Everything Flashcards
Traffic laws are made by ______________________ governments, and police from each level can enforce them.
federal, provincial and municipal
If you break a traffic law, you may be _____, ______________ or lose your___________. If you get caught driving while your license is suspended, your vehicle ______________________.
fined, sent to jail, driver’s license, may be impounded
Defensive driving is based on three ideas:
visibility, space and communication.
Visibility is about
seeing and being seen.
- be aware of traffic in front, behind and beside you. –> eyes constantly moving, scanning the road ahead and to the side and checking your mirrors every five seconds or so. The farther ahead you look, the less likely you will be surprised, and you will have time to avoid any hazards.
- Make sure other drivers can see you by using your signal lights as required.
Space
Managing the space around your vehicle lets you see and be seen and gives you time and space to avoid a collision.
- Leave a cushion of space ahead, behind and to both sides.
- the greatest risk of a collision is in front of you, stay well back.
Communication
Communicate with other road users to make sure they see you and know what you are doing.
- Make eye contact with pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at intersections and signal whenever you want to slow down, stop, turn or change lanes.
-to get another person’s attention, horn.
You must be in good _________ and ________ condition to drive
physical, mental
Steps of getting ready to drive.
Be physically and mentally alert
Know your vehicle
Get into position
Keep a clear view
Find your blind spots
Fasten your seatbelt
Child safety
Turn on headlights at night and in poor conditions
Know ur vehicle
- know your vehicle before you drive it. –>There are many types of vehicles available today with many different characteristics, including fuel ignition systems, anti-lock brakes, four-wheel drive, and systems for traction control and stability control.
- Check the vehicle owner’s manual and other information available from the automaker to learn how these systems work, how to properly operate them, and to understand their limitations.
- Many newer vehicles offer technologies that assist drivers with steering, braking and/or accelerating to help you stay within your lane, avoid, or reduce collisions, and maintain safe following distances.
No matter what technologies are available in your vehicle, you must always pay attention to how they operate, be ready to take over control of the vehicle in the event of an unusual or unforeseen situation, and recognize that you remain responsible for all driving tasks.
- know where all the controls and instruments are and what they do. Check that all warning lights and gauges work. Watch for a warning light that stays on after you drive away; it could mean a serious problem with your vehicle.
- Get to know the controls well enough to turn on wipers and washers, headlights, high beams, heater and defroster without having to look. –> Learning to use these essential controls without taking your eyes off the road is an important part of driving.
Get into position
- Make sure you sit properly behind the wheel –> You should sit high enough in the driver’s seat to see over the steering wheel and hood. –> You should be able to see the ground four metres in front of the vehicle. Use a firm cushion if needed.
Be sure that you are sitting straight upright in the seat with your elbows slightly bent. Adjust the seat so your feet reach the pedals easily. To check your position, try placing your feet flat on the floor under the brake pedal. If you can do this without stretching, you are seated properly. This keeps you in the proper, upright sitting position and gives you more stability when manoeuvring your vehicle.
If your vehicle has an adjustable headrest, you should make sure it is at the right height. The back of your head should be directly in front of the middle of the headrest to protect you in a collision.
Check that you have enough room in the front seat to drive properly and safely. Do not overcrowd your driving space with passengers or property.
Keep a clear view
Keep a clear view when driving.
- Do not put anything in your windows that will block your view. –> The windows of your vehicle must not be coated with any material that keeps you from seeing out in any direction.
- Neither should the windshield or front door windows be coated to keep someone from seeing inside the vehicle.
Find your blind spots
Check and adjust your mirrors and find your blind spots, the area on each side of your vehicle where you cannot see. You may not see people or cyclists when they are in these spots. On some vehicles the blind spot is so large that a vehicle could be there and you would not see it.
Adjust your mirrors so that there are as few blind spots as possible. Blind spots in most vehicles are to the back left and back right of the vehicle.
Because your side mirrors show only narrow angles of view, turning your head to do shoulder checks is the only way to make sure there is nothing in your blind spots.
You should know the blind spots on your own vehicle. You can learn where and how large they are by having someone walk around your car and watching the person in the mirrors.
How to reduce blind spots
To reduce the blind spots , position the interior mirror so that the centre of the mirror shows the centre of the rear window. –> You should be able to see directly behind the car when the interior mirror is properly adjusted.
Position the left & right outside mirror by leaning towards the window and moving the mirror so that you can just see the rear of your car on both sides
Avoid overlap in what you can see in your mirrors.
Fasten your seatbelt
a small increase in the number of people who wear their seatbelts can save many lives.
You must use your seatbelt every time you travel in any vehicle equipped with seatbelts. All passengers must be buckled up in their own seatbelt, child car seat or booster seat.
Drivers who do not buckle up can be fined and will be given two demerit points (15 demerit points = drivers receive an automatic 30 day licence suspension)
Drivers may also be fined and receive demerit points if they fail to ensure that all passengers under 16 years of age are properly buckled in a seatbelt, child car seat or booster seat.
Level One (G1) drivers are only allowed to have his or her accompanying driver as a front-seat passenger, and must have a seatbelt for him or her.
Novice drivers must have a seatbelt for every passenger.
Drivers who do not ensure there is a working seatbelt for every passenger can lose their licence for at least 30 days.
Seatbelts should be worn snugly enough to keep you in your seat during a collision. Wear the shoulder strap over your shoulder, never under your arm or behind your back. The lap belt should be worn low over the hips, not against the stomach.
Never put more than one person into a seatbelt; this can cause serious injury or even death in a collision.
Use your seatbelt always, even when you are sitting in a position with an active airbag. It is important for passengers to be secured within a to avoid being thrown from the vehicle during a collision.
The safest place a passenger can travel is inside a vehicle, properly buckled in. It is not safe to travel outside a vehicle, such as in the back of a pickup truck, or in a trailer that is being towed.
Child Safety
To be safely protected in a vehicle, children must be properly secured in a child car seat, booster seat or seatbelt, depending on their height, weight and/or age. –> correctly used child car seat can reduce the likelihood of injury or death by 75%
Child car seats must meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Newer vehicles that come equipped with a lower universal anchorage system (UAS) for securing a child car seat do not require the use of a seatbelt.
A booster seat requires a lap and shoulder belt combination.
Infants who weigh less than 9 kilograms (20 lbs.) must be buckled into a rear-facing child car seat attached to the vehicle by a seatbelt or the UAS strap. It is always best installed in the back seat. Never put a rear-facing child car seat in a seating position that has an active airbag. If the airbag inflates, it could seriously injure the child.
Toddlers 9 to 18 kilograms (20 to 40 lbs.) must be buckled into a child car seat attached to the vehicle by a seatbelt or a UAS strap; the seat’s tether strap must also be attached to the vehicle’s tether anchor. Children weighing more than 9 kilograms (20 lbs.) may remain in a rear-facing child car seat if it is designed to accommodate the child’s height and weight.
Booster seats provide 60% more protection than seatbelts alone. These must be used by pre-school and primary-grade-aged children who have outgrown their forward-facing child car seat, are under the age of eight and weigh 18 kilograms (40 lbs.) or more but less than 36 kilograms (80 lbs.), and who are less than 145 centimetres (4 feet, 9 inches) tall. Booster seats raise a child so that the adult seatbelt works more effectively. The child’s head must be supported by the top of the booster, vehicle seat or headrest. You must use a booster seat with a lap/shoulder belt.
If your vehicle has lap belts only, secure the child by the lap belt only. Never use a lap belt alone with a booster seat.
Correct installation of a child car seat is important for ensuring a child’s safety. Your local public health unit is a good resource for finding out how to properly install a child car seat, or visit a local car seat clinic where certified technicians will help you install the seat.
Children may begin wearing a seatbelt once they are able to wear it properly (a lap belt flat across the hips, shoulder belt across the centre of the chest and over the shoulder), and if any one of the following criteria is met:
The child turns eight years old.
The child weighs 36 kilograms (80 lbs.) or more.
The child is 145 centimetres (4 feet 9 inches) tall or taller.
Do not place a child in a seating position in front of an air bag that is not turned off. The safest place for a child under age 13 is in the back seat.
Seatbelts and child car seats save lives
Seatbelts and child car seats reduce the risk of injury or death in collisions.
- Seatbelts help keep you inside and in control of the vehicle during a collision. People who are thrown from a vehicle have a much lower chance of surviving a collision.
- Seatbelts keep your head and body from hitting the inside of the vehicle or another person in the vehicle. When a vehicle hits a solid object, the people inside keep moving until something stops them. If you are not wearing your seatbelt, the steering wheel, windshield, dashboard or another person might be what stops you. This “human collision” often causes serious injury.
- Fire or sinking in water is rare in collisions. If it does happen, seatbelts help keep you conscious, giving you a chance to get out of the vehicle.
- In a sudden stop or swerve, no one can hold onto a child who is not in a seatbelt or child car seat. Infants or children who are not properly restrained can be thrown against the vehicle’s interior, collide with other people or be ejected.
- When using a child car seat, make sure that the seat is tightly secured by the vehicle seatbelt or by the universal anchorage system (UAS) strap, and for a forward-facing car seat, ensure the tether strap is also used. When installing the child car seat, press one knee into the seat and use your body weight to push it into the vehicle seat, then tighten the seatbelt or the car-seat UAS strap as much as possible. The installed child car seat should move no more than 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) where the seatbelt or UAS strap is routed through the child car seat.
- Use a locking clip where needed to ensure the seatbelt stays locked into position and will not loosen during a collision. Refer to your vehicle owner’s manual to see if you will need to use a locking clip.
- If a rear-facing child car seat does not rest at the proper 45-degree angle, you can prop up the base of the seat with a towel or a Styrofoam bar (“pool noodle”). 80% of the base of a forward-facing car seat should be firmly supported by the vehicle seat.
Turn on headlights at night and in poor conditions
Headlights enable you to see the roadway in front of your vehicle when visibility is poor, as well as making your vehicle visible to others.
Your vehicle’s headlights must shine a white light that can be seen at least 150 metres in front and is strong enough to light up objects 110 metres away.
You must also have red rear lights that can be seen 150 metres away and a white light lighting the rear licence plate when headlights are on.
Headlights are equipped with the option to use a high beam to enhance vision further down the roadway and the use of a low beam when you are near other vehicles to minimize the glare of your headlights onto others. When you use high-beam headlights, remember to switch to low beams within 150 metres of an oncoming vehicle. Use your low beams when you are less than 60 metres behind another vehicle unless you are passing it. These rules apply to all roads, including divided ones.
Turning your headlights on activates other required light systems, such as your parking lights, tail lights and rear-licence plate light. Daytime running lights, which are often another mode of your headlights or can be a separate lighting system, are specifically designed to make your vehicle more visible during times of good light conditions, and are automatically activated when your vehicle is in operation and your headlight switch is turned to off.
–> Your daytime running lights are not to be used as headlights during poor lighting conditions. They provide an inappropriate form of light that may cast glare onto others or deactivate other required light systems, such as tail lights. If your vehicle is not equipped with daytime running lights, you should turn your headlights on to provide similar visual enhancement.
When driving your vehicle, headlights are required to be turned on between one-half hour before sunset and one-half hour after sunrise, and any other time of poor light conditions, such as fog, snow or rain, which keeps you from clearly seeing people or vehicles less than 150 metres away. Don’t drive with only one headlight or with lights that are not aimed properly.
Have your full lighting system checked regularly, keep them clean, and replace burned-out bulbs as soon as possible.
Driving with your vehicle’s full lighting system set to automatic is recommended, if your vehicle is equipped with this option. This will better ensure that the appropriate lighting system is being used.
Check your mirrors every ____ seconds or so, and check your _______________by turning your head to look over your shoulder. Keep other drivers out of your blind spot by changing your _______ and don’t drive in other vehicles’ blind spots. This is especially true when driving around large commercial vehicles, as they typically have large blind spots to the __________________.
5, blind spots, speed, sides & back
Steer smoothly
All steering should be smooth and precise. You should do most steering and lane changes without taking either hand off the wheel. You must be able to steer in a straight line while shifting gears, adjusting controls or checking your blind spot.
Picture the steering wheel as a clock and place your hands at nine o’clock and three o’clock.
Use of turn signals and brake lights
Signals tell other drivers what you want to do, alerting them to your intention to turn or stop.
Use your turn signals and brake lights to signal before stopping, slowing down, turning, changing lanes, leaving the road or moving out from a parked position. Give the correct signal well before taking the action and make sure other drivers can see it. Check that the way is clear before you act, just signalling is not enough.
If your turn signals and brake lights are not working, use hand and arm signals.
When watching for signals made by others, remember that cyclists may signal right turns by holding their right arms straight out.
Keep right
Keep to the right of the road or in the right-hand lane on multi-lane roads unless you want to turn left or pass another vehicle. This is especially important if you are driving more slowly than other vehicles.
Obey speed limits
Drive below the maximum speed in bad weather, in heavy traffic or in construction zones.
School zones and construction zones often have lower speed limits
Where there are no posted speed limits, the maximum speed is 50 km/h in cities, towns and villages, and 80 km/h elsewhere.
Cruise control is a driver aid that can improve fuel economy and prevent you from inadvertently exceeding the speed limit. However, there are some circumstances in which cruise control should not be used, such as adverse driving conditions (wet, icy or slippery roads), in heavy traffic or when you are feeling fatigued.
Speed measuring warning devices are illegal. If you get caught driving with such a device, you will be fined and accumulate demerit points.