roadwise.Open study app

Pennsylvania driving lesson · Turns, Intersections and Highways

Entering, traveling and exiting highways

A 3-minute lesson from the Pennsylvania 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
Turns, Intersections and Highways
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
56

Highway crashes are the most severe because traffic moves fast. You're at greatest risk at interchanges, when changing lanes, and when traffic suddenly slows or stops. Get on and off smoothly, change lanes one at a time, and stay mentally engaged.

Know the rule

Make sure you don't turn onto an exit ramp by mistake: exit ramps are marked with ONE WAY, DO NOT ENTER and WRONG WAY signs. Some entrance ramps have a green HIGHWAY ENTRANCE sign.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Weaving lane

A short lane between a close entrance and exit that entering and exiting traffic must share. The driver entering the highway must yield to the driver exiting.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

Use the acceleration lane to reach traffic speed. Look for a gap over your shoulder and in your side mirror.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

Get into the exit lane well in advance and don't slow down until you're in it. Exit ramps have a warning sign showing the maximum safe speed.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

Missed your exit? Take the next one. Never stop or back up on the highway, swerve across lanes at the last second, or cross the median to turn around; these are illegal and extremely dangerous.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
Almost 100 ft/sec

Distance covered at 65 mph; you can run off the road in less than one second

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

Half of fatal highway crashes involve vehicles that ran off the road because of speeding and/or driver fatigue.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

When passing on a highway, change one lane at a time and use your turn signal every time, early enough for others to see it.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

As a courtesy, change lanes to let a driver enter from an on-ramp if it's clear, even though the entering driver must yield to you.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Highway hypnosis

Zoning out from staring straight ahead for long periods and not actively scanning ahead, behind and around you.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
20%

Share of fatal highway crashes that are rear-end collisions, mostly from inattention and following too closely

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Put it into practice

You're in the left lane and suddenly see your exit is in half a mile on the right, three lanes over. Signal and move over one lane at a time. If you can't reach the exit lane safely, go on to the next exit.

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 is 'highway hypnosis'?
  1. Zoning out from staring ahead too long without scanning
  2. Dizziness from breathing exhaust fumes
  3. Temporary blindness from oncoming headlights
  4. Motion sickness from winding roads

Answer: Zoning out from staring ahead too long without scanning

Highway hypnosis happens when you stop actively scanning and just stare ahead, risking a crash.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
If you are entering a highway and another driver is already exiting through the same weaving lane, who must yield?
  1. The exiting driver must always yield
  2. Whoever is going faster has priority
  3. Neither driver needs to yield in a weaving lane
  4. The entering driver yields

Answer: The entering driver yields

In a shared weaving lane, the entering driver must yield to the driver exiting.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
If you miss your highway exit, what should you do?
  1. Continue to the next exit
  2. Stop and back up to the exit
  3. Cross the median to turn around
  4. Swerve across lanes to make the exit

Answer: Continue to the next exit

Missing your exit means continuing to the next one; backing up or crossing medians is illegal and dangerous.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
At 65 mph, about how quickly can a vehicle run off the road, based on feet traveled per second?
  1. It takes at least 5 seconds
  2. It takes less than 1 second
  3. It takes about 10 seconds
  4. It takes about 3 seconds

Answer: It takes less than 1 second

65 mph translates to nearly 100 feet per second, so running off the road can happen in under a second.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
What percentage of fatal highway crashes involve rear-end collisions, largely from inattention and following too closely?
  1. 5 percent
  2. 50 percent
  3. 20 percent
  4. 80 percent

Answer: 20 percent

About 20 percent of fatal highway crashes are rear-end collisions tied to inattention/following distance.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
When changing lanes to pass a slower vehicle on a highway, how should you do it?
  1. Cross two lanes at once to save time
  2. Only signal if another car is nearby
  3. Change lanes without signaling on empty highways
  4. Change one lane at a time, signaling each time

Answer: Change one lane at a time, signaling each time

Change only one lane at a time, using your turn signal each time you move.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Turns, Intersections and Highways

All Pennsylvania lessons