Driver's License Test Prep
North Carolina Practice Defensive Driving

The manual's advice for lane discipline in heavy city traffic is:

  1. A.
    Change lanes often to keep pace with the fastest traffic.
  2. B.
    Weave between lanes so other drivers stay aware of you.
  3. C.
    Stay in one lane if you can and plan lane changes ahead of time. Correct
  4. D.
    Straddle two lanes while you plan your next lane change.
The Why

The answer is "Stay in one lane if you can and plan lane changes ahead of time."

Weaving doesn't shave time off a city trip, and it gives up the margin of safety around your vehicle. The rule is to hold one lane and plan any change in advance. Choice B rebrands weaving as a visibility tactic, applying a general 'be seen' instinct in the one place the manual bans movement between lanes.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Change lanes often to keep pace with the fastest traffic.

Constant lane changing is the weaving the manual names by that word and forbids. Reads the crowded lane as the losing lane, applying a highway-passing habit inside the city where the payoff is not there.

B. Weave between lanes so other drivers stay aware of you.

Weaving is banned by name; it is not a defensive tactic in the manual's framing. Confuses being noticed with being unpredictable, taking a general 'be seen' instinct into the one place the manual bans movement between lanes.

D. Straddle two lanes while you plan your next lane change.

Straddling leaves other drivers guessing which lane belongs to you, exactly the ambiguity the rule closes. Reads 'plan lane changes' as permission to occupy two lanes during the planning, rather than staying inside one.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Defensive Driving in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "City Driving," p.63..

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