When you are driving on the freeway and see that a vehicle will be entering your lane from an entrance ramp, you should:
- Maintain your speed and position.
- Honk your horn so they know you are there.
- Ignore them because you have the right-of-way.
- Change lanes or slow down to allow them room. ✓
Answer: D. Change lanes or slow down to allow them room.
When a vehicle is coming down an entrance ramp, change lanes or ease off the gas so the driver has room to merge.
Why this is the answer
The handbook tells drivers not to speed up or otherwise block someone who is trying to enter their lane of travel, and it asks drivers to be friendly and patient rather than confrontational. At the same time, a driver entering the freeway must yield to traffic already on the highway. Putting those two ideas together, the safe and courteous response is to give the merging driver space by moving over when a lane is open or by slowing slightly, instead of crowding them out.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Maintain your speed and position. — Holding your speed and position leaves the merging driver no help at all, and the handbook's friendly-driving guidance points you toward making room rather than just carrying on.
- B. Honk your horn so they know you are there. — The horn is for a short tap when it is needed, not a way to announce your presence to someone merging, and honking does nothing to create space.
- C. Ignore them because you have the right-of-way. — Even though entering traffic must yield to vehicles already on the highway, the handbook still says not to block someone from entering your lane, so ignoring them is the wrong attitude.
Remember it
Think of the ramp as a handshake: if you can open a gap by drifting over or lifting off the gas, do it, and let the merging driver settle in.