North Carolina driving lesson · Basic Driving Skills & Rules
Curves, turns, following distance & lane changes
A 3-minute lesson from the North Carolina course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Curves, turns and lane changes are where drivers lose control or get hit by traffic they didn't see. Each has a set technique. The two-second rule gives you room to react to everything ahead.
Handling a curve:
1. Slow down before the curve so you don't need to brake in it
2. Gradually increase speed through it to keep traction
3. If you must brake, do it gradually until continuous pressure is safe
4. Begin turning just before the road begins to turn
Following too closely is a leading cause of crashes. On the open road, leave enough room for a passing vehicle to safely move into the space ahead of you.
A truck ahead passes a mailbox. Count "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two." If you reach the mailbox before you finish, you're following too closely. Ease off until you have two full seconds.
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.
What should you do before entering a curve?
Speed up to maintain momentum
Shift into neutral
Turn the wheel sharply as you enter
Slow so you needn't brake in it
Answer: Slow so you needn't brake in it
Slow down before you enter the curve so that you will not need to brake while you are in the curve.