1. Topic 1: Highway Transportation System

2. The highway transportation system provides safe, convenient, and efficient movement of people and goods from place to place.

3. The three components of the highway transportation system are people, vehicles and roadways.

4. It’s important to remember that different vehicles move in different ways such as commercial vehicles, mopeds, motorcycles, and bicycles.

5. Topic 2: Maintaining Your Vehicle

6. Self-checks that should be performed weekly are tires, outside lights, emergency kit and windshield wipers and washer fluid.

7. Fluid Leaks and their colors:

8. Air conditioner runoff = small puddle; clear (water)

9. Radiator leak = noticeably green amount of water

10. Windshield washer fluid = blue (traditionally)

11. Transmission fluid = pink/red

12. Oil = brown/black

13. Brake fluid= yellow/brown

14. Antifreeze = green

15. Gasoline = rainbow (in light)

16. Self-checks that should be performed every 1-2 months are levels and purity of engine fluids and functionality of seat belts and buckles.

17. Professional services that you need to have performed on your vehicle every six months include: cleaning battery connections if necessary, Test/adjust air pressure in spare tire, Check level of power steering fluid, Inspect parking brake for proper operation, Examine /lubricate hinges, door latches & locks, Check/Clean body and door drain holes, assess/adjust strength of the coolant.

18. You should change the oil and replace the oil filter usually every 3,000 – 5,000 miles.

Topic 3: Approaching the Vehicle

1. What are 6 pre-entry checks you should perform before entering your vehicle?

1. Broken Glass

2. Body Damage

3. Condition of tires

4. Fluid Leaks

5. Direction of front tires

6. Objects and People

2. How should you approach a vehicle when parked in a parking lot? Approach from the rear.

3. How should you approach a vehicle when parked at a curb? Approach from the front.

4. When entering your vehicle, approach the car with keys in hand. Remember to store personal items in the trunk so they don’t move and become projectiles during a wreck or when breaking too hard. Control door swing to prevent damage to your vehicle or others. Finally, enter your vehicle.

5. The six pre-driving procedures include lock the door, put key in the ignition, adjust seat and steering wheel, adjust the mirrors, fasten safety belt and adjust head restraint.

Topic 4: Adjusting the Vehicle to You

1. Allow at least 10 inches between the driver’s chest and the steering wheel.

2. The driver’s heel should be able to pivot smoothly between foot pedals.

3. The angle of the seat back should fit the driver’s visual needs and help maintain vehicle control.

4. You should rest your left foot on the “dead” pedal. This pedal is located on the floorboard to the left side of the driver compartment.

5. Adjust the steering wheel so the airbag aims at the chest area. Adjust so the top of the wheel is no higher than your chin.  Place hands on the steering wheel at 8 and 4 or lower.

6. The rear-view mirror provides the widest field of view. Adjust to see the entire window frame and the area 200’ to the rear.

7. The two steps for adjusting your side view mirrors using the BGE (Blind Glare Elimination) mirror setting are to lean head left until it touches the window, set the mirror to barely show the rear edge of the vehicle. Then, lean head right to the center of the vehicle, set the mirror to barely show the rear edge of the vehicle.

8. It is important to use your mirrors when stopping, turning, and changing lanes.

9. When adjusting your head restraint, it should be level with your ears and not more than 4 inches from the head.

10. When adjusting your safety belts, they should fit across the strongest skeletal bones of the body which are the hip bone (pelvis), chest (sternum) and shoulder.

11. Airbags inflate at speeds up to 210 mph, and if you’re not buckled in your seat, your body and face will be thrown at the same speed your vehicle was traveling before crashing into the exploding airbag.

12. Passengers younger than 12 are safer sitting in the rear seat.

13. Infants must always be secured in a rear-facing rear seat restraint.

14. Booster seats provide the correct position for children to wear adult safety belts as they grow.

15. Virginia law requires that drivers and front seat passengers of motor vehicles wear safety belts, and to ensure that all passengers under age 18 are wearing age-appropriate safety belts while the vehicle is in motion on any public road.

16. The following are securing the vehicle tasks: find a safe and legal parking space, park your vehicle squarely in the space, set the parking brake, shift the gear selector into P or N, turn off vehicle accessories that will continue to drain battery power if left “on.”, and lock the doors and take the keys with you as you exit.

Topic 5: Locating and Operating Vehicle Controls

1. To move the vehicle to the right, steer right. To move the vehicle to the left, steer left.

2. The accelerator pedal is used to maintain, increase, and/or decrease speed.  The brake pedal is used to slow or stop the vehicle.

3. The parker brake is a small pedal located to the left of the driver or a hand-operated lever near the center console. The clutch pedal is located to the left of the brake.

4. The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) uses a dashboard warning light to alert the driver when one or more of a vehicle’s tires is significantly underinflated – a leading cause of tire failure.

5. speedometer: shows speed in both miles per hour (MPH) and kilometers per hour.

6. odometer: keeps track of how far the vehicle has been driven. Cannot be reset.

7. tachometer: Keeps track of how many miles the current trip is. Driver can reset.

8. fuel gauge: indicates the amount of fuel remaining in the vehicle’s tank.

9. tachometer: Tells how fast the engine is running in RPMs.

10. If you don’t know where a device is located, you can check the vehicle owner's manual.