Pennsylvania video lessons · Lesson 7 of 10

Pennsylvania Safe Driving and Conditions: five situations explained

Free account to watch6:03Narrated and captionedFrom the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual

All five situations and their answers are below. To watch the lesson, create a free account.

Create free account Sign in

In this video

0:00Intro
0:17How much should you slow down on packed snow?
1:12Your right wheels drift off the pavement onto a low shoulder. What should you do?
2:23You must brake where other drivers may not expect it. What does the manual suggest?
3:19Should you use cruise control in a work zone?
4:03An aggressive driver is pursuing you. Where should you go?
5:06Recap

In short

The five situations

Pick an answer first, the way the video pauses for you. Each one cites the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual.

Situation 1
How much should you slow down on packed snow?
Answer: A. By half. On packed snow, decrease your speed by half; on ice, slow to a crawl and leave about 10 times the normal space.
Pennsylvania Driver's Manual › Chapter 3 › Managing Speed
Situation 2
Your right wheels drift off the pavement onto a low shoulder. What should you do?
Answer: A. Ease off the gas, straddle the edge, and slow to under 25 mph before easing back on. Ease off the gas, steer parallel to the road straddling the edge, slow to under 25 mph (closer to 10), then gently steer back on.
Pennsylvania Driver's Manual › Chapter 3 › Special Circumstances and Emergencies
Situation 3
You must brake where other drivers may not expect it. What does the manual suggest?
Answer: C. Quickly tap the brake pedal three or four times. If you will brake where others may not expect it, quickly tap your brake pedal three or four times.
Pennsylvania Driver's Manual › Chapter 3 › Managing Speed › Communicating Your Intentions
Situation 4
Should you use cruise control in a work zone?
Answer: A. No. Do not use your cruise control in work zones.
Pennsylvania Driver's Manual › Chapter 3 › Special Circumstances and Emergencies
Situation 5
An aggressive driver is pursuing you. Where should you go?
Answer: B. To a police station or another place with help and witnesses. Do not go home. Drive to a police station, convenience store or other location where you can get help and there will be witnesses.
Pennsylvania Driver's Manual › Chapter 3 › Special Circumstances and Emergencies

Transcript

0:00Intro

Weather, darkness and other drivers can turn an easy drive into a hard one. Let's work through five situations from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual. For each one, pick your answer before I reveal it.

0:17Situation 1

Snow has packed down hard on the road. How much should you slow down on packed snow? The answer is A: By half. On packed snow, decrease your speed by half; on ice, slow to a crawl and leave about 10 times the normal space. On packed snow, cut your speed by half. On ice, slow to a crawl and leave about 10 times the normal space.

1:12Situation 2

Your right wheels drop off the pavement onto a low shoulder. Your right wheels drift off the pavement onto a low shoulder. What should you do? The answer is A: Ease off the gas, straddle the edge, and slow to under 25 mph before easing back on. Ease off the gas, steer parallel to the road straddling the edge, slow to under 25 mph (closer to 10), then gently steer back on. Ease off the gas and straddle the edge. Slow to under 25 miles per hour, closer to 10, then gently steer back on.

2:23Situation 3

You need to slow down somewhere the driver behind you won't expect it. You must brake where other drivers may not expect it. What does the manual suggest? The answer is C: Quickly tap the brake pedal three or four times. If you will brake where others may not expect it, quickly tap your brake pedal three or four times. Quickly tap your brake pedal three or four times first, so your brake lights warn them.

3:19Situation 4

Your cruise control is on as you come up to a work zone. Should you use cruise control in a work zone? The answer is A: No. Do not use your cruise control in work zones. Don't use cruise control in a work zone. Stay ready to slow down or stop.

4:03Situation 5

An aggressive driver is pursuing you. An aggressive driver is pursuing you. Where should you go? The answer is B: To a police station or another place with help and witnesses. Do not go home. Drive to a police station, convenience store or other location where you can get help and there will be witnesses. Don't go home. Drive to a police station, a convenience store, or another place where you can get help and there will be witnesses.

5:06Recap

On packed snow, decrease your speed by half; on ice, slow to a crawl and leave about 10 times the normal space. Ease off the gas, steer parallel to the road straddling the edge, slow to under 25 mph (closer to 10), then gently steer back on. If you will brake where others may not expect it, quickly tap your brake pedal three or four times. Do not use your cruise control in work zones. Do not go home. Drive to a police station, convenience store or other location where you can get help and there will be witnesses. Nice work. Try more safe driving questions in Practice by Topic, then test yourself with a full mock exam.

The rules in this lesson

On packed snow, decrease your speed by half; on ice, slow to a crawl and leave about 10 times the normal space.
Ease off the gas, steer parallel to the road straddling the edge, slow to under 25 mph (closer to 10), then gently steer back on.
If you will brake where others may not expect it, quickly tap your brake pedal three or four times.
Do not use your cruise control in work zones.
Do not go home. Drive to a police station, convenience store or other location where you can get help and there will be witnesses.

Original practice lesson written from the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual. EstatePass is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Pennsylvania PennDOT; these are not official test questions.