Tennessee driving lesson · Interstate, Night & Weather Driving
Entering & driving the interstate
A 4-minute lesson from the Tennessee course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Interstates are usually safer because access is controlled: no stop signs, no railroad crossings, no traffic lights, and medians that all but eliminate head-on crashes. But speeds are higher, so you need constant alertness and good merging skills.
Limited (controlled) access
You enter and leave only at interchanges, never crossing the path of other traffic.
To enter, stay right and use the ramp and acceleration lane to reach interstate speed, signal left, and merge when there's a gap. You must yield to traffic already on the interstate.
Don't stop at the end of the ramp — you won't have room to reach traffic speed and drivers behind you won't expect it. If you must wait, slow down on the ramp so you still have room to speed up.
A LANE ADDED sign means the ramp becomes a new lane, so entering traffic needn't merge right away — drivers on the interstate should avoid moving right there. A MERGING TRAFFIC sign means entering cars must merge into the existing right lane.
Leave the far-left lane for faster traffic. Keep to the middle of your lane, drive at an even speed, and don't weave or ride alongside other cars in their blind spots. Avoid packs of cars.
Stay at least two seconds behind the car ahead — at least four in bad weather, at night and on higher-speed rural sections — and scan 15 to 20 seconds ahead.
Heavy traffic on the on-ramp means you can't merge yet. Instead of stopping at the end of the ramp, slow down early on the ramp itself, watch for a gap, then accelerate hard in the acceleration lane, signal left and merge.
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.
When entering an interstate highway, you should use the acceleration lane to:
Come to a complete stop before merging
Wait until traffic clears completely
Drive slower than surrounding traffic
Match speed and merge smoothly
Answer: Match speed and merge smoothly
You should use the acceleration lane to reach interstate speed so you can merge smoothly when the way is clear.
