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Your Driving and the Road
Just before you leave the lane,' glance
quickly over your shoulder to make sure
there isn't another vehicle
in
your "blind"
spot.
If you are moving from an outside to a
center lane on a freeway having more
than two lanes, make sure another vehicle
isn't about to move into the same spot.
Look at the vehicles two lanes over and
watch for telltale signs: turn signals
flashing, an increase in speed, or moving
toward the edge of the lane. Be prepared
to
delay your move.
Once you are moving on the freeway,
make certain you allow a reasonable
following distance. Expect to move
slightly slower at night.
162
Leaving
the
Freeway
When you want
to
leave the freeway,
move to the proper lane well in advance.
Dashing across lanes at the last minute is
dangerous. If you miss your exit do not,
under any circumstances, stop and back
up. Drive on to the next exit.
At each exit point is a deceleration lane.
Ideally it should be long enough for you
to enter
it at freeway speed (after
signaling, of course) and then do your
braking before moving onto the exit
ramp. Unfortunately, not all deceleration
lanes are long enough
-
some are too
short for all the braking. Decide when to
start braking. If you must brake on the
through lane, and if there is traffic close
behind you, you can allow a little extra
time and flash your brake lights (in
addition to your turn signal) as extra
warning that you are about to slow down
and exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes
quite sharply.
The exit speed is usually posted. Reduce
your speed according to your
speedometer, not to your sense of motion.
After driving for any distance at higher
speeds, you may tend to think you are
going slower than you actually are. For
example, 40 mph
(65
km/h) might seem
like only 20 mph
(30 km/h).
Obviously,
this could lead
to
serious trouble on a
ramp designed for 20 mph (30 km/h)!
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