Driver's Ed Ch7

In what situations must a driver yield the right of way?

- Yield coming from an alley, driveway, or private roadway to pedestrians and all vehicles - Yield at all yield signs - Emergency vehicles - When turning left at any intersection - Four way stops - Uncontrolled intersection

How should you move from a STOP sign when your view is blocked?

1. Look around and search at a 45-degree angle at location 1 in the picture on the top right. Continue to search left, front, and right as you creep forhard. Check your rear zone. 2. Check your path of travel for pedestrians and prepare to make the legal stop before you move beyond location 2. Look for vehi- cles making turns into your path. 3. Stop with your front bumper even with the curb. Search 90 degrees to the left and right of your target area. When there are parked vehicles, your ideal searching location is when your front bumper is even with the left side of the parked cars, as in location 3. 4. When you have an open front zoneandacleargapofatleast seven seconds from the left and right, proceed by accelerating to the proper speed. Once through the intersection, check your rear zone.

What procedures should you follow at an uncontrolled railroad crossing?

1. Slow down. Check tracks to both sides and traffic to the rear as you approach the crossing sign. 2. Turn off the radio, air conditioner, or heater fan to listen for train sounds. Open the window if the area is noisy. 3. Reduce speed to handle a possible rough-road crossing or if there is a line-of-sight restriction. Note the number of track sets. 4. If a train is approaching, stop at a safe distance before the tracks. 5. Wait for the train to clear. Then carefully check the crossing. Be sure another train is not approaching on another set of tracks. 6. If it is safe to cross, increase your speed up to at least 20 mph. Then your vehicle can roll across the tracks should its engine stall. 7. If you have a stickshift vehicle, shift to a lower gear before crossing to prevent stalling on the tracks. Never shift while crossing tracks. 8. Drive onto the tracks only after you have enough space and speed to clear the tracks. Make sure any vehicles ahead clear the tracks before you start to cross. Never stop on railroad tracks while waiting for traffic ahead to move. 9. When you follow buses or trucks hauling flammable con- tents, be prepared to stop. Many states require such vehicles to stop before crossing railroad tracks.

What should you do when you have a closed front zone at an intersection?

A closed front zone is identified by the presence of a yellow or red traffic light, a yield sign, or some- thing moving into your intended path of travel. If you have identified a closed zone at an intersection, you will need to prepare to reduce speed or stop. As soon as you identify a closed zone, check your rear zone. If it is open, begin to brake. If the rear zone is closed, tap your brake pedal a few times so that your brake lights communicate to the driver to the rear that you are stopping.

How would you judge a gap in traffic?

A gap is the distance between vehicles. When you enter a through street after stopping, you must judge the size of the gaps in traffic. You need different size gaps depending on the maneuver you plan to make and the speed of traffic. From the picture above you see that crossing a two-lane street takes about four to five seconds. Turning right and accelerating to 30 mph takes about six seconds. Turning left and accelerating to 36 mph takes' about seven seconds. The same process to judge followingdistanceisadapted to judge gap sizes.

How would you identify an uncontrolled intersection?

An uncontrolled intersection has no signs or signals to regulate traffic. These intersections usually are found in areas of light traffic, such as residential areas.

How would you make a right turn or a left turn at a controlled intersection?

As you drive toward a signal- controlled intersection, consider if the signal is about to change. Treat each intersection as a separate problem. Searching12-15 seconds ahead, evaluate the next intersection to see what color that light is. Look for any traffic moving on the cross street. Before you reach the point where you must brake to stop at an intersection, quickly check your front zones. If you predict the light is going to be red, or if cross traffic has closed your front zone, check your rear zone and be prepared to stop

How would you cross and join traffic properly?

Crossing an intersection takes four to five seconds from a stop. If traffic on the through street-is traveling 30 mph, you need a gap of about two-thirds of a block in each direction. You need a larger gap to join traffic when turning right than when crossing. You need about six seconds to reach the speed of through-street traffic without interfering with the flow of traffic.

What procedures should you follow at an uncontrolled intersection?

Once an intersection has been identified, check your rear zone for following traffic. Then, you will need to determine if you have an open path of travel into and through the intersection. You will need to search the left-front, front, and right-front zones to be certain that they are open for your use. You need to continue to look for line-of-sight restrictions that could prevent you from seeing if your path of travel is going to be safe.

How can you tell when you are at the point of no return?

Once you have passed the point- of-no-return, you should continue through the intersection. The point-of-no-return is the point beyond which you can no longer stop safely without entering the intersection. Under normal conditions, that point is two seconds from the intersection as shown in the picture on the left.

What does the term "right of way" mean?

The term right of way describes the privilege of having immediate use of a certain part of a roadway.

How should you approach a controlled intersection?

Two kinds of signs control intersections: STOP and YIELD. You must come to a full stop for a s m p sign, crosswalk, or stop line. At a YIELD sign, slow and yield the right of way to vehicles on the through street.

How should you search an intersection once you have identified it?

You will need to determine if you have an open zone for your intended path of travel into and through the intersection. You will need to search the left- front, front, a right-front zones to be certain that they are open. You also need to look for line-of-sight restrictions that will prevent you from seeing if your intended path of travel is going to be safe. You should search for changes in those zones that could make them closed for your travel as shown in the top picture on the next page. Once you are within 4-6 seconds of the intersection, your searching pattern should widen to include more information from the right and left of your path of travel. If your front zone is clear, you can keep moving. If it is not clear, you will need to prepare to stop or change your path of travel.

As you approach a yellow or red traffic light, your front zone

closes

An intersection where signs or a signal assign the right of way is known as _________________

controlled intersection

intersection at which traffic signals ar signs determine the right of way

controlled intersection

Which of the following signs identifies an uncontrolled railroad crossing?

cross buck

The sign before the tracks of a railroad crossing is called ______________

crossbuck

A light allowing traffic from one side time to turn or go straight before the light for oncoming traffic turns green is called a ________________

delayed green light

A light that has just turned green is called ___________________

fresh green light

What is the term for a light that has just turned from red?

fresh green light

complete stop as required at stop sign or red light

full stop

The distance between vehicles on a roadway is called a __________

gap

distance between vehicles

gap

When turning after a stop,your last check should be in the direction of your _________________

intended path of travel

Your chances of collision are greater at a/an ____________________ than at any other point on a roadway.

intersections

Turning right or left into lanes of other vehicles is called _________________

joining

When you can no longer stop safely with out entering the intersection, you have reached the ____________________

point of no return

The privilege of having immediate use of a certain part of the roadway is called _______________

right of way

privilege of having immediate use of a certain part of a roadway

right of way

'light that has been green for a long time

stale green light

A light that has been green for awhile now is called __________________

stale green light

When several roads meet at a circle, the intersection is called _______________

traffic circle

intersection that has no signs or signs to regulate traffic

uncontrolled intersection

As a driver, you must always __________________ pedestrians.

yield

With which of the following does one side of an intersection have a green light?

yield

Letting others go before you is called ________________

yielding