Signaling your intentions before turning, changing lanes, or driving away from a curb:
- Is necessary only if other traffic is present.
- Is a good driving habit and is required by law. ✓
- Is necessary only during the maneuver, not before.
- Is not necessary if the maneuver is done slowly.
Answer: B. Is a good driving habit and is required by law.
Signaling before turning, changing lanes, or pulling away from a curb is a good driving habit and is required by law.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook says a good driver always lets others know before turning or stopping. It lists changing lanes, making a turn, and pulling away from a curb as times to signal, and it warns that a surprise move often causes a crash. It also describes signaling as a basic skill graded on the driving exam, using turn signals as required. That makes signaling both a sound habit and something the handbook expects you to do every time, not only when traffic happens to be nearby.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Is necessary only if other traffic is present. — The handbook says to always signal for these movements; it does not make signaling depend on whether other traffic is present.
- C. Is necessary only during the maneuver, not before. — The handbook says to let others know when you are going to turn or change lanes, so the signal is given before the maneuver, not only during it.
- D. Is not necessary if the maneuver is done slowly. — The handbook lists turns, lane changes, and pulling away from a curb as times to signal, with no exception for doing the maneuver slowly.
Remember it
Think "tell before you move": signal every turn, lane change, and pull-away.
Official handbook: Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), Chapter 5: Signals, Signs, and Markers , p. 38