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Wyoming driving lesson · Defensive Driving & Conditions

IPDE: identify, predict, decide, execute

A 3-minute lesson from the Wyoming course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Defensive Driving & Conditions
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
73, 74, 75, 91

Defensive driving means seeing trouble early and choosing your response before you're forced to react. Wyoming teaches it as IPDE: Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute. It starts with looking far enough ahead.

Critical object

Any person, vehicle, animal or anything else that could cause you to slow down, speed up or turn.

Handbook p. 91 ↗

The IPDE method:

  • IDENTIFY: scan for anything that could make you slow down, speed up or turn (critical objects)
  • PREDICT: foresee what could happen, and predict the worst
  • DECIDE: choose how to prevent a crash, not who is right or wrong
  • EXECUTE: carry out the decision smoothly, predictably and in time to avoid a crash
Handbook p. 73 ↗

Know the rule

Defensive driving means every response to a critical object is the result of a decision, not a reaction to an unexpected danger.

Handbook p. 73 ↗

Driving defensively with IPDE requires you to:

  • Scan ahead and to the sides
  • Communicate with other drivers
  • Isolate your vehicle in traffic
  • Separate risks and compromise space when necessary
Handbook p. 73 ↗
10 to 15 seconds

How far ahead defensive drivers scan

Handbook p. 74 ↗

Know the rule

To check: pick a fixed object ahead and count "one thousand and one, one thousand and two…" If you're looking far enough ahead, you'll count past one thousand and ten before reaching it.

Handbook p. 74 ↗

Know the rule

Scan for weather, traffic and road conditions; signs, signals and markings; and vehicles and pedestrians. Drivers who react to surprises may not be looking far enough ahead.

Handbook p. 74 ↗

Know the rule

Scan the roadsides for people, vehicles and animals that could move into your path. For example, when you see a school sign, check for children.

Handbook p. 74 ↗

Communicate with other drivers by:

  • Making eye contact with pedestrians and drivers where right-of-way may be in question
  • Using hand motions to give others the right of way
  • Using lane position to show what you intend to do
  • Signaling at least four to five seconds before turning
  • Touching your brake to light your brake lights and slowing well before stopping
  • Getting into the correct lane well before a turn
  • Tapping your horn to alert others you're there
  • Staying out of other drivers' blind spots so you can be seen
Handbook p. 74 ↗

Put it into practice

Ten seconds ahead you see a man getting into a parked car. Predict the worst: he may pull out without looking. Decide to ease off the gas and move left in your lane, then execute smoothly so you have room if he pulls out.

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 do the letters IPDE stand for in defensive driving?
  1. Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute
  2. Identify, Prepare, Drive, Evaluate
  3. Inspect, Predict, Drive, Exit
  4. Identify, Plan, Decide, Enter

Answer: Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute

IPDE stands for Identify, Predict, Decide, and Execute, the four steps of defensive driving.

Handbook p. 73 ↗
About how many seconds ahead should a defensive driver scan the road?
  1. 1 to 2 seconds
  2. 10 to 15 seconds
  3. 30 to 40 seconds
  4. 5 seconds

Answer: 10 to 15 seconds

Defensive drivers scan at least 10 to 15 seconds ahead to identify critical objects early.

Handbook p. 74 ↗
In the IPDE method, what is the next step after you identify a critical object?
  1. Execute a response immediately
  2. Predict what could happen
  3. Ignore it unless it moves closer
  4. Decide how to react

Answer: Predict what could happen

After identifying a critical object, defensive drivers predict what could happen, often predicting the worst case.

Handbook p. 73 ↗
What does the 'Execute' step of IPDE require?
  1. Braking at once, whatever the decision
  2. Reacting by instinct without deciding first
  3. Carrying out the decision smoothly and in time
  4. Waiting for the other driver to act first

Answer: Carrying out the decision smoothly and in time

Execute means carrying out the decision in a smooth, predictable manner and in time to avoid a crash.

Handbook p. 73 ↗
Which of these counts as a form of communicating with other drivers, per the handbook?
  1. Flashing your hazard lights continuously while driving
  2. Rolling down your window to talk to them
  3. Speeding up to pass them quickly
  4. Tapping your horn to alert others that you're there

Answer: Tapping your horn to alert others that you're there

You can communicate with other drivers by tapping your horn, among other methods like signals and lane position.

Handbook p. 75 ↗
How is a 'critical object' defined in the handbook?
  1. Only another moving vehicle in your lane
  2. Anything that could cause you to slow, speed up, or turn
  3. Only a pedestrian in a crosswalk
  4. Any object heavier than a bicycle

Answer: Anything that could cause you to slow, speed up, or turn

A critical object is any person, vehicle, animal or anything else that could cause a driver to slow down, speed up or turn.

Handbook p. 91 ↗
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