You are 18 or older and have a passenger in the front seat. What does the Oregon Driver Manual recommend you do with your phone?
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A.
Send any text or set up navigation before you start moving, then ignore the phone.
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B.
Hold it on speaker mode in your lap to keep both hands on the wheel.
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C.
Consider assigning your passenger to be in charge of the device. Correct
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D.
Turn it off or put it in the back seat and ignore it.
The answer is "Consider assigning your passenger to be in charge of the device."
For drivers 18 and older, the manual states, "Consider assigning your passenger to be in charge of the device." Hands-free use is legal at your age, but when a passenger is available the manual tells you to hand off calls, navigation, and texts so your attention stays on the road. The "turn it off or put it in the back seat and ignore it" option is tempting because that phrase does sit in the same paragraph, but it applies to drivers under 18, not to you.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Send any text or set up navigation before you start moving, then ignore the phone.
Pre-trip setup is a sensible habit, but the question asks what the manual specifically recommends when a passenger is present, and that recommendation is to hand the device to the passenger. This answer substitutes a general safe-driving habit for the manual's specific advice about what to do when a passenger is available.
B. Hold it on speaker mode in your lap to keep both hands on the wheel.
Holding the device, even on speaker, does not satisfy the hands-free requirement for drivers 18 and older, and the manual's recommendation when a passenger is present is to put them in charge of the device. This answer treats speaker mode as a form of hands-free operation, a common shortcut for drivers used to holding the phone below the wheel.
D. Turn it off or put it in the back seat and ignore it.
"Turn it off or put it in the back seat and ignore it" is the manual's guidance for drivers under 18, for whom any device use is illegal. At 18 or older, hands-free use is allowed, and the manual's recommendation with a passenger present is to put them in charge of the device. This answer defaults to the strictest option because stowing the phone entirely feels safer than trusting the hands-free rule that actually applies to adult drivers.
This question tests your knowledge of Distracted Driving in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Distracted Driving," p.80..
Related Oregon questions
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