Chapter 4

Safe Driving Rules & Regulations

SPEED CONTROL

The Law Exceeding the speed limit is cause for

most accidents Always obey speed limit Speed affects EVERYTHING while

driving Always keep with flow of traffic Keep your distance

Speed Limits

School Zone, Business and Residential Districts

Suburban Business and residential areas

Speed Limits (cont.)

Non-posted rural roadways

Certain state highways (as posted) and all other interstates

Speed Limits (cont.)

Certain Interstate Highways (as posted)

Note- Drivers pay double fines for exceeding a 65 mph limit by 10 mph or more. Double fines also apply to most other moving violations committed in 65 mph zone.

Speed Control

Never drive faster than weather, or road conditions allow you to

Regardless of speed limit Judge your speed by existing road conditions Motorists should slow to see clearly and stop

quickly Failure to do so may result in a moving

violation

When should you slow down while driving?

You Should Slow Down When…

You are on a winding or narrow road At an intersection or railroad crossing On hills At sharp or blind curves Where pedestrians or driving hazards are

present On wet or slippery roads

Driving too Slowly

Keep up with normal flow of traffic without exceeding the posted speed limit

Slow driving can cause collisions When road surfaces and traffic are

normal, NJ law prohibits blocking traffic through slow driving

Safe Corridors

Doubles fines for – Speeding– Aggressive driving

Placed in areas with high accident rates

Passing

Stay to the right of center lines

Passing is only safe when there is no oncoming traffic

Watch for lane makings

Lane Markings

Lane Markings

Most passing should be made on the left.

Pass on the right only when roads have more than one lane going in the same direction or the driver ahead of you is turning left.

New Jersey law prohibits passing on the right shoulder of the roadway.

*on a hill or a curve, or at any time sight lines are impeded

*at a street crossing or intersect

*at a railroad crossing

*on narrow bridges, or in an underpass and tunnels

*when a sign prohibits passing or center lines restrict passing

*when behind a vehicle that has stopped to let a pedestrian cross

New Jersey law requires driver to keep to the right, except when passing.

Drive as closely as possible to the right -hand edge or curb of the roadway, except when passing another vehicle.

Yielding the Right of Way

Emergency Vehicles: Always yield to police cars, fire engines, and ambulances when they are giving warning signs such as flashing sirens and lights.

Buses: when re-entering the flow of traffic Postal Vehicles: when re-entering the flow of

traffic Pedestrians: when in a crosswalk Motorized devices: in a crosswalk Other vehicles already in the intersection

Intersections

Where two or more roads intersect

Most accidents occur at intersections

Single solid white line across your lane means you must stop behind that line

Controlled Intersections Always yield to the driver

on your right if arriving at a four-way stop

Always yield to any driver at or in an intersection

When making a left turn at an intersection, yield to oncoming traffic and all pedestrians within a crosswalk

Uncontrolled Intersections Motorists entering the

intersection from a private road or driveway must yield to all traffic on the main road.

Vehicle on left should yield to vehicle on the right

Reduce speed and be ready to stop if traffic is coming from left or right

If a traffic light is out treat it as a 4 way stop

Blind Intersections

Buildings, parked cars, trees, crops, and bushes can obstruct motorists’ line of sight.

Slow down or stop completely to make sure there is no cross traffic before proceeding.

Traffic Circle

No set rules for a circle

Major road has right of way

Traffic signs control Person to left yields

to person on right

Entering Highways, Parkways, and Turnpikes

- Acceleration Lane: used to speed up to join flow of traffic

- Obey posted speed limits

- Speed up to the flow of traffic

- Try to avoid coming to a complete stop in the acceleration lane

- Yield to traffic and enter the right-hand lane when safe

Leaving Highways, Parkways, and Turnpikes

Deceleration Lane: used to slow down when exiting– Start Slowing down when entering

deceleration lane– Obey the posted speed– If you miss an exit take the next one– Never back up on exit ramp

Warm-up

Do you think it should be against the law to use your cell phone while driving?

Curves

Vehicle will tend to keep going straight

Slow down before entering the curve

Do not drift into other lanes

Interchange

Cloverleaf is used to enter/exit express traffic roads.

Right Turn On Red

Do not turn right when there is a no turn on red sign.

Come to a complete stop.

Watch all oncoming traffic and pedestrians

Right Turns

Get into right hand lane

Signal right turn Slow down to turn Do not make a wide

turn Do not cross lane

markings

Left Turn

Signal left turn keep close to center

line Yield to oncoming

traffic Turn into left lane Do not cut corner Don’t cross lane

markings

Other Left Turns

Signal left turn keep close to center

line Yield to oncoming traffic Turn into the nearest

left bound lane May cross solid center

lines to turn left between intersections

Never try to beat a traffic light Be careful when at a fresh green light Most accidents occur in the first few

seconds of a light changing Stop at yellow light following a green

light

Running a Red

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfjqMuR8oYo

Stopping at Railroad Crossings

Motorist must stop at least 15 ft. from railroad crossing when there are lights flashing, bells, or flag signals

Never attempt to cross until gates have been raised and lights have stopped flashing

Commercial Vehicles must stop at all railroad crossings

Never stop on the tracks

Not stopping at railroad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O76imb5z5zU

Stopping for school buses

You must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights

State law requires that a motorist stop a least 25 ft. Away if traveling on a 2 lane road, or on a multi-lane highway where lanes are only separated by lines, or on a privately maintained road

Stopping for school buses cont.

When traveling on a dual lane highway you can pass at 10mph if on the other side of the raised or island median

If a school bus has stopped directly in front of a school to pick up or let off children, pass from either direction no more than 10 mph.

Stopping for Desert Trucks

-Yield to the right of way to any person who is crossing the street to or from the vehicle.

-Watch out for children and be prepared to stop.

-Never drive past the vehicle at a speed faster than 15 M.P.H.

-You don’t have to stop on a dual highway when traveling on the other side of a safety island or raised median

Stopping for Emergency Vehicles

-New Jersey requires motorists to yield to emergency vehicles sounding or flashing red or blue lights

-Steer to extreme right

-Wait for the vehicle to pass

-Keep 300 ft. behind emergency vehicle

-Do not park 200ft within fire department vehicle

•Headlights must be turned on one half hour after sun set and one half hour before sunrise.

•They must also be used when it is snowing, raining, and any precipitation that might be falling from the sky.

Using Headlights

There are two different settings when it comes to headlights. The first, is the dim lights or the everyday driving lights. They are used when there are other vehicles are around. The other type is high beams, used for open country driving and when other cars are not in the area.

Parking Regulations & Littering

Before exiting a vehicle:

Check for bicycles and mopeds and other hard to see object.

Look for all parking related signs for parking restrictions.

It’s illegal to park more than 6 in. from the curb.

Do NOT Park:

On crosswalks between a safety zone

for pedestrians or 20 feet from the end of a safety zone

near street construction in a handicapped space on an interstate

highway

In a bus stop zone in front of a

public/private driveway with an intersection within 10 feet of a fire

hydrant within 25 feet of a

crosswalk or intersection

Do NOT Park

Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station entrance

Within 50 feet of a stop sign

on any bridge or tunnel next to another vehicle

parked at the curb

As of July 1, 2004, hand held cell phones were not permitted at the wheel

Cell phone use

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPlnNaHGZY8

~traffic accident

~Fire

~Serious Road Hazard

~medical emergency

And Hazardous material emergency

--> Drivers in these situations would still have to keep their hands on the wheel <--

To prove that these situations happened, drivers would have to bring in written

statement, witness testimony, and phone records

The fine for breaking this law in $100 to $250

Show Europe Texting PSA

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=texting+while+driving+commercial&www_google_domain=www.google.com&emb=0&aq=1&oq=texting+#

Littering

Throwing trash from a vehicle is illegal up to $1,000 fines driver’s license could be suspended.