An oncoming vehicle crosses the center line into your path. What does the manual tell you to do?
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A.
Swerve left into the lane the other driver just vacated
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B.
Keep to the right even if that means running off the road Correct
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C.
Hold your lane and brake to a stop as quickly as possible
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D.
Flash your high beams and continue straight at normal speed
The answer is "Keep to the right even if that means running off the road"
The manual tells you to keep to the right even if that means leaving the pavement, rather than meeting the oncoming driver in their own lane or holding your own. Choice A tempts drivers who reason that the opposing lane just emptied, forgetting that the drifting driver can swing back the instant they realize what happened.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Swerve left into the lane the other driver just vacated
The manual tells you to keep right rather than meet the oncoming vehicle in its own lane, since the drifting driver can swing back any moment. This answer reasons that the oncoming lane just emptied, when the other driver can jerk back the instant they notice they drifted.
C. Hold your lane and brake to a stop as quickly as possible
The manual says to steer right and reduce speed, not to stand your ground for a hard stop. This answer reaches for maximum braking as the universal avoidance move, when the manual's answer is to yield ground to the right.
D. Flash your high beams and continue straight at normal speed
The manual tells you to reduce speed and move physically right, not to signal the other driver and hold your speed. This answer treats a drifting vehicle as a signaling problem a flash can solve, rather than an impact course that needs you to give up ground.
This question tests your knowledge of Adverse Conditions in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Unusual Emergencies," p.77..
Related North Carolina questions
- In North Carolina, you must turn on your headlights any time you are: →
- You must drive through thick fog. Which headlights should you use? →
- Fog leaves you with extreme trouble seeing, so you pull far off the road, stop, and turn on your flashers. How do you exit the vehicle? →
- On snowy or icy roads, how much stopping distance should you allow compared with dry pavement? →
- The manual recommends that on packed snow, you cut your speed by: →
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