A 3-minute lesson from the South Dakota course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Smooth stops and steady speeds come from seeing trouble early. Backing is the hardest basic maneuver because so little of the area behind the car is visible from the driver's seat.
To stop the vehicle:
Check your mirrors for traffic behind you
Move your foot from the accelerator to the brake
Press with steady pressure until the vehicle stops
The best way not to speed is to know how fast you're going: check the speedometer often. It's easy to go much faster than you think, especially after leaving high-speed roads.
The vehicle is much harder to steer while backing. If backing while turning, make quick checks to the front and sides, and keep looking to the rear until you've come to a complete stop.
You exit the highway onto a 30 mph town street. After miles at 65, 40 feels like crawling. Check your speedometer instead of trusting your sense of speed, and slow to the limit.
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 the best way to avoid speeding, according to the handbook?
Judge speed by how fast the scenery moves
Check the speedometer often
Follow the vehicle ahead of you
Estimate your speed by engine sound
Answer: Check the speedometer often
The best way not to speed is to know how fast you are going by checking the speedometer often.