Without a sign showing otherwise, residential districts carry a 25 mph limit. Homes along the street mean children, walkers and bike riders may appear suddenly, so keep your speed down and stay ready to brake.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Highway traffic moves fast, so situations change in seconds. Paying full attention, scanning constantly, and being ready for hazards such as debris, stalled cars, or sudden braking all help you avoid a crash.
Headlights must be used in darkness, which the law counts as the time from 30 minutes past sunset to 30 minutes ahead of sunrise, and also any time rain, snow, fog, or similar conditions reduce visibility.
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.
Cutting through a parking lot, gas station or other property to dodge a traffic control device is against the law. The only exception is when a police officer instructs you to do it, because an officer's directions take priority over signs and signals.
Emergency vehicles may stop or turn without warning, and others may be following, so the law requires you to stay back at least 500 feet once one has passed. Trailing it closely is dangerous, and after it goes by you may resume normal driving while keeping that distance.
The Wisconsin Motorists' Handbook teaches the four-second following distance rule: count four seconds after the car ahead passes a fixed marker; leave more in bad weather.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With simultaneous arrivals, the yield-to-the-right rule decides. The yellow car has no traffic on its right and goes first; the blue car is to the truck's right, and the truck's left turn must also wait for oncoming traffic, so the truck goes third.
The red areas in the picture are blind spots that neither the side mirrors nor the rearview mirror can show. After signaling and checking the mirrors, a quick look over your shoulder toward the lane you want is the only way to spot a vehicle hiding there.
When the wipers fail in rain or snow, ease off your speed at once, open the driver's window and look out of it if that is the only way to see, and then brake and leave the road at a safe spot. Wait there with your hazard flashers on until the weather clears or the wipers are fixed.
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 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.
Each situation shrinks your margin for error: curves and narrow lanes limit your view and room to maneuver, crossings bring cross traffic and trains, and wet pavement reduces traction. Slowing down buys extra reaction time and helps you keep the vehicle under control.
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.
Flashing red lights mean children are getting on or off, so you must come to a full stop at least 20 feet behind the bus. Do not move again until the lights go off and the stop arm has been pulled back in.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Every question in this set has its own page with the correct answer and an explanation.
