You are approaching an intersection to make a turn and realize you are not in the proper lane. What does the manual say to do?
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A.
Continue to the next intersection and turn there. Correct
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B.
Slow down and wave following traffic around while you cross lanes.
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C.
Signal, then cut across lanes to reach the correct turn lane.
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D.
Stop at the intersection and back up to change lanes.
The answer is "Continue to the next intersection and turn there."
The manual is direct: continue to the next intersection and turn there. The turn you wanted is not worth cutting across lanes for. Choice C is the answer a driver reaches for when they think the signal itself grants them safe passage across lanes, but the rule assumes you will keep driving straight and turn later, not squeeze the lane change into the block you already lost.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Slow down and wave following traffic around while you cross lanes.
The manual does not sanction waving other drivers around a stopped car in traffic. This answer improvises a hand-signal fix that the manual never grants; other drivers cannot honor a wave they may not even see.
C. Signal, then cut across lanes to reach the correct turn lane.
The manual's fix for a missed turn is to go on to the next intersection, not to cross lanes late. This answer treats the turn signal as permission to cross traffic, which it never grants.
D. Stop at the intersection and back up to change lanes.
The manual never asks you to reverse into traffic to correct a lane choice. This answer copies a parking-lot recovery move onto a moving city street where reversing is unsafe.
This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "City Driving," p.63..
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