California Driver’s Handbook Flashcards - Section 5

Impact of Health on Driving Safety

• Vision Requirements: As a driver, you must be capable of noticing hazards in varied lighting conditions, judging distances accurately, adjusting your speed to match traffic, and reading all road signs.

• Hearing Requirements:

  • You must be able to hear sirens, horns, motorcycles, or screeching tires, as these sounds can alert you to potential hazards.

  • Legal Prohibition: It is illegal to drive while wearing earplugs or a headset in both ears.

• Fatigue and Drowsiness: These conditions can negatively affect your vision and significantly increase the time it takes to react to hazards.

• Physical and Mental Alertness: Driving requires you to be alert so that you can quickly determine the correct course of action during any traffic situation, including those that are unexpected.

• Medication Awareness:

  • Both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications have the potential to make you an unsafe driver.

  • Certain medicines cause sleepiness.

  • It is the individual driver’s responsibility to understand the specific effects of any medication they consume.

• Physician Reporting Requirements:

  • Physicians are legally required to report patients to the DMV if they are at least $14$ years old and have medical conditions that could affect safe driving.

  • An example of a reportable condition is a lapse of consciousness.

Steering and Vehicle Control Methods

• General Rule: To maintain proper control of the vehicle, it is critical to keep both hands on the steering wheel whenever possible.

• Hand-to-Hand Steering (Push/Pull):

  • Positioning: Start with your hands at either the $9$ and $3$ o'clock positions or the $8$ and $4$ o'clock positions.

  • Technique: Do not cross your hands over the middle of the steering wheel. Maintain these positions even while making turns.

• Hand-Over-Hand Steering:

  • Applications: Use this method when parking, performing low-speed turns, or recovering from a skid.

  • Procedure:

    1. Start with hands at the $8$ and $4$ o'clock positions.

    2. Reach across the steering wheel to grasp the opposite side.

    3. Release the steering wheel with the other hand.

    4. Reach across the arm currently holding the wheel, grip the wheel, and pull up.

• One-Hand Steering:

  • There are only two specific situations that may require one-hand steering:

    1. Backing Up: When turning while backing up to see what is behind you. In this case, place your hand at the $12$ o'clock position on the steering wheel.

    2. Operating Controls: When you must remove a hand to operate specific vehicle controls.

Communication: Signaling, Horns, and Headlights

• The Importance of Communication: Signals, horns, and headlights are the primary tools for communicating with other drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

• Signaling Requirements:

  • When to Signal: Always signal for turns, lane changes, slowing down, or stopping.

  • Methods: Use the vehicle’s signal lights. If signal lights are malfunctioning or if bright sunlight makes them difficult to see, use hand-and-arm signals.

  • Bicyclist Signals: Bicyclists may signal turns by holding their arm straight out, pointing in the direction of the turn.

  • Standard Hand-and-Arm Signals:

    • Left Turn: Arm held straight out horizontally.

    • Right Turn: Arm held upward at a right angle.

    • Slow or Stop: Arm held downward.

• Signaling Distances and Timing:

  • Signal at least $100\,feet$ before a turn.

  • Signal before every single lane change.

  • On a freeway, signal at least $5\,seconds$ before changing lanes.

  • Signal before pulling away from a curb or pulling next to a curb.

  • Signal even if no other vehicles are visible.

  • If you plan to turn shortly after crossing an intersection, wait until you are almost through the intersection before signaling.

  • Post-Action: Ensure the signal is turned off once it is no longer needed.

• Using the Horn:

  • Purpose: To alert other drivers of your presence or warn of hazards.

  • Specific Uses:

    • To avoid collisions.

    • On narrow mountain roads where visibility is less than $200\,feet$ ahead to alert oncoming traffic.

• Headlight Operation:

  • High-Beam Courtesy: Dim high-beams to low-beams within $500\,feet$ of a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction or within $300\,feet$ of a vehicle you are following.

  • Parking Lights: It is illegal to drive using only parking lights.

  • Required Headlight Usage Times and Conditions:

    • When it is too dark to see from a distance of $1,000\,feet$.

    • Starting $30\,minutes$ after sunset.

    • Ending $30\,minutes$ before sunrise.

    • In adverse weather conditions: If fog, rain, or snow requires the use of windshield wipers, you must use low-beam headlights.

    • When visibility is obscured by smoke, dust, clouds, or fog.

    • In tunnels and on mountain roads, even on sunny days.

    • When a road sign specifically mandates that headlights must be on.

    • To increase visibility to others when the sun is low on the horizon.

Managing Hazards and Emergency Situations

• Warning Following Drivers of Hazards: If a collision or hazard is ahead, use the following methods to warn drivers behind you:

  • Activate your emergency flashers.

  • Lightly tap the brake pedal $3$ to $4$ times.

  • Use a hand signal for slowing and stopping.

• Vehicle Trouble and Stopping Procedures: If you must stop due to mechanical issues:

  • Turn on emergency flashers (or turn signals if flashers are unavailable).

  • Pull off the road and away from traffic if possible.

  • If you cannot leave the road completely, stop in a location where your vehicle is clearly visible from behind.

  • Avoid Dangerous Stopping Locations: Do not stop just over a hill or around a curve, as other drivers may not see you in time to avoid a crash.

  • Safety Protocol: Call for emergency roadside assistance and remain inside the vehicle until help arrived.