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Kansas driving lesson · Fit to Drive

Distractions, aggressive driving and emotions

A 4-minute lesson from the Kansas 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
4 minutes
Course unit
Fit to Drive
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
19, 21, 22, 24, 25

Your mind has to be on the road as much as your eyes. Distractions, anger and strong emotions all pull attention away from driving, and if you crash, the responsibility is yours, not the distraction's.

Distraction

Anything that takes your attention away from driving. Mental distractions are as dangerous as eyes-off-road or hands-off-wheel ones: you can look at something and not see it.

Handbook p. 21 ↗

Distractions inside the vehicle:

  • Using electronic devices: cell phones, GPS, DVD players, dashboard controls
  • Adjusting radio, CD or climate controls
  • Grooming, eating, drinking or smoking
  • Talking to passengers or attending to children or pets
  • Reading maps or other literature
  • Picking up something that fell
Handbook p. 21 ↗

Distractions outside the vehicle:

  • Other traffic, such as police pulling someone over or a crash scene
  • Sunlight or sunset
  • People or objects in the roadway
  • Road construction
  • Billboards and other road advertisements
Handbook p. 21 ↗

How to avoid distractions:

  • Avoid cell phones; to use one, stop in a safe parking area
  • Avoid arguments and stressful conversations with passengers
  • Leave early and stop to eat instead of eating while driving
  • Buckle children properly and give them books, toys or games
  • Secure pets in a carrier or portable kennel before moving
  • Adjust controls before the trip, at normal stops, or ask a passenger
  • Plan your route first; to read a map while driving, stop in a safe parking area
  • Don't talk with friends in other vehicles or wear headphones
Handbook p. 22 ↗

Know the rule

You are completely and solely responsible for operating your vehicle safely, including everything that happens inside it. If you're distracted and crash, the responsibility is yours.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

Aggressive driving

Intentionally committing an action or moving traffic offense that endangers other persons or property; the driver loses control of emotions and uses the vehicle to harm others.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

Typical aggressive driving behaviors:

  • Exceeding the posted speed limit and following too closely
  • Erratic or unsafe lane changes and improper signaling
  • Failing to obey stop signs, yield signs, signals or railroad crossing signals
  • Rude gestures or language
  • Threatening another driver with a weapon or chasing a vehicle to do harm
Handbook p. 22 ↗

Know the rule

To avoid becoming aggressive: relax, concentrate on driving, drive the posted speed limit, be realistic about travel time, and be courteous and forgiving. Drive away and report serious aggressive driving.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

When confronted by an aggressive driver:

  • Get out of their way
  • Don't challenge them by speeding up or trying to hold your ground
  • Avoid eye contact, which can anger an aggressive driver
  • Ignore gestures and name-calling, and don't return them
Handbook p. 19 ↗

Handling emotions behind the wheel:

  • Angry or excited: give yourself time to cool off, even a short walk or nap, before driving
  • Worried or upset: keep your mind on driving; the radio may help if it doesn't distract
  • Impatient: leave a few minutes early, and don't drive faster than the flow of traffic
  • Or have someone else drive
Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

Even a bad cold, a stiff neck, a cough or a sore leg can affect your driving. If you aren't feeling well, let someone else drive, and ask your doctor about conditions that may affect driving.

Handbook p. 24 ↗

Put it into practice

A driver tailgates you, then pulls alongside shouting. Don't speed up or look over. Let them pass, ignore the gestures, and if their driving is seriously dangerous, drive away from the area and report it.

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 is listed as a distraction that can occur inside a moving vehicle?
  1. Adjusting the radio or climate controls
  2. A crash scene along the side of the road ahead
  3. Sunlight or sunset glare
  4. Road construction signage

Answer: Adjusting the radio or climate controls

Adjusting radio or climate controls is an inside-the-vehicle distraction; the others listed are examples of outside distractions.

Handbook p. 21 ↗
If you need to use a map while driving, the handbook recommends that you:
  1. Glance at it only at red lights
  2. Stop in a safe parking area to look at it
  3. Hold it low in your lap
  4. Have a passenger read it while you glance over

Answer: Stop in a safe parking area to look at it

The handbook advises reviewing maps before driving and stopping in a safe area if you must look at one while en route.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
According to the handbook, who is responsible if a driver crashes while distracted?
  1. The driver, not the distraction
  2. The other driver involved in the crash
  3. The passenger who caused the distraction
  4. No one; it is considered an accident

Answer: The driver, not the distraction

The handbook is explicit that responsibility for a distraction-caused crash falls on the driver, not the distraction.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
Which behavior is specifically identified as a sign of aggressive driving?
  1. Driving the posted speed limit
  2. Following too closely and making erratic lane changes
  3. Signaling every lane change in advance
  4. Yielding the right-of-way at busy intersections

Answer: Following too closely and making erratic lane changes

Aggressive driving includes following too closely, unsafe lane changes, and improper signaling, among other unsafe behaviors.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
If confronted by an aggressive driver, the handbook recommends you should NOT:
  1. Avoid eye contact
  2. Get out of their way
  3. Ignore their gestures and any name-calling directed at you
  4. Make eye contact or challenge them by speeding up

Answer: Make eye contact or challenge them by speeding up

Making eye contact or challenging an aggressive driver can escalate the situation; the handbook instead recommends avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.

Handbook p. 19 ↗
Which of these is listed as a distraction that could occur outside a moving vehicle?
  1. Adjusting the radio
  2. People or objects in the roadway
  3. Eating or drinking
  4. Grooming, such as combing or brushing hair

Answer: People or objects in the roadway

Outside distractions include things like police activity, crash scenes, sunlight/sunset, and people or objects in the roadway; the others are inside-vehicle distractions.

Handbook p. 21 ↗
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