Arkansas · Handbook chapter 6 · 4 min read

Chapter 6: Safe driving, distractions and staying alert

Wearing a seat belt properly, smooth acceleration, steering and stopping, Arkansas cell phone and texting laws, looking ahead 15 seconds, checking mirrors and blind spots, changing lanes and backing.

Why this chapter matters

The study guide marks its distracted driving section as required reading, and the leading cause of crashes, it says, is inattention. This chapter covers the habits that keep your eyes, hands and mind on the road.

Before you move

• Buckle up before you start up. The shoulder belt goes across your upper chest, never behind your back, and the lap belt across your upper thighs, not your stomach.
• Sit up straight and all the way back, keep the belts flat, not twisted, and tug the belt to be sure it is latched.
• Sit at a comfortable distance from the wheel. For airbag safety, the guide suggests about 10 inches from the center of the steering wheel to your breastbone.

Controlling the car

• Accelerate slowly and smoothly; stamping on the gas can spin the wheels, especially on wet pavement.
• Keep your hands on opposite sides of the wheel, and use hand-over-hand steering for sharp turns. Do not let the wheel spin through your palm.
• Watch your speedometer and obey speed limits.
• Avoid sudden stops by scanning ahead. Hard braking can cause a skid and leaves the drivers behind you little time.

Distracted driving

• A distraction is anything that takes your attention from driving: phones, eating and drinking, passengers, the radio or navigation system.
• Texting is the most alarming. Reading or sending a text takes your eyes off the road for about 4.6 seconds, which at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field blind.
• A hand-held phone combines all three kinds of distraction: visual (eyes off the road), manual (hands off the wheel) and cognitive (mind off driving).

Arkansas phone laws

Stay alert

• Look ahead at least one city block in town and about a quarter mile on highways: at least 15 seconds ahead. To check, pick a fixed object as far ahead as you are looking and count the seconds until you reach it.
• At intersections, look left and right, then look again toward oncoming traffic before you cross. Before a right turn, check for traffic from the left, oncoming cars turning left and pedestrians.
• When something blocks your view of the cross street, creep forward slowly until the view is clear.
• Check your mirrors often so you notice cars coming too fast or following too closely.

Changing lanes

• Signal at least 100 feet before you change lanes.
• Check your rearview and side mirrors, then glance over your shoulder: mirrors do not show your blind spots, the areas at the rear corners of the car.
• Keep the glance quick; traffic ahead may stop while you look away.
• Watch especially for motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians.
• Do not linger beside or slightly behind other vehicles, and never ride alongside a truck or bus. Speed up or drop back to leave another driver's blind spot.

Slowing and backing

• Check behind you before slowing, and slow gradually so you do not surprise the driver behind, especially near driveways and parking lots.
• Before backing, check behind the car before you get in; small children cannot be seen from the seat.
• Put your right arm over the seat and turn to look through the rear window. Do not rely on mirrors alone, and back slowly: the car is harder to steer in reverse. Use a helper outside when you can.