Safe Driving Practices and Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means assuming other drivers may make mistakes and leaving yourself room and time to react. The exam tests habits more than trivia, so connect each rule to a reason.
Space and speed management
Maintain a three-second following distance and add a second for each adverse condition (rain, night, heavy traffic). Increase following distance behind motorcycles, trucks, and vehicles you cannot see around. Slow before curves and brake before entering them, then accelerate gently through. On slippery roads, reduce speed and increase following distance; braking distance grows dramatically on ice.
Distraction and impairment
Ohio law prohibits texting while driving and restricts handheld phone use. Any handheld device use that takes your attention from the road is a hazard. Alcohol and drugs impair judgment before they impair coordination, so the first loss is decision-making. Fatigue is impairment too: the safe response is to stop and rest, not to open a window.
Scanning and hazard awareness
Look far ahead, check mirrors frequently, and scan intersections before entering. Cover the brake when you see a potential hazard such as a pedestrian near the curb or a car edging out of a driveway. At night, dim high beams when a vehicle approaches within about 500 feet and when following within about 300 feet.
Traps
Questions test whether you know that the correct response to a tailgater is to increase space ahead, not to brake-check. Also know that you should not stop on the shoulder unless necessary, and that you signal and check blind spots before every lane change.
Worked example
You are following a truck at three seconds and it begins to rain. Add at least one second, and more if visibility drops, so you can stop within the distance you can see.