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Florida driving lesson · Your Vehicle

Banned equipment and driver assistance systems

A 3-minute lesson from the Florida 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
Your Vehicle
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
46, 47, 48

Some equipment is illegal because it confuses other drivers or distracts you. Modern cars also carry Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Some only warn you, others act on their own, and none replaces an attentive driver.

Equipment NOT permitted:

  • Red lights visible from the front, or blue lights (emergency/law enforcement only)
  • More than two spotlights, cowl or fender lights, fog lights or other extra lights
  • A siren, bell or whistle
  • A very loud muffler (heard from more than 50 feet) or one that emits smoke
  • Signs, posters or stickers on the windshield or windows, unless required by law
  • A "television-type receiver" the driver can see
  • Headsets or headphones worn by the driver while driving
Handbook p. 46 ↗

Know the rule

Read your owner's manual. It explains the fluids your car needs, what dashboard warning lights mean, and service intervals.

Handbook p. 47 ↗

Collision Warning Systems

ADAS that only warn the driver of a possible crash. They do NOT act to avoid it.

Handbook p. 47 ↗

Warning-only systems:

  • Blind Spot Warning: alerts you to vehicles in adjacent lanes when you change lanes
  • Forward Collision Warning: warns if you're getting too close to the vehicle ahead
  • Lane Departure Warning: alerts you when you drift out of your lane
  • Rear Cross Traffic Warning: warns of collisions outside the backup camera's view
Handbook p. 47 ↗

Collision Intervention Systems

ADAS that take action, such as braking or steering, to avoid a crash.

Handbook p. 47 ↗

Systems that act for you:

  • Automatic Emergency Braking: brakes to avoid or lessen a forward crash
  • Blind Spot Intervention: brakes lightly or steers you back if you ignore the warning
  • Emergency braking for pedestrians: sensors detect a pedestrian ahead and brake if you don't act
  • Rear Automatic Braking: brakes in reverse if a crash is imminent
Handbook p. 47 ↗

Driving control assistance:

  • Adaptive Cruise Control: keeps a pre-set distance from the vehicle ahead
  • Lane Centering Assistance: keeps steering to hold you centered in the lane
  • Lane Keeping Assistance: corrects only when you're about to leave the lane unintentionally
Handbook p. 48 ↗

Other systems:

  • Automatic Crash Notification: notifies responders of a crash and its location
  • Automatic High Beams: switch between high and low beams for traffic and light
  • Backup Cameras: show the area behind you while reversing
Handbook p. 48 ↗

Know the rule

Backup cameras are not a replacement for mirrors or for turning around to look.

Handbook p. 48 ↗

Put it into practice

Your car beeps with a Lane Departure Warning as you drift. That system only warns you. You must steer back yourself. Lane Keeping Assistance, by contrast, would correct the steering for you.

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.

Which of these lights is NOT permitted on a private passenger vehicle?
  1. Red lights visible from the front, or blue lights
  2. Amber turn signals
  3. White backup lights
  4. Two working headlights

Answer: Red lights visible from the front, or blue lights

Red lights visible from the front or blue lights are reserved for emergency/law enforcement vehicles only.

Handbook p. 46 ↗
A muffler that can be heard from more than what distance is not permitted?
  1. 100 feet
  2. 50 feet
  3. 200 feet
  4. 25 feet

Answer: 50 feet

A very loud muffler heard from more than 50 feet, or one that emits smoke, is not permitted.

Handbook p. 46 ↗
Which item is explicitly prohibited while operating a vehicle?
  1. Playing the radio
  2. Using cruise control
  3. Wearing headsets or headphones as the driver
  4. Wearing sunglasses

Answer: Wearing headsets or headphones as the driver

Headsets/headphones worn by the driver while operating a vehicle are not permitted equipment.

Handbook p. 47 ↗
A Forward Collision Warning system is best described as a:
  1. System that replaces the need for mirrors
  2. Required feature on all new vehicles since 2020
  3. Collision Intervention System that brakes for you
  4. Warning system that only alerts you

Answer: Warning system that only alerts you

Forward Collision Warning is a Collision Warning System; it monitors distance/speed and warns the driver but does not take action.

Handbook p. 47 ↗
Automatic Emergency Braking is classified as a:
  1. Collision Intervention System
  2. Collision Warning System only
  3. Automatic Crash Notification system
  4. Driving Control Assistance system only

Answer: Collision Intervention System

Automatic Emergency Braking is a Collision Intervention System designed to apply the brakes to avoid or reduce a crash.

Handbook p. 47 ↗
Lane Keeping Assistance differs from Lane Centering Assistance in that Lane Keeping Assistance:
  1. Only beeps and never steers or brakes
  2. Only corrects when you're about to leave the lane
  3. Keeps a set distance from the car ahead
  4. Keeps the car centered in its lane at all times

Answer: Only corrects when you're about to leave the lane

Lane Keeping Assistance activates only when it detects the vehicle is about to unintentionally leave its lane, unlike Lane Centering which continuously centers the vehicle.

Handbook p. 48 ↗
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