Driver's License Test Prep
Oregon Practice Lane Changes & Merging

You realize you have started to enter an Oregon freeway the wrong way. You should:

  1. A.
    Pull to the right shoulder, turn on your hazard lights, and stay near your vehicle until help arrives.
  2. B.
    Continue forward onto the freeway and exit at the next numbered exit.
  3. C.
    Speed up to clear the ramp and merge before oncoming vehicles arrive.
  4. D.
    Stop at the side of the ramp, turn on your hazard lights, then turn around or back off. Correct
The Why

The answer is "Stop at the side of the ramp, turn on your hazard lights, then turn around or back off."

If you start to enter a freeway the wrong way, a DO NOT ENTER or WRONG WAY sign will warn you of your mistake. Immediately pull off to the side of the ramp and stop, turn on your hazard lights to warn other vehicles, then cautiously turn around or back off the ramp. Choice B is the trap: drivers who borrow the "if you miss your exit, go to the next one" rule from Leaving a Freeway treat this as an exit-finding problem, but that rule assumes you are already going the right direction.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Pull to the right shoulder, turn on your hazard lights, and stay near your vehicle until help arrives.

The correct action is self-recovery: pull off the ramp, stop, turn on hazards, then turn around or back off. Waiting for help is not part of the manual's procedure for a wrong-way ramp entry. Applies the Vehicle Trouble instruction to stay in or near the vehicle, which the manual reserves for freeway breakdowns on the shoulder.

B. Continue forward onto the freeway and exit at the next numbered exit.

Driving forward onto the freeway against oncoming traffic is extremely dangerous; the manual's instruction is to pull off to the side of the ramp immediately and stop. Borrows the 'if you miss your exit, go to the next one' rule from Leaving a Freeway, treating a wrong-way entry as an exit-finding problem.

C. Speed up to clear the ramp and merge before oncoming vehicles arrive.

Accelerating on a ramp you have entered the wrong way sends you into oncoming traffic. The manual's procedure is to pull off, stop, hazards, then turn around or back off. Applies the entering-a-freeway rule to speed up and merge with fast-moving traffic, which assumes the ramp is being used in the correct direction.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Freeway Driving, Entering a Freeway," p.34..

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