Seeing and Communicating
Seeing and communicating is about being visible and predictable. The exam tests scanning technique, mirror use, signal timing, and when to use lights and the horn.
Scanning
Look 12–15 seconds ahead - about one city block at low speed and a quarter mile at highway speed. Check mirrors every 5–8 seconds and before every lane change, turn, or stop. Mirrors leave blind spots, so use a head check or a convex mirror. Watch for brake lights several vehicles ahead, stale green lights, and pedestrians near the curb.
Communicating
Signal early - well before the turn or lane change - and cancel it afterward. Tap the brakes to warn a tailgater. Use headlights, not just parking lights, in rain, fog, or gloom. Four-way flashers are for a slow-moving or stopped hazard, not for normal highway travel. The horn is a warning device: a light tap to alert a drifting driver, not a way to express anger. At night, dim high beams for oncoming traffic and for a vehicle you are following.
Worked example
You want to change lanes on I-95. A mirror check shows a car, then a gap. Correct sequence: signal, check the mirror again, glance over your shoulder into the blind spot, then move smoothly. If the shoulder check reveals a car alongside, cancel the signal and wait. The mirror alone is not proof; a car can sit in the blind spot for a long time.
Traps
Signaling after you start moving; driving with flashers on at highway speed; using the horn as a rebuke; and relying on a single mirror check before a lane change.