Interstate Driving, Rural Roads, Animals, Slow Vehicles, Weather, Night Conditions and Trip Planning: Planning Ahead, Entering at Traffic Speed and the 70 mph Maximum, the Four-Second Merge Gap, Lane Use on Three-Lane Interstates, the Four-Second Cushion and Rear-End Crashes, Tailgaters, Speed, Position and Communication, Exiting a Mile Ahead and Never Backing Up, Gravel, Dust, Narrow Bridges, Steel Gratings, Blind Corners and Uncontrolled Intersections, 1.5 Million Deer Collisions, What to Do When an Animal Runs Out, Farm Machinery, Animal-Drawn Vehicles at 5 to 8 mph and Horses, Turnouts, Vehicle Weight Ratings, Fog, High Beams and the One-Block Dim, Open, Closed and Changing Conditions, and Planning a Trip With 100 Miles Every Two Hours

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

Source: Louisiana Class D & E Driver's Guide (OMV, R08/25 edition), Chapter 7 "Interstate Driving and Rural Roads" (pages 100–109).

Planning and entering

Interstate traffic usually moves smoothly, but crashes there are more severe. Because entrances and exits can be far apart, plan your route on a map and make sure the car is in good condition with gas, water, oil and tires checked, spare included, since remote stretches have few service stations. Expect merging vehicles at ramps and interchanges and rapid changes in traffic, watch all sides with your mirrors, keep space ahead and always leave yourself an out. Enter at or near traffic speed; the maximum is 70 mph unless posted otherwise, and you should not go below the posted minimum unless weather or road conditions require it. Begin checking traffic on the ramp, never crawl to the end and stop, signal, find a gap, match its speed and merge at the same speed as traffic; do not stop before merging unless absolutely necessary, because interstate traffic has the right-of-way and other drivers may not see you or move over. A merge needs a four-second gap so you and the car you merge in front of each keep two seconds; never squeeze into a small gap, use mirrors and signals and a quick head turn, and keep about three seconds of space ahead. Short acceleration lanes in heavy traffic force stops and fast acceleration, and entering from a full stop takes about a full block to reach interstate speed.

Lane use and space

Avoid unnecessary lane changes; stay in the right lane except to pass, exit to the left or let another vehicle enter, but on an interstate with three or more lanes each way the right lane is for entering and exiting, the middle for travel and the far left for passing. A merge sign warns you to adjust speed or move left to let others in. The right lane is also where some drivers slow suddenly or swerve for an exit at the last second, so keep at least a four-second cushion, doubled in bad weather or on slick pavement; rear-end collisions are the most frequent interstate crash. A cushion ahead, behind and beside gives room for others' mistakes; if the mirror shows a vehicle too close, you are dealing with an unsafe driver, so keep your own distance so a rear-end hit does not push you into the car ahead. If tailgated, slow down to encourage passing, and if that fails pull over, stop and let the tailgater by with your doors locked. Avoid driving beside other cars, drive in the center of your lane, and move over a lane for entering vehicles when no one is beside you. Space management rests on speed control, lane position and communication, balanced at all times, and leaving on time so you never rush.

Exiting

Know your exit in advance, watch for signs naming the exit and lane, and about a mile ahead make sure you are in the correct lane, changing one lane at a time; signal for about five seconds and leave at the right speed, neither too fast to keep control nor too slow for the flow. If you miss the exit, never stop or back up, which is illegal and among the most dangerous things you can do; take the next exit and return. Most exits have a deceleration lane; never slow on the interstate itself, wait until fully in the lane, then slow to the posted ramp speed, and expect two-way traffic after the exit.

Rural roads

Empty rural highways can be as dangerous as heavy city traffic because attention relaxes. On gravel or dirt traction drops, so slow down, lengthen following distance and expect skids and washboard ripples that upset steering; dust on dry gravel cuts vision, so use low beams to be seen, slow and add distance; narrow bridges and roads may have no shoulder, steep ditches, sharp dips and surprise turns, so watch for narrow bridge signs and be ready to stop for oncoming traffic; open gratings or steel bridges reduce braking and steering traction, so slow, grip the wheel firmly and add distance; blind corners hide behind woods and tall crops; steep hills and curves are sharper than on highways, so slow, move right and watch for oncoming vehicles before a crest or curve; many rural railroad crossings have only a warning sign and crossbuck without lights or gates, so slow, look both ways and be ready to stop; and uncontrolled intersections without stop or yield signs demand caution. Expect road users and animals from hidden junctions and driveways, people working, walking or cycling, farm machinery, slow vehicles and school buses.

Animals

About 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions a year cause more than 200 deaths and $4 billion in damage; heed deer crossing signs. Keep speed down at night, expect a second animal when you see one, know that wildlife is most active at dusk and dawn when eyes adjust worst, and scan both roadsides in wildlife areas. For a horse or cow on the road, sound the horn and brake in a controlled way without spooking it into another vehicle, stay calm and notify authorities. For wild animals on the road, slow or stop, do not honk or rev, and pass as far from them as possible. If an animal runs out, do not swerve into oncoming traffic or off the road; a big animal may tempt drastic action that causes a worse crash, so hitting it may be safest while you concentrate on control before, during and after. Reduce the odds by extra caution at dawn and dusk and from October through December, on roads with deer signs, looking far down the road and to the sides for eyeshine near woods and water, slowing near animals by the road that may bolt, and warning others with flashers or a headlight signal; with time to spare, slow, tap the brakes to warn drivers behind and sound the horn, since deer fixate on headlights and flashing them may freeze the animal; with no one close behind, brake hard without locking the wheels. Dogs chase in a straight line, so slow until the dog is near, then accelerate away. If a collision is inevitable, do not swerve, keep the car under control and on the road, steer toward where the animal came from (with a single animal, not a herd) and look there rather than at the animal, try to skim rather than hit squarely, brake firmly, angle the car and release the brake at impact so the front lifts slightly and the animal is less likely to rise into the windshield, and report a crash with a large or farm animal to police, notifying the owner of a pet if homes are near without entering a home.

Slow-moving vehicles

A fluorescent or reflective orange and red triangle on animal-drawn, farm or construction equipment means it travels under 25 mph; approach with caution and pass only when safe. Farm machinery can fill more than one lane, usually lacks turn signals, may swing wide left before turning right, usually travels under 25 mph, and its operator cannot hear you. Animal-drawn vehicles have the same rights and rules, are badly damaged when hit, normally move at 5 to 8 mph or slower with big loads, and their drivers may not see behind large loads; pass with caution, never honk or rev, expect left turns into fields and driveways, and watch for warning signs. Horseback riders are protected by the rules of the road and must ride single file near the right edge or on a usable right shoulder, lane or path; drive at a reasonable speed and distance and never honk or rev. If you drive a slow vehicle and force others to slow, pull over when safe; many two-way single-lane roads have turnouts you must use when you significantly slow those behind, and others have passing lanes. Know your vehicle's weight when hauling or towing; overloading strains brakes and suspension, and the gross vehicle weight and rating are in the owner's manual and on the title and registration; when renting a trailer, ask its empty weight and capacity.

Weather, night and conditions

A sudden weather change calls for a driving change: in a downpour or fog slow down and turn on low beams, and if fog impairs your vision do not drive at all or drive slowly to the nearest place to get off and stop, because creeping along at 10 to 20 mph on the highway risks your life. Be ready for emergency stops, since red taillights may be a stopped or barely moving vehicle, and tap the brakes to warn fast drivers behind. At night use high beams whenever no vehicle is coming, since they show twice as far; dim within about one block of an oncoming vehicle, look toward the right edge if the other driver does not dim, and never retaliate with your brights; use low beams when following, in heavy traffic, in fog and in heavy snow or rain, since high beams reflect back as glare, and fog lights if you have them; never look into oncoming lights; glance beyond your beams for dark shapes; glance right and left for the pavement edge and side hazards; never wear sunglasses or colored lenses at night or on dark days; and in the country, where it is easy to outdrive your headlights, keep a following distance of at least four seconds and a clean windshield. Every road presents open conditions (unrestricted space), closed conditions (a zone unavailable or a blocked view, as in moderate to heavy traffic) and changing conditions (limits, road, weather, lane width, visibility, flow, time of day and controls), each of which should shape your speed, path and communication; urban driving challenges novices most, and slowing gives time to see, analyze, predict and react.

Trip planning

Cut driving costs by asking whether each trip is necessary, using public transportation, avoiding heavy traffic, carpooling, combining errands and calling ahead. Before a trip check windshields, windows, lights, tires, fluids, belts, hoses and brakes and sleep well. Consider the time of day, plan the route with numbers, entrances and exits, rest, fuel and food stops and construction, and carry a highlighted map. On major highways expect about 100 to 110 miles every two hours with 10- to 15-minute breaks every two to three hours and hour-long meal stops; secondary roads and mountains take longer. One driver should limit driving to six to eight hours a day; two or more sharing should not exceed 10 to 11 hours; avoid driving after dark and especially after 11 p.m. Bring spare keys, insurance information, money, the owner's manual and local maps, and check Louisiana traffic conditions at 511la.org.

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