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.
Most car-truck crashes come from a few avoidable mistakes: cutting in, lingering, tailgating and misjudging speed. And when any vehicle is stranded with its flashers on, give it a lane.
Know the rule
Trucks have longer stopping and accelerating distances, wider turning radii, and weigh more. On multi-lane highways, tractor-trailers stay in the center lane to help local traffic get on and off and to keep an extra lane for escape.
Move over: on an interstate or multilane highway outside city limits, if a vehicle is stranded with flashing hazard lights, yield and move to the lane not next to it. If the only lane available is the one next to it, slow down and proceed with caution.
Your exit is coming up and a semi is in the right lane next to you. Don't dart in front of it. Slow down and exit behind the truck; it costs only a few 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.
Why is cutting off a truck to reach your exit especially dangerous?
It removes the truck driver's cushion of safety and stopping distance
Trucks accelerate faster than cars
Trucks cannot see directly ahead at all
It is only dangerous at low speeds
Answer: It removes the truck driver's cushion of safety and stopping distance
Cutting into the open space in front of a truck removes the truck driver's cushion of safety needed for its longer stopping distance.
Under North Dakota's move-over guidance, what should you do when passing a stranded vehicle with hazard lights on the Interstate?
Maintain your speed and lane position
Stop directly behind the stranded vehicle
Move to the lane not adjacent to the stranded vehicle, or slow down if you cannot
Flash your lights and continue at normal speed
Answer: Move to the lane not adjacent to the stranded vehicle, or slow down if you cannot
Approaching drivers should yield and move to the lane not adjacent to the stranded vehicle, or proceed with caution and reduced speed if that is not possible.