On average, the body clears about one standard drink per hour, and nothing can hurry that along. Coffee, cold showers, and exercise do not make you sober any sooner; only time works.
A motorcycle has the same right to a full lane as a car, and riders often shift within the lane to avoid potholes, debris, or gusts of wind. Never try to share the lane with a motorcycle, pass it within its own lane, or drive on the shoulder next to it.
Spaces marked for people with disabilities may be used only by vehicles displaying valid disability plates or a disability parking placard. Any other vehicle may not park, stop, or stand in the space, not even for a moment.
The WRONG WAY sign is posted where a driver could enter a one-way street, a freeway ramp, or the far side of a divided highway against traffic. If it is facing you, you are heading into oncoming vehicles, so stop going forward and turn around when it is safe.
Black numbers on a white shield set against a black square identify a U.S. route, part of the national numbered highway network, such as U.S. 20 here. Interstate shields, by contrast, are red, white and blue.
A lower gear lets the engine help hold the vehicle back, so you only need light, careful braking instead of riding the brakes. This keeps the brakes from overheating and losing their stopping power on the way down.
The arrow rises, swings over to the right, and heads back down, which marks a hairpin: a curve where the road reverses direction almost completely. Cut your speed sharply before you enter it.
High beams shine into the mirrors of a vehicle ahead and can dazzle its driver, so switch to low beams when you are close behind a car you are following. A vehicle behind you, or one you have already passed, is outside the path of your headlights.
In normal conditions, stay at least three seconds behind the vehicle ahead: when it passes a fixed object, you should be able to count three seconds before you reach the same spot. Leave even more room when the weather is bad or it is hard to see.
A siren tells you that emergency responders need a clear path. Pull to the edge of the road, stop, and wait there until the fire engine has passed; slowing down or switching on your flashers is not enough, because you would still be in its way.
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.
Minimum limits exist so traffic keeps moving evenly; a vehicle creeping far below the pace of everyone else disrupts the flow and invites rear-end collisions and risky passing.
After any crash, a driver has to stop at the scene, give reasonable help to anyone hurt, notify the police, trade names, license, and insurance details with the others involved, and let their own insurance company know. Leaving the scene is against the law, and moving an injured person who is not in immediate danger can make their injuries worse.
This symbol warns that another road enters from the side a short way ahead, on the side the short bar points to. No stop or turn is required, but be ready for cars entering your road and for drivers ahead who slow down to turn off it.
Until you are licensed, every drive must include a licensed supervising driver riding with you. No hour of the day and no destination, not even your road test appointment, makes it legal to drive alone on a permit.
BAC depends on how much alcohol you drink, how quickly you drink it, and how much you weigh. Being in good physical shape does not help your body clear alcohol any faster.
To show a right turn by hand, put your left arm out the window and raise your forearm so your fingers point up. Holding the arm straight out means a left turn, while pointing it down means you are slowing or stopping.
A flashing yellow light is a warning, not an order to stop: ease off your speed, watch for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles already in the intersection, and yield to them before you continue. Stopping whenever it is safe is the rule for a steady yellow, and stopping before letting cross traffic go is the rule for a flashing red.
Drivers must take every precaution to avoid hitting a pedestrian, even one crossing where there is no marked crosswalk. Come to a stop and wait until the person has crossed, since eye contact or a slower speed does not make passing safe.
When two yellow lines run side by side, the one on your side tells you whether passing is allowed: a broken line next to your lane lets you pass when it is safe, while a solid line on your side means no passing. In the picture, the blue car has the broken line on its side and may pass, but the red car has the solid line and may not.
Switching on your own high beams in return only blinds the other driver and raises the risk of a crash. Instead, direct your eyes toward the right side of the road so the glare is not in your direct line of sight while you keep the oncoming vehicle in view.
A sign with two numbers sets both limits: you may never exceed 50 mph, and in good conditions you should not drive slower than 30 mph. When rain, fog, snow or ice make 30 mph unsafe, you are expected to slow down even below the posted minimum.
Fatigue builds over hours behind the wheel, and regular stops to rest, roughly every two hours or 100 miles, are the most reliable way to stay alert. Changing your speed does nothing to restore alertness.
Food and drinks are a distraction: handling them takes a hand off the steering wheel and your attention off traffic. As a result, you steer less smoothly and react more slowly to hazards.
A heavy truck needs far more distance to stop than a car does. If you cut in closely ahead of one, you take away the room its driver needs to brake safely.
Tank trucks that carry hazardous materials placards must stop before every railroad crossing, whether or not a train is approaching. Motor homes, pickups with trailers, and vehicles that are simply large or heavy have no such blanket rule, although every driver must stop when a train is coming.
Low beams light up the road in fog without throwing light back into your eyes. High beams bounce off the tiny water drops in the air and create glare, while parking lights alone are too dim for other drivers to notice you in time.
A blowout can make the vehicle pull hard toward the damaged tire. Grip the wheel firmly, keep the car pointed straight, avoid hard braking, and let it lose speed gradually before pulling off the road to stop.
Orange signs and cones mark the start of a work zone, where crews and heavy machines may be on or beside the road. Reduce your speed, pay close attention, and watch for lane shifts and sudden stops.
The posted limit is the highest speed the law allows, no matter how fast other drivers choose to go. Keeping pace with speeding traffic is no excuse, and you can still be ticketed for going over 65 mph.
Flashing red lights on a school bus mean children are getting on or off. You must stop and wait for the lights to go off; guessing that the children are clear or creeping past at low speed is never allowed.
A left turn takes you across the path of oncoming vehicles, so at an intersection without signs or signals the duty to wait is yours. Turn only after approaching traffic has passed or is far enough away for you to finish the turn safely.
Signaling well ahead of the lane change gives the drivers around you time to notice your plan and adjust their speed or position. A signal switched on at the last second, or after you have moved over, gives them no useful warning.
Implied consent laws make a license suspension the penalty for refusing a chemical test after a DUI arrest. The DUI case can still go forward without a test result, so refusing does not make the charge disappear.
This yellow sign with an arrow and a red octagon gives advance notice of a stop sign that may be hard to see in time, for example beyond a curve or a hilltop. Begin slowing early so you can stop smoothly.
Every question in this set has its own page with the correct answer and an explanation.
