Hazards: Fatal Crash Factors, Risk Awareness and Hazard Management, Speed and Its Effects, Space and Merging, Zipper Merging, Eye-Lead Time and Counting Seconds, Focus and Field of Vision, Night Driving, Curves and the Laws of Motion, Slippery Roads, Skids and Hydroplaning, Vehicle Failures, Collisions, Reporting and Injuries, Power Lines, the Emergency Kit, Police Stops and Tickets
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Washington Driving Knowledge Exam. The facts follow the official guide; the wording is ours.
Source: Washington State Driver Guide (text-only edition, 2025), Washington State Department of Licensing, chapter 5 "Hazards" (sections 5.0–5.10).
Risk
The common factors in fatal crashes are speed, impairment, distraction, unrestrained occupants and inexperience; in Washington, vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for people 16 to 25. Risk awareness is spotting present and potential hazards; hazard perception is identifying them before they become a problem, which takes attentiveness, quick decisions and appropriate reactions. A hazard is anything that requires a change in speed or direction, from a child running out to a trash can or your own driveway, stationary or moving, and you decide which of several needs the most urgent response. Situational awareness means observing all around you and predicting what comes next; the drivers behind you may be most affected by your decisions. The hazard management routine is Plan (scan, including the mirror, and decide whether the change is safe), Communicate (signal), Check (set position and speed so no more than medium braking is needed, recheck mirrors and shoulder), Execute (smoothly), and Evaluate.
Speed and space
Speed limits are maximums for ideal conditions, and the law also requires a speed safe for current conditions; driving under the limit is allowed, exceeding it is illegal, and you are always responsible for a safe speed. Excessive speed reduces seat-belt effectiveness, cuts scanning time, reduces vehicle and traction control, lengthens stopping distances, leaves less time to adjust your path, and raises injury severity. Slow down for sharp curves and hills, slippery roads, pedestrians, children, cyclists and animals, shopping centers and parking lots, congestion, narrow bridges and tunnels, and residential areas. Keep space all around you: near other vehicles leave at least twice the length of your vehicle ahead. When merging, drivers already on the interstate have the right-of-way; use the whole on-ramp, your signal and mirrors, and adjust speed to find a gap that makes nobody swerve, slow or stop. In slow or stopped traffic at a lane closure, zipper merge: stay in your lane to the merge point, take turns, let one vehicle from the ending lane in ahead of you, and keep a steady pace; it improves flow by about 60 percent.
Time and focus
Eye-lead time means scanning as far ahead and to the sides as you can and using mirrors behind, so hazards are seen early. Practice by picking a marker you think is 15 seconds ahead and counting to it. Judge a left turn across oncoming traffic by timing how long vehicles take from a roadside marker to the road you want, remembering that approaching traffic has the right-of-way, and allow time to reach traffic speed when turning into a flow. Be mentally present, prepared and proactive; the brain focuses on one thing at a time. Three kinds of vision serve you, all degraded by speed: central vision for detail straight ahead, fringe vision at the edges, and peripheral vision to the sides. Your path of travel is the route you drive and your line of sight is what lies between you and your target; you shift attention constantly between them, hazards, the vehicle, other road users and yourself.
Night, curves and slippery roads
At night drive at a speed that lets you stop within the glow of your headlights, usually 400 feet; use high beams with no oncoming traffic and low beams when following; look beyond the beams for dark shapes; never wear sunglasses or colored lenses at night or on overcast days; increase following distance; and look toward the right edge of the road when a vehicle approaches with high beams on. For a curve, slow before entering (uphill curves may need more throttle, downhill more braking), look through it, position slightly to the outside of the lane, hold a steady speed and steer gently inside it, then accelerate gradually on exit and check mirrors. Roll is the tilt in a turn and yaw the side-to-side movement; momentum and inertia try to keep the car going straight, higher speed means more kinetic energy and more room to stop, and friction between tire and road is what lets you grip, slow and turn, so slippery curves need even lower speed and no sudden moves. Rain on a hot day makes the pavement very slippery for the first few minutes as oil surfaces. Snow needs a larger following distance and much lower speed, with snow tires or chains where required; studded tires or chains improve winter traction. Shady spots on cold wet days, overpasses and bridges ice first, near-freezing thaws are slipperier than hard freezes, and black ice is a thin coating you cannot see.
Skidding means the tires no longer grip. Take your foot off the accelerator; press or pump the brakes (ABS lets you keep steering, while stamping without ABS can worsen the skid); steer in the direction the vehicle is moving; keep correcting until traction returns; then reassess. Hydroplaning is tires riding on water; the cure is slowing on wet roads. If it happens, ease off the accelerator, brake gently (ABS helps regain contact; forceful braking without it makes it worse), keep the wheel steady without jerking, and look where you want to go.
Vehicle failures
Get off the road if you can, stop where others have a clear view (not just over a hill or around a curve), turn on flashers and headlights, place flares 200 to 300 feet behind, wave traffic around if you have no warning device, and raise the hood or tie a white cloth to the antenna, mirror or door handle. Blowout: grip the wheel, keep straight, ease off the gas, do not brake (or brake gently if you must), pull off and use the flashers, staying in the vehicle and calling for help if you cannot reach a safe spot. Engine dies: hold the wheel firmly (it turns, but harder), find an escape path, brake with steady pressure, pull off, try to restart, then raise the hood and call. Headlights fail: use hazards, turn signals or fog lights and pull off at once. Stuck accelerator: eyes on the road, shift quickly to neutral, pull off when safe, and turn off the engine.
Collisions
Collisions usually come from too much speed, too little space and too little situational awareness. Never drive away. If anyone is hurt or killed, call 911; law enforcement must be notified. Move the vehicle to the side near the scene, stay out of traffic lanes, set out flares or warning devices, turn off wrecked vehicles, and do not smoke because fuel may have spilled. If you hit a parked vehicle, try to find the owner; otherwise leave a note with the date, time and your contact information. Exchange name, contact information, driver license number and insurance company and policy number, photograph the damage, and file a collision report form within 4 days if an officer does not file one; the form is required by state law. For injuries: call 911, do not move the injured unless they are in a burning vehicle or immediate danger, check breathing then bleeding (pressure, then bandage, then tourniquet), give nothing to drink, and cover them against shock. Tell the dispatcher your location with landmarks or mile markers, describe vehicles, damage and injuries, follow instructions and stay on the line.
Power lines: if a line touches your vehicle, stay inside, turn off the engine and call 911; assume every line is energized. If you drive over one, stop immediately, because moving risks electrocution. Keep others at least 35 feet away. Only if fire forces you out, open the door, perch on the sill, jump clear with arms at your sides and both feet landing together without touching the vehicle, then shuffle 35 feet to safety. When you witness a crash, do not block responders, follow directions, and keep your eyes on your driving rather than the scene. Carry an emergency kit: first aid, flashlight, blanket, water, jumper cables, tools, a backup phone charger, spare tire with wrench and jack, reflective triangles or flares, and a paper list of important numbers.
Police stops and tickets
When flashing lights or a siren signal you, signal and pull to the right as soon as safe, turn off the engine and audio, stay inside unless told otherwise, turn on the interior light at night, keep your hands on the wheel, and follow instructions. The officer may approach either side: lower that window, say immediately if there is a weapon in the vehicle, and wait for instructions before reaching for your license, proof of insurance and registration, telling the officer where they are first. The officer should explain the stop and the action taken, and you may ask; do not argue, but contest the decision in court or ask the agency for a supervisor. You must sign a ticket; signing is not an admission of guilt, but refusing can lead to arrest. Follow the instructions on the back within 15 days or your driving privileges can be suspended, and driving suspended can cost you the vehicle or an arrest.
Practise this with Washington Driver License questions
More of this guide
Your WDL number and License Express, the 30-day rule for new residents, standard versus enhanced cards and REAL ID, the instruction permit at 15 or 15½, the 6-month, 50-hour and 6-clean-month rules at 16 and 17, the intermediate license passenger and 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. limits, agricultural permits, the two exams and their 2-year validity, renewals and the 8-year rule, offenses that cost the license, implied consent, the .08 and .02 BAC and 5 ng THC limits, test refusal, the open container law and the 10-day address rule.
Title and registration, the 5-day report of sale and 15-day title transfer, plates front and rear, the $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 insurance minimums, driver assistance systems and their limits, 2/32-inch tread, the half-hour headlight rule, high beams at 500 and 300 feet, brake lights at 100 feet, hand signals, the 10-inch air-bag distance, belt fit, rear-facing to 2, harness to 4, boosters to 4 feet 9 inches and no front seat under 13, hand-to-hand and hand-over-hand steering, braking levels, ABS, pitch, roll and yaw, reference points and blind zones.
Vision and hearing rules, the earbud ban and one-ear hands-free exception, the no-phone rule for permit and intermediate drivers, alcohol, cannabis, medication and polydrug impairment, fatigue and the 20-minute nap, aggressive driving as a traffic offense, racing, road rage as a crime and how to report it, informed decisions and the OODA loop, the hand-held device ban and doubled fines, attention and scanning, litter fines, idling and the Clean Car Law, and self-evaluation.
Yielding to pedestrians until they clear your lane and one more, service animals, school buses on two-lane and multilane roads and doubled fines, transit buses pulling out, large vehicles and the 450-foot stop, seeing both headlights before merging, snowplows, motorcycles and the full lane, bicyclists and the 3-foot rule, bike lanes, trains and the 15 to 50-foot stop, the Emergency Notification System sign, light rail, agricultural vehicles and emergency vehicles.
Keep right except to pass, no backing on a freeway, treating a dead signal as a four-way stop, every light color and arrow including right and left turns on red, ramp meters, sign colors, stop, yield, speed limit, keep right, safety cameras, variable speed signs, one way, do not enter, wrong way, no passing, center turn lane and work zone signs with doubled fines, white and yellow lines, medians, the 300-foot center-lane limit, HOV, reversible, reserved and toll lanes, crosswalks, bike lanes and buffers, stop lines, fire lanes, sharrows and bicycle boxes, with pictures of the signs.
Every intersection is a crosswalk, four-way and two-way stops, uncontrolled intersections, turning into the closest lane and signaling 100 feet ahead, U-turns, T and Y intersections, mid-block crossings, calming circles, roundabouts at 15 to 25 mph, diverging diamonds, the 20 mph school zone, work zones, the emergency zone move-over or 10-under rule and 50 mph cap, the full no-parking list with its 30, 5, 75, 20, 50, 12 and 15-foot distances, curb colors, the Dutch Reach, children and animals left in cars, parallel and hill parking, disabled and EV spaces, towing, loads, animals, ferries and beach driving.