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Ah, that explains why my insurance doubled when I moved from a small city in the Adirondacks.
The GMAC test is interesting, but I think folks could pass it without knowing some city-specific driving skills. Here are four traffic laws that I wish all drivers within DC proper (from any state) could learn:
1) It is completely legal to enter an intersection on a green light with the intent of turning left and then complete that left turn after the light turns red. In fact, it's much safer to make that left turn than to put the car in reverse to get out of the way of cross traffic. In fact, On a fresh green light, one must yield to traffic already in the intersection. So, honking at the left turner after your light turns green would also not be appropriate.
2) When looking for parking, it's still not legal to drive more than 10 m.p.h. below the speed limit. When you do find a parking space, you signal your intent to park in it by pulling over just forward of the space and putting on your blinker (not emergency flashers). Then, you yield to traffic before parking.
2) Yield to pedestrians! If you're turning, look at the stinking crosswalk, not just cross traffic.
3) The narrow lanes with stick figure bicyclists painted on them are, well, bike lanes. Cars shouldn't be driving in them. Right turners certainly should not be trying to pass other right turners by using the bike lanes.
A couple of years ago when the city was debating requiring taxi meters, the issue of taxi over-supply came up. In the hearings for meters, taxi drivers' chief complaint is that they wouldn't be able to earn a sufficient income with meters.
My solution: have a "How's my driving?" hotline for cabs that goes to a city switchboard. If a driver gets too many complaints, he loses his hack license for at least five years. It's not a legislative priority and it would cost too much money, but, boy, would it be gratifying to rat out some of those drivers.
Not to quibble, but on #1 it's legal for ONE car to enter the intersection in preparation for a left turn. On #2 I don't believe there is a minimum speed on DC surface streets, so going 10 mph slower than the speed limit is legal.
As it turns out, you are also right on the min. speed. Though many jurisdictions and highways do ban driving more slowly than 10 m.p.h. under the limit, DC does not. We do, however, have this unenforceable law:
I. No person shall drive a vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede or
block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. D.C. Code '40-
703(a) and CDCR 18-22-2200.10
I think that when someone is looking for parking, and it fouls up traffic and getting through light cycles for two blocks behind that car, it would qualify as a violation of the above. Yet, I see such behavior every weekend.
Maybe the link has multiple test iterations? For me, question #2 is,
When driving in adverse conditions, the proper speed to travel is:
A. The posted speed limit
B. 55 mph
C. 65 mph
D. Only as fast as is safe to drive
I got this one correct, its D. This does not conflict with the excerpt above. If it is not safe to be driving faster because of heavy rain or snow or something, then moving at a slower speed is normal and reasonable. I'm not surprised a lot of people miss this one though. Most people think 'speed limit' means 'minimum speed' not 'maximum speed'. And also think that the laws of nature (friction, slip resistance, speed, momentum, etc) will simply conform to street signs just because the state or whomever put them up.
The two I missed were #6 and #16. I thought traffic in both directions only stopped for a bus if their flashers were on AND if the stop sign was extended. And I thought the safe following distance was 10 seconds not three, which I guess just makes me more safe.
I believe the test was deliberately designed to be a Rules of the Road test, not a rules of the jurisdiction test--i.e., the answers are the same no matter where you live or where you are licensed or where you learned to drive. Which kind of makes it logical that NY ranks worst--NYC dominates their population, and a lot of NYCers never drive at all or even get a driver's license, so would never have learned these things.
The one I missed, I disagree with their answer. It was what lights should you use in fog, and my owners manual (I checked after I missed the question) recommends only using the cars fog lamps. The "correct answer" was low beams, which would be what one would use if one didn't have dedicated fog lamps.
The one I missed, I disagree with their answer. It was what lights should you use in fog, and my owners manual (I checked after I missed the question) recommends only using the cars fog lamps. The "correct answer" was low beams, which would be what one would use if one didn't have dedicated fog lamps.
I guessed low-beams because I've never had a car with fog lamps. But I looked it up later and found that legally speaking, fog lamps are supposed to be used in conjunction with low-beams. They are never supposed to be used on their own.
So of the answer choices, low beams would be correct because you can use them alone, but you can't use fog lamps alone.
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