North Carolina – NCDOT – Sample Test 1

Crashes occur most frequently at intersections, and they are considered the most dangerous places on a street or highway. More than one-third of fatal traffic crashes involving motor vehicles occur at intersections.

Do not tailgate. Keep a safe following distance for the speed you are traveling. If the vehicle ahead stops suddenly, you will need time to react. One of the most frequent types of crashes on an interstate highway is the rear-end crash. Following too closely is a leading cause of these traffic crashes.

Driving is a legal privilege and responsibility. It is against the law to drive a motor vehicle on streets and highways without a valid driver license. It is also illegal to sit in the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle while the engine is running or to steer a motor vehicle while it is being pushed or towed by another vehicle if you do not have a valid driver license.

The flashing yellow signal has the same meaning as a warning sign. Slow down and proceed with caution. When you approach the yield sign, you must slow down and yield the right of way. Your need to stop depends on the traffic on the intersecting street.

If you accumulate seven points, you may be assigned to a driver improvement clinic. Upon satisfactory completion of the clinic, three points are deducted from your driving record. If you accumulate as many as 12 points within a three-year period, your license may be suspended.

In North Carolina, you may not turn right or left against a red arrow. The red arrow means turning traffic must stop and remain stopped.

Alcohol reduces your ability to drive safely. No one drives as well after drinking alcohol, even though some people may look and act as though they are unaffected. Drinking even a small amount of alcohol increases your chances of having an accident.

When exiting an alley, building entrance, private road, or driveway, stop and yield to all other vehicles and pedestrians.

By law, you must stop when:

• There is a stop sign.
• A warning signal tells you a train is approaching.
• A crossing gate is lowered.
• A flag person signals the approach of a train.
• A railroad train emits a signal, indicating that the train is an immediate hazard.
• An approaching railroad train is plainly visible and is in hazardous proximity to such crossing.

It is dangerous and deadly to leave children in a vehicle. During the spring and summer months, after sitting in the sun, with even a slightly opened window, the temperature can rise rapidly inside a parked vehicle. The temperature inside a vehicle can rise approximately 40-50 degrees higher than the outside temperature.

You are required to carry proof of liability insurance whenever you drive.

Alcohol affects most areas of your brain, so the effects are wide-ranging and impossible to compensate.

Tires with worn tread and those that are under inflated have less grip on the road surface, increasing your chance of hydroplaning and making it more difficult to control your vehicle.

Two-lane roadway with a center turning lane: When school bus stops for passengers, all traffic from both directions must stop. Divided highway of four lanes or more with a median separation: When school bus stops for passengers, only traffic following the bus must stop. Roadway of four lanes or more with a center turning lane: When school bus stops for passengers, only traffic following the bus must stop.

Funeral processions have the right-of-way at intersections. If the lead vehicle in a funeral procession has crossed the intersection in accordance with a traffic-control sign or signal, all vehicles in the procession may also drive through the intersection, even if a traffic light changes or there is a stop sign. Remember, you may not cross an intersection, even if you have a green light while a funeral procession is passing through a red light, unless you can do so without crossing the path of the procession.

When approaching a traffic circle, slow down. Traffic laws concerning right-of-way still apply. You must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk and to other traffic that is already in the traffic circle.

It is recommended that you reduce speed by more than half for packed snow and slow to a crawl on ice. Use chains if necessary for better traction, but do not forget that even chains and snow tires can slide on ice and packed snow.

If an officer charges you with driving while impaired, you will be asked to take a chemical test of your breath or blood. Refusal to perform any required test will result in the immediate revocation of your driver license for at least 30 days and an additional, minimum 12-month revocation by the DMV.

Unless otherwise posted, maximum speed limits are:

• In cities and towns: 35 mph
• For school buses: 45 mph
• For school activity buses: 55 mph
• Outside cities and towns 55 mph
• For interstates 70 mph

Follow the flow of traffic if you can do so without speeding. Crashes are more likely to occur when a vehicle moves significantly slower than the flow of the traffic.

Do not drive or park closer than one block from fire trucks responding to a fire alarm.

Slow down. Use your low beam headlights, not your high beams. Keep a consistent distance between you and the car in front of you. If you are involved in a collision, get your car off the road as quickly as possible.

Driving slower than the surrounding traffic is a major cause of rear-end crashes in work zones. In the work zone, driving areas may be confined, and there may be no maneuvering space or escape route for vehicles that unexpectedly approach a slow-moving vehicle ahead.

The flashing red signal has the same meaning as the stop sign: stop and do not proceed to move until you can enter the intersection without interfering with approaching traffic.