A 3-minute lesson from the Vermont course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Most crashes are caused by the driver's own actions or errors, so safe driving starts before you move. You set up the car, learn basic control in a quiet place, and understand why a car can't stop instantly, even when the road is perfect and you're alert.
Know the rule
A permit driver should first practice in an empty parking lot or on roads with little traffic, and build basic car control before driving in busy areas.
Hold the wheel at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4, as on a clock face. Use hand-over-hand steering for turning. Practice turns, smooth braking, and controlled starts and stops.
On wet, icy or gravel roads, braking distance is much longer. When rain first starts, oil, rubber, dirt and water mix and make roads especially slippery.
A child runs out ahead of you at 40 mph. For about 3/4 of a second, while you react, the car keeps going at full speed. That's your reaction distance. Only then does braking distance begin, and on a road just wet by rain it will be much longer.
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 term for the distance your vehicle travels from seeing a danger to stepping on the brake?
Braking distance
Reaction distance
Total stopping distance
Perception distance
Answer: Reaction distance
Reaction distance is the distance traveled from seeing the danger until you actually apply the brakes.