may have no room to avoid you.
As soon as you hear a siren or notice red or blue lights flashing, give the emergency vehicle the right-of-way by moving to the right edge of the road and stopping until it goes by. You must do this no matter what other drivers are doing.
Alcohol makes it hard to hold a lane, judge speed, and react smoothly, so impaired drivers often weave, drive unusually slowly, and brake or stop without warning. If you notice these signs, keep well back and report the driver to police when it is safe.
Total stopping distance is the ground you cover while reacting plus the distance needed to brake, which depends on speed, brakes, tires, and the road surface. Darkness can make hazards harder to spot, but the clock itself does not change how far the vehicle needs to stop.
Tip When judging how quickly you can stop, think about speed, reaction time, brakes, tires, and pavement, not the hour.
The headlight requirement begins 30 minutes after sunset, when fading daylight makes it harder for others to see you. Also turn them on at any hour when rain, snow, or fog limits visibility.
When a frozen dessert truck has its red lights flashing or its stop arm extended, drivers must stop, and they must also stop for anyone crossing the street to reach it, because children often run into the road. A divided highway is the exception: if a safety island is between you and the truck, you may continue with care.
Tip Handle a stopped ice cream truck much like a school bus: stop unless a raised island on a divided road stands between you and the truck.
Most states require a parallel-parked car to have its wheels within 12 inches of the curb, and some allow up to 18, so staying within 12 inches keeps you legal in either case. A wider gap leaves the car sticking out into the travel lane, where it becomes a hazard to passing traffic.
Tip A gap of roughly 6 to 12 inches keeps you within the limit while protecting your tires from the curb.
After a blowout, hold the steering wheel firmly, take your foot off the accelerator, and keep the car going straight while it loses speed on its own. Braking hard can make you lose control, so stop only after you have eased off the road to a safe spot.
In Connecticut, a drunk-driving conviction can require the offender to complete the Impaired Driver Intervention Program, which provides education and intervention for impaired drivers, in addition to fines and license sanctions. Real DUI penalties are far heavier than a token fine, and a first offense does not bring a lifetime ban.
Set the front wheels so that the curb would stop the car if it started to roll: angle them toward the curb if the car points downhill and away from it if the car points uphill. Apply the parking brake every time.
Tip Downhill means wheels toward the curb; uphill with a curb means wheels away from it.
Without working wipers you cannot see through the windshield, so open your window and look out as needed while you brake, slow down, and get off the roadway. Turn on your hazard flashers and stay put until the wipers are repaired or the weather clears.
If a school bus stops on a two-lane road with its red lights flashing, traffic approaching from either direction has to stop and stay put until the lights go off and the bus moves on. Simply slowing down is not sufficient, including when the bus is on the opposite side of the road.
Tip Drivers on the far side of a highway split by a physical divider, such as a raised median, are not required to stop.
Mirrors show only part of the area beside and behind your car; the red zones in the picture are blind spots they cannot cover. Signal, check your mirrors, and then turn your head to look over your shoulder before you move over.
The law requires headlights starting 30 minutes after the sun sets and ending 30 minutes before it rises, which means that in the morning you can turn them off when sunrise is half an hour away. Leave them on longer when rain, fog, or snow limits visibility.
A full stop is required at a stop sign, at a red signal, and whenever a traffic officer tells you to stop. Ignoring any one of them is a violation and a common cause of serious crashes.
A school bus with flashing red lights is loading or unloading children, so you have to stop. Connecticut law makes you stay back at least 10 feet from the bus, and you may not proceed until the lights are off and the bus begins to move.
Slippery pavement gives your tires less traction, so lose speed before a curve or intersection rather than while you are in it. Speeding into a curve, or waiting until you are already descending a hill to downshift, makes a skid more likely.
Every question in this set has its own page with the correct answer and an explanation.
