If you reach an intersection where you wish to turn but you are not in the proper lane, you should:
- Quickly cut across traffic to make your turn.
- Turn on your blinker and make the turn from your current lane.
- Drive to the next intersection and make your turn then. ✓
- Safely change lanes then put your vehicle in reverse to go back to the intersection.
Answer: C. Drive to the next intersection and make your turn then.
If you are not in the correct lane to turn, keep going and make your turn at the next intersection.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's turn steps say to stay in the proper turn lane at all times and to begin the turn only from that lane. If you are already past the point where you could get into the right lane, the safe and legal move is to continue driving and turn at the next intersection instead. Cutting across lanes or turning from the wrong lane means you are not set up correctly before the turn, which is exactly what those steps warn against.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Quickly cut across traffic to make your turn. — Swinging quickly across traffic skips the handbook's requirement to be in the proper turn lane before you turn, and it puts you in the path of other vehicles.
- B. Turn on your blinker and make the turn from your current lane. — A signal only announces what you plan to do; it does not make a turn legal from a lane that is not the proper turn lane.
- D. Safely change lanes then put your vehicle in reverse to go back to the intersection. — Backing up in or near an intersection after a lane change is not part of the turn procedure the handbook describes and is not a safe way to correct a missed turn.
Remember it
Missed your lane? Miss the turn too, and take the next one.