Freeway Driving

Freeway

- A high speed, multi-lane road

- Traffic in opposite directions separated

- Vehicles enter and exit via ramps

Parts of a Freeway Entrance

- Entrance ramp

- Acceleration lane

When entering a freeway...

- Move onto entrance ramp

- Look ahead and check mirrors and blind spots

- Enter acceleration lane and increase speed to match traffic

- Merge by signalling and speeding up appropriately

When driving on a freeway...

- Keep to right, use left lanes for passing (far left only for passing)

- Check surroundings and mirrors constantly

- Stay clear of large vehicles and leave space around yourself

- Do not cut off anyone while changing lanes or merging

Parts of a Freeway Exit

- Deceleration lane

- Exit ramp

- Intersection w/ stop sign, yield sign, or traffic light

Speed adaptation

- velocitization

- losing your ability to accurately judge your own speed

- caused by being amongst fast-moving vehicles on highway

When leaving a freeway...

- Signal to move into the deceleration lane without reducing speed

- Slow down to match speed shown for exit ramp

- Stop at end of ramp

- If your chosen exit is missed, drive on to reach the next one

HOV lanes

- High Occupancy Lanes

- Specially designed for certain vehicle types with a specified number of occupants

- Can move more people than a general traffic lane

- Open 24/7

- Encourages carpooling and transit use

On provincial highways, HOV lanes...

- Reserved for vehicles w/ 2+ people (e.g. cars, minivans, motorcycles, pickup trucks, buses...minimum of 2 = driver + 1 passenger)

- Rule exempt vehicles: buses and emergency vehicles