Driver's License Test Prep
North Carolina Practice Turning

Which hand signal shows you plan to make a left turn?

  1. A.
    Arm out with the forearm bent straight up, palm forward.
  2. B.
    Arm and hand pointing down, palm facing back.
  3. C.
    Arm and hand held straight out the driver's window. Correct
  4. D.
    A short flash of the high beams to warn the driver behind.
The Why

The answer is "Arm and hand held straight out the driver's window."

The left-turn hand signal is the arm and hand held straight out the driver's window. Choice A is the classic mix-up with the right-turn signal, whose forearm bends straight up; drivers relearning hand signals as adults reach for that shape because it looks the most like pointing at a turn.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Arm out with the forearm bent straight up, palm forward.

This is the right-turn hand signal, not the left. This answer recalls the right-turn shape, arm out with forearm bent up, as if it were the left-turn signal.

B. Arm and hand pointing down, palm facing back.

This is the hand signal for slowing or stopping, not turning left. This answer substitutes the slow-and-stop hand signal for the left-turn signal.

D. A short flash of the high beams to warn the driver behind.

The manual describes hand signals, not headlight flashes, for turns. This answer trades the standardized hand signal for a headlight flash, a habit the manual does not recognize.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Turning in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Hand Signals," p.69..

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