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.
A gap of at least 3 seconds is the usual minimum: pick a fixed point, and once the red car passes it, the blue car should take three seconds or more to reach it. Allow more space when weather or road conditions are poor, and remember that a 1-second gap leaves almost no time to react.
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.
Where no signs or signals are posted, a driver yields to a vehicle approaching from the right, and a driver turning left yields to oncoming traffic. No one is to the yellow car's right, so it goes first; the blue car goes second; the truck turns left with the blue car on its right, so it goes last.
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.
The liver breaks down alcohol at a fairly steady pace of about one standard drink, such as a 12-ounce beer, per hour. Coffee, a cold shower, or exercise cannot speed this up; only the passing of time lowers your BAC.
The red zones in the picture are blind spots that neither the side mirrors nor the rearview mirror can show. After you signal and check the mirrors, only a quick look over your shoulder will reveal a vehicle sitting there.
Many states require every occupant to buckle up; in some, adults in the back seat are not legally required to, but a belt protects everyone, so every occupant should wear one. Young children must ride in a child safety seat that fits their age and size.
Wet or icy pavement gives the tires less grip, so any slowing should be done before a curve or intersection, not in the middle of it. Likewise, shift into a lower gear before a steep downhill begins rather than after you are already descending.
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Every question in this set has its own page with the correct answer and an explanation.
