Defensive driving is:
- Driving aggressively.
- Using safe driving strategies to prevent crashes. ✓
- Driving against the traffic.
- More dangerous than not driving defensively.
Answer: B. Using safe driving strategies to prevent crashes.
Defensive driving is using safe driving strategies to prevent crashes.
Why this is the answer
The handbook defines defensive driving exactly that way and explains that it means adjusting your driving to the weather, how you feel, and what other road users do. It then lists a key habit: watching for possible danger, such as planning ahead at school zones, expecting an aggressive lane-changer to cut you off, and slowing down or being ready to brake. Extra care at intersections matters too, since the handbook says crashes happen there more than anywhere else. So the answer is the one about safe strategies aimed at avoiding crashes.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Driving aggressively. — Aggressive driving is the opposite of the handbook's picture: it describes an aggressive lane-changer as a hazard you must anticipate and adjust for.
- C. Driving against the traffic. — Nothing in the handbook describes defensive driving as driving against traffic; it is about adjusting your own driving to conditions and other road users.
- D. More dangerous than not driving defensively. — The handbook presents defensive driving as a way to avoid crashes, so it is not described as more dangerous than anything.
Remember it
Think of it as a plan, not a fight: watch for danger, expect mistakes from others, and be ready to slow down or brake.