Driving the Freeways, Your Vehicle and the Graduated License Summary: Keeping Right and Staying in Your Lane, Breakdowns and Distress Signals, Star-HP, Entering by the Acceleration Lane, Yield Signs at Ramps, Directional, Cloverleaf, Diamond and Trumpet Interchanges, Leaving by the Deceleration Lane and Never Backing After a Missed Exit, Required Brakes, Mufflers, Wipers, Mirrors Seeing 200 Feet, Lights Visible 500 Feet, Hazard Flashers, Belts and Child Restraints, the Horn and Its Misuse, Tires and the 1/16-Inch Tread, Maintenance and Trip Planning, the Death Zone, Who the GDL Covers, Its Passenger, Midnight and Handheld Device Restrictions and Its Penalties

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Alabama driver license knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Alabama Driver Manual (ALEA, November 2024 edition), Chapter 8 "Driving the Freeways" (pages 76–78), Chapter 9 "Your Vehicle" (pages 79–81) and the GDL summary (page 84).

Freeways

Freeways are multi-lane, controlled-access, divided highways without stops or cross traffic, letting you drive long distances with less fatigue and more safety if you know their features. Keep pace with traffic and stay alert; vehicles slower than the normal speed must keep right. Cutting from lane to lane is dangerous: choose the lane moving at your pace and stay in it, and when you must change lanes to pass or exit, check traffic carefully and signal well ahead. In a breakdown, park entirely off the traveled part and stay with the vehicle if you can, open the trunk, raise the hood if weather allows and tie a white cloth to a door handle or antenna as distress signals that any officer will answer; other than in an emergency, parking on the freeway is not permitted. To report highway emergencies, crashes and drunk drivers, dial **\*HP (\47)* toll-free from a cell phone to reach the State Troopers.

Entering and leaving

Entrance ramps are short one-way ramps leading to an acceleration lane; increase speed to match the through lanes if possible, watch for an opening, signal and merge smoothly. Freeway drivers should make room, but you must yield if they do not, and never stop in the acceleration lane unless absolutely necessary. Where a yield sign stands at a ramp with no acceleration lane, obey it and stop if necessary rather than forcing your way in. An interchange joins two highways at different levels with connecting roads so vehicles cross, enter or leave without interfering; the four common types are directional (high volumes between two legs, with diamond ramps for the other movements), cloverleaf (loops for turns from all four directions, eliminating left turns and crossing conflicts), diamond (four ramps, with left turns made after leaving the freeway) and trumpet (where a road joins the freeway at a T). To leave, plan ahead and watch the signs, move into the proper lane early, signal, move into the deceleration lane and slow as you reach the exit ramp, never slowing suddenly on the freeway, and be ready to yield or stop at the intersecting road. If you miss your exit, never stop, back up or turn around; go on to the next exit and come back.

Required equipment

A driver cannot be safe in a poorly equipped or badly maintained vehicle, and state law sets the equipment. Every car needs two separate braking methods, a foot brake and a parking brake; a working muffler that eliminates sharp popping or cracking, with cutouts and bypasses forbidden and no carbon monoxide leaking inside, checked periodically; wipers in good order on any vehicle with a windshield; rearview mirrors letting the driver see 200 feet behind; at least two white headlights, a rear plate light, a brake light and at least one red taillight, all visible from 500 feet, with high beams lighting objects at least 350 feet and properly aimed; and both turn signals or other paired lights may flash together as hazard warnings. In crashes, steering assemblies cause about 30 percent of fatal injuries and striking the windshield, its frame or the instrument panel another 40 percent; belts prevent these second collisions, and children under six need special child and infant restraints so they do not become flying missiles, since crashes are the leading killer of children. The equipment list also includes safety glass, good tires, brake lights and taillights, a horn, and a tight exhaust system.

Horns and tires

A working horn is required on every motor vehicle; use it to warn children, bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists you are passing. Bells, sirens and exhaust whistles are for emergency vehicles only, needless honking can lead to arrest, the horn may be used only to give warning reasonably necessary for safe operation, and never to announce your arrival or summon passengers. Buy tires that carry your car's weight, check pressure often and never drive under-inflated, look for cuts, bruises and foreign objects at service time, have alignment checked if wear is uneven, and remember a tire is illegal with tread under 1/16 inch. Avoid jack-rabbit starts and screeching stops, ease through corners and rough surfaces, let tires cool on long hot trips, never mix tire types without a dealer's advice, and check the spare periodically.

Maintenance and trip planning

Only a properly maintained vehicle is safe; brakes, exhaust, cooling, lights, wipers and tires wear out and any one can cause a serious crash, so have the car checked. Plan a trip with a map, deciding where to enter and leave the freeway; check fuel, water and oil, since there are no service stations on freeways; and make sure the car is mechanically sound and every tire, including the spare, is properly inflated, well treaded and free of cuts.

The graduated license summary

The GDL law, amended effective July 1, 2010, does not apply to anyone 18 or older, to anyone 17 or older who has held a valid license for six months or more, to anyone 16 or older who is married or head of a household, or to anyone legally relieved of minority status. A person under 18 may not apply for an unrestricted license until holding a learner license for at least six months with no restriction violations, and must be 17. A 15-year-old with a learner license drives only with a parent, legal guardian or licensed driver 21 or older in the front seat, or a licensed or certified driving instructor; a 16-year-old needs parental or guardian permission to be licensed and to drive unsupervised. A 16-year-old, or a 17-year-old licensed less than six months, may carry no more than one non-family passenger besides the parent, guardian or supervising driver of at least 21 (cut from four in 2010); may not drive between midnight and 6 a.m. unless with a parent or guardian, or with a licensee 21 or older with parental consent, or going to or from work, a school-sponsored event or a religious event, or in a medical, fire or law-enforcement emergency; and may not drive while using any handheld communication device. Violating a restriction is a traffic violation without criminal penalty, court costs or points, cited only when the driver is stopped for a separate violation, but any violation extends the restricted period by six months or until age 18. A second moving violation, or a conviction for failing to give information or render aid, racing, fleeing or eluding an officer, reckless driving, illegal passing, driving on the wrong side or any offense carrying four or more points, brings an automatic 60-day suspension.

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