roadwise.Open study app

Minnesota driving lesson · Driving Conditions

Distracted and aggressive driving

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

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Driving Conditions
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
81, 82

Distraction is a leading factor in Minnesota crashes. Distracted drivers miss hazards and react more slowly, and aggressive drivers turn ordinary trips into conflicts.

25%

Minimum share of Minnesota crashes each year involving distraction

Handbook p. 81 ↗

Types of distraction

Types of distraction
TypeExample
VisualLooking away from the road
Mechanical/physicalTaking hands off the wheel
CognitiveBeing lost in thought
Handbook p. 81 ↗

Distractions inside the vehicle

  • Using a cell phone or GPS
  • Reaching for items
  • Eating and drinking
  • Adjusting the radio
  • Talking to passengers
  • Reading maps and other materials
Handbook p. 81 ↗

Know the rule

Even with eyes on the road, looking at a crash scene or daydreaming pulls your attention from driving. Give driving your full attention at all times.

Handbook p. 81 ↗

Illegal in Minnesota

  • Texting, emailing or using the internet on a phone or computer while driving — even stopped in traffic
  • Under 18 with a permit or provisional license: any phone use, handheld or hands-free, except 911
  • Wearing headphones or earphones in both ears at once to listen to a device
Handbook p. 82 ↗

Aggressive driving

Driving with anger and little concern for others — usually faster than surrounding traffic — driven by the driver's own mindset more than others' actions.

Handbook p. 82 ↗

Aggressive behaviors include

  • Following too closely
  • Changing lanes often and abruptly, often without signaling
  • Passing on the shoulder
  • Glaring at or threatening other motorists
Handbook p. 82 ↗

Know the rule

If an aggressive driver confronts you, don't challenge them: stay out of their way, avoid eye contact and don't let it escalate. If you see yourself in this description, work to stay calm.

Handbook p. 82 ↗

Put it into practice

You're stopped at a long red light when a text arrives. Reading it is still illegal — being stopped in traffic counts as driving. Wait until you're parked.

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.

About what share of all crashes in Minnesota is attributed to driver distraction each year?
  1. At least 25 percent
  2. About 5 percent
  3. Nearly 75 percent
  4. About 10 percent

Answer: At least 25 percent

Driver distraction accounts for at least 25 percent of all crashes annually in Minnesota.

Handbook p. 81 ↗
'Cognitive' distraction while driving refers to:
  1. Taking your hands off the wheel
  2. Being mentally lost in thought
  3. Looking away from the road
  4. Adjusting your mirrors

Answer: Being mentally lost in thought

Cognitive distraction is being mentally distracted, or 'lost in thought,' even while looking at the road.

Handbook p. 81 ↗
Which of these is an illegal driver behavior in Minnesota?
  1. Talking to a passenger
  2. Adjusting the climate control
  3. Text messaging while stopped in traffic
  4. Using voice-activated navigation

Answer: Text messaging while stopped in traffic

Texting is illegal even while stopped in traffic, not just while the vehicle is moving.

Handbook p. 82 ↗
Under-18 drivers with an instruction permit or provisional license may use a cell phone while driving only for what purpose?
  1. Hands-free calls to family
  2. Any call under one minute
  3. Navigation apps only
  4. To call 911 in an emergency

Answer: To call 911 in an emergency

Drivers under 18 with a permit or provisional license may use a cell phone only to call 911 in an emergency.

Handbook p. 82 ↗
Is it legal to wear headphones or earphones in both ears simultaneously while driving?
  1. No, that is illegal
  2. Yes, if the volume is low
  3. Yes, on freeways only
  4. Yes, if only for navigation audio

Answer: No, that is illegal

Wearing headphones in both ears simultaneously to listen to audio is illegal while driving.

Handbook p. 82 ↗
If confronted by an aggressive driver, what should you do?
  1. Match their speed so they can't cut in
  2. Tap your brakes to warn them off
  3. Stay out of their way; avoid eye contact
  4. Pull over and talk it out with them

Answer: Stay out of their way; avoid eye contact

The safest response to an aggressive driver is to avoid confrontation and stay out of their way.

Handbook p. 82 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Driving Conditions

All Minnesota lessons