Before beginning a right turn at an intersection, how does the manual tell you to check for traffic?
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A.
Watch only for oncoming vehicles.
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B.
Look both ways in a left-right-left pattern. Correct
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C.
Check your rearview mirror twice.
The answer is "Look both ways in a left-right-left pattern."
The manual's right-turn steps direct you to look left, then right, then left again before turning; the final left check catches anything that entered your view during the first two. Drivers who pick 'watch only for oncoming' carry over a pulling-out-of-a-driveway habit, where the near lane feels like the only threat, and skip the cross traffic and curb-side users the right-turn steps also scan for.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Watch only for oncoming vehicles.
A right turn crosses a crosswalk and a bike lane and pulls you into cross traffic, so a single glance at oncoming vehicles skips the pedestrians, bicyclists, and cross traffic the manual scans for. Falls back on a pulling-out-of-a-driveway habit, where the near lane feels like the only threat and the rest of the intersection drops out of the check.
C. Check your rearview mirror twice.
A rearview mirror shows what is behind you, not the cross traffic and curb-side users the manual asks you to scan before turning. Borrows the mirror-check habit taught for backing up or changing lanes, where the threat sits behind rather than across the intersection ahead.
This question tests your knowledge of Turning in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Right Turns," p.18..
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