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District of Columbia driving lesson · Safe Driving Fundamentals

Backing, horn & inside the car

A 3-minute lesson from the District of Columbia course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Safe Driving Fundamentals
Checkpoint questions
4
Source pages
23

Plenty of crashes happen at low speed: backing out of driveways, opening doors, or a pet or loose bag distracting you. These rules cover everyday handling around home and parked cars.

Know the rule

When backing, watch for children. Turn your head and look out the rear window, and check both side view mirrors. Don't depend on the rearview mirror alone.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Backing rules:

  • Never back up fast or far; find a way to turn around instead
  • Never back out of or into an intersection; turn into a side street or drive around the block
  • Turning around in a driveway: it's safer to back in and drive out
  • Back out of angled parking spaces carefully
Handbook p. 23 ↗

Starting from a garage or driveway:

  • Watch for nearby vehicles and pedestrians
  • Look behind your car first; you may need to get out to be sure nothing is in the way
  • While backing, use the mirrors and turn your head to look out the window
  • Stop before entering the street and look again
  • Join traffic carefully at the proper speed
Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Sound your horn only to warn a pedestrian, cyclist or driver in an emergency. It is not a substitute for brakes, and never use it in a posted "Quiet Zone" except in an emergency. A loud horn can make a cyclist lose control.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Use hand signals in addition to turn signals when the sun is shining brightly or vehicles right behind you hide your turn signal.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Never let passengers or parcels crowd you or block your vision in any direction. Having anything attached to or hanging from the rearview mirror is against DC regulations.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Keep pets away from you: not on your lap or at the driver's window. Never leave a pet unattended in the vehicle.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

Loose objects can become projectiles in a crash. Put them in the trunk or on the floor, and keep the floor clear of anything that could interfere with the brake or gas pedal.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Know the rule

When driving past parked cars, watch for opening doors, pedestrians (especially children) stepping out between cars, and bicyclists.

Handbook p. 23 ↗

Put it into practice

You need to turn around on a narrow residential street. Rather than backing into the intersection, pull into a driveway: back in, then drive out forward, checking mirrors and turning your head as you go.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

Sound your horn to alert a pedestrian, cyclist, or driver only in an emergency situation.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

The horn should be used only to warn of an emergency, not as a routine alert.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
If you use a driveway to turn around, what does the handbook say is safer?
  1. Drive in forward, then back out
  2. Back into it, then drive out
  3. Back into it, then back out again
  4. Stop in the street and back in

Answer: Back into it, then drive out

If you use a driveway to turn around, it is safer to back into it and drive out than the other way around.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
Where does the handbook say to put loose objects so they don't become projectiles in a crash?
  1. On the rear window shelf
  2. On the front dashboard
  3. On the back seat
  4. In the trunk or on the floor

Answer: In the trunk or on the floor

Loose objects on the dashboard or rear shelf can become projectiles; put them in the trunk or on the floor, since even objects on seats can fly up.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
When backing up, you can safely depend on your rearview mirror alone.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

Turn your head to look out the rear window and check both side view mirrors; don't depend on the one rearview mirror alone.

Handbook p. 23 ↗
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