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North Dakota driving lesson · Emergencies & Winter Driving

Towing, coasting, backing & littering

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

Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Emergencies & Winter Driving
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
30, 31

Pulling a camper, utility or boat trailer adds weight, so you need more distance to stop and specific safety equipment. A few more rules finish this lesson: don't coast downhill in neutral, back up carefully, and never litter.

Know the rule

A trailer's extra weight lengthens the distance needed to stop your vehicle.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
25 mph

Above this speed a trailer needs safety chains or brakes that can hold it if the coupling breaks

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Trailer lighting:

  • Turn signals and stop lights
  • Two red reflectors and two red taillights on the rear, visible for 1,000 feet
  • If 80 inches wide or more: two amber clearance lamps in front and two red clearance lights in back
Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

Every vehicle must have a mirror that lets you see at least 200 feet to the rear.

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

When one vehicle tows another, the drawbar or connection must be designed and built to prevent the vehicles from uncoupling by accident.

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

For your safety, slow down when you're towing a trailer in a strong wind.

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

Coasting is prohibited: no driver may coast downhill with the gears or transmission in neutral, and a truck or bus driver may not coast downhill with the clutch disengaged.

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

Back up only when necessary and without interfering with other traffic; you're responsible for backing safely. Before backing, walk around your vehicle to check clearance for children and obstacles.

Handbook p. 31 ↗
$500

Fine for throwing or depositing litter on any public highway

Handbook p. 31 ↗

Put it into practice

You're pulling a camper at 55 mph. Because that's faster than 25 mph, you need safety chains or trailer brakes that can hold it if the coupling breaks, plus turn signals, stop lights, two red reflectors and two red taillights on the back.

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.

At what towing speed must you have safety chains or brakes capable of holding the trailer if the coupling fails?
  1. Faster than 40 mph
  2. At any speed
  3. Faster than 15 mph
  4. Faster than 25 mph

Answer: Faster than 25 mph

When traveling faster than 25 mph, you need safety chains or brakes capable of holding the trailer if the coupling breaks.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
A towed trailer 80 inches or more in width needs what additional lighting?
  1. One red rear light only
  2. No additional lighting is required
  3. Two amber front clearance lamps and two red rear clearance lights
  4. Four white lights on all corners

Answer: Two amber front clearance lamps and two red rear clearance lights

Trailers 80 inches or more in width need two amber clearance lamps on the front and two red clearance lights on the back.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
What is required of the drawbar or connection between a towing vehicle and the vehicle it is towing?
  1. It must be designed to prevent unintentional uncoupling
  2. It only needs to be made of metal
  3. It must be a single rigid bar
  4. It must be visible from 500 feet

Answer: It must be designed to prevent unintentional uncoupling

The drawbar or connection must be of such design, strength, and construction to prevent the unintentional uncoupling of the vehicles.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
What is the fine for littering on a public highway?
  1. $250
  2. $500
  3. $1,000
  4. $100

Answer: $500

If you throw or deposit litter on a public highway, you are subject to a $500 fine.

Handbook p. 31 ↗
What must a driver do before backing their vehicle, to be safe?
  1. Sound the horn continuously while backing
  2. Walk around the vehicle to check for clearance
  3. Nothing extra is needed if mirrors are adjusted
  4. Only use the rearview mirror

Answer: Walk around the vehicle to check for clearance

Before backing, you should walk around your vehicle to check for clearance and avoid hazards.

Handbook p. 31 ↗
Coasting downhill in neutral is allowed for any vehicle as long as it is safe.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

Coasting downhill in neutral is prohibited for any motor vehicle, and coasting with the clutch disengaged is also prohibited for trucks and buses.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
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