Last week’s column presented 20 questions on vehicle and traffic law and traffic safety. Hopefully you took the test and kept your answers. This column repeats the questions and gives the correct answers. I hope you got at least 90% correct.
TRUE OR FALSE?
1. If your vehicle has daytime running lights, you are not required to turn on your headlights when your wipers are on.
FALSE: Full headlights and taillights are mandatory.
2. When approaching a stop sign at an intersection, you must stop at the stop sign.
FALSE: A stop sign assigns right-of-way; VTL requires you to stop at the stop bar painted on the road surface. If there is no stop bar at the painted crosswalk or no painted crosswalk, drivers must stop at a point where cross traffic can be seen.
3. You pull over to the shoulder of the road to make a phone call. While stopped on the shoulder, it is illegal to keep your right turn signal on.
TRUE: Use hazard lights.
4. Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, if you are caught speeding more than 31 mph above the posted speed limit, police can impound your vehicle and license on the spot.
TRUE: and fines start at $2,000 CDN, up to $10,000.
5. Rear seat passengers 16 years and older are not required to wear seatbelts.
FALSE: Everyone in all vehicles must be belted in.
6. It is illegal for pedestrians to cross a roadway other than at an intersection.
FALSE: Pedestrians may cross mid-block but must yield to all vehicular traffic if they do.
7. A driver facing a steady red turn arrow may proceed with the turn after having first stopped and determined it is safe to complete the turn.
FALSE: Turning in the direction of a steady red arrow is not allowed in New York state.
8. A battery-powered wheelchair used by a person with a disability is considered an assist to pedestrians, and therefore, if there are no sidewalks available, wheelchairs must be ridden against traffic.
TRUE.
9. As long as you are licensed to drive the vehicle, you may legally park in front of a fire hydrant, provided you remain seated in the front seat and can immediately move such vehicle in case of emergency.
TRUE.
10. You approach an intersection controlled by a non-working traffic light (i.e. power outage). All drivers must treat the intersection as an all-way stop.
TRUE.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
11. {span}At a signalized intersection, you are facing a green light and want to turn left, but there is a string of oncoming traffic. You should: A) stop at the stop bar and wait; B) go straight so as not to hold up traffic behind you; C) turn right and then make a U-turn; D) proceed into the intersection and wait for a break in oncoming traffic or the light to change, then complete your left turn.{/span}
D. You may enter the intersection to prepare for your left turn if the light is green and no other vehicle ahead of you is preparing to turn left.
12. {span}Parking is prohibited: A) within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection; B) within 15 feet of a fire hydrant; C) on a crosswalk; D) on a sidewalk; E) where prohibited by an official sign; F) all of these.{/span}
F. All of the answers, A through E.
13. {span}Under which three of the following five conditions are U-turns prohibited: A) upon any curve or upon the approach to or near the crest of a grade where motor vehicles cannot be seen by another driver within 500 feet; B) within a school zone; C) on any roadway with a speed limit over 40 mph; D) where official signs prohibit U-turns; E) on a highway with 4 or more lanes?{/span}
A, B and D.
14. {span}If facing a blinking yellow left turn arrow, it means: A) don’t turn, the yellow arrow is about to turn red; B) you may turn left only if it is safe to do so; C) you must wait for a green light to make a left turn; D) trucks only may turn left.{/span}
B. Only if it is safe to do so.
15. {span}All drivers must, by law, obey regulatory signs. Which of the following signs is not a regulatory sign: A) speed limit 30 mph; B) no parking; C) round yellow railroad crossing in advance of a railroad crossing; D) the white cross-buck railroad crossing sign at the near edge of the tracks?{/span}
C. A round, yellow railroad crossing sign is a warning sign.
16. {span}You may lose your license permanently if convicted of DWI: A) twice; B) three times; C) four times; D) five times.
C. Four times.
17. {span}The “Slow Down-Move Over” law mandates moving over if there is room to do so when approaching a vehicle on the side of the road with: A) flashing red/white lights; B) flashing red/blue lights; C) flashing amber lights; D) any vehicle on the side of a limited access road; E) all of these.{/span}
E. All of these.
18. {span}Fines for a speed limit violation are doubled if convicted for speeding in: A) a tunnel; B) a work zone; C) on a bridge; D) in a school speed zone.{/span}
B and D. Work zone and school speed zone.
19. {span}It is a violation to drive with: A) damaged license plates; B) peeling license plates; C) with a clear plastic cover over your license plates; D) all of these.{/span}
D. All of these.
20. {span}The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assesses driver error in: A) 50%; B) 75%; C) 88%; D) 94% of all traffic crashes.{/span}
D. 94%
Most of the questions are taken from previous articles over the past six or seven years, so you should have done quite well. If not, now is the time to review the NYS driver’s manual and take a “Smart Driver” course. Reading these weekly articles on VTL and traffic safety would also help.
Most of us think we’re good drivers, yet we don’t know all the laws that govern how we drive. We are never too old to learn, so let’s keep learning.