Driver's License Test Prep
California Practice Lane Changes & Merging

You realize you have passed the street where you meant to turn. What does the manual tell you to do?

  1. A.
    Brake hard and back up to the intersection
  2. B.
    Keep driving until you can safely turn around Correct
  3. C.
    Stop in your lane and wait for a gap in traffic
The Why

The answer is "Keep driving until you can safely turn around"

If you miss your turn, keep driving until you can safely and legally turn around. Stopping in a live lane, as C suggests, treats a routing mistake like an emergency stop rather than a correction to make farther on.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Brake hard and back up to the intersection

Backing up on a live roadway causes the rear-end collisions the manual is guiding you to avoid. This answer reaches for the fastest fix rather than the safer route the printed steps lay out.

C. Stop in your lane and wait for a gap in traffic

Stopping in a moving lane blocks traffic and does not solve the missed turn. This answer treats a routing mistake as an emergency stop rather than a correction to make farther on.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Changing Lanes," p.15..

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