Vermont · Handbook chapter 7 · 4 min read

Vermont rules for floods, storms and winter driving, skids and anti-lock brakes, headlights and night driving, entering and leaving the Interstate, and passing.

Why this chapter matters

Vermont winters, floods and dark rural roads test every driver. This chapter covers what to do when conditions turn bad and how to drive and pass safely at highway speeds.

Floods and storms

• Slow down, do not use cruise control and keep more than four seconds of space.
• Never drive where water covers the road. As little as 4 inches of water can make walking hard and hide hazards. If you stall in a flood, leave the vehicle as soon as possible.
• Do not drive around barricades or past "road closed" signs. Never go near downed wires.
• Use low beams in fog, heavy rain or snow. The law requires headlights when you cannot clearly see people or vehicles 500 feet ahead.

Winter driving

• Use good snow tires on all four wheels, and never mix tire types.
• Clear all snow and ice from the vehicle before driving. Black ice forms first on bridges, ramps and overpasses.
• Four-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles still have poor traction on ice.
• Carry a scraper, shovel, sand or kitty litter, warm clothes, food and water, first aid kit, flashlight, and keep at least half a tank of gas.

Stranded in a blizzard

Stay in your vehicle, hang a distress flag, and run the engine and heater about 10 minutes each hour with a downwind window open slightly and the exhaust pipe clear of snow. Turn on the inside light at night, and keep one person awake.

Skids and brakes

• Most skids come from not adjusting speed to conditions. On slippery roads, ease off the gas and squeeze the brakes gently.
• In a skid, do not hit the brakes. Steer in the direction you want to go, correcting left and right as needed.
• With anti-lock brakes, keep steady pressure and do not pump. Expect noise and vibration. If the ABS light stays on, ABS is not working, but you still have brakes.

Visibility and night driving

• Low beams in the daytime cut the risk of head-on collisions by more than 20 percent. Daytime running lights are not headlights, and parking lights are only for parked vehicles.
• Headlights are required from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.
• At 40 mph on low beams you are "overdriving" your headlights, seeing less than you need to stop.
• Use high beams in open country with few vehicles. Switch to low beams when meeting or following vehicles, near pedestrians, under streetlights and in fog.
• If oncoming lights dazzle you, look toward the right edge of the road.

Interstate driving

• On the entrance ramp, stay right, signal left, speed up, check your left blind spot and merge when safe. Entering traffic yields to traffic already on the Interstate.
• To exit, signal, move into the deceleration lane and slow to the posted exit speed.
• Drive in the right lane except to pass. Never stop in a traffic lane; in an emergency use the breakdown lane, raise the hood, tie on a white cloth and stay inside.
• If you miss your exit, go on to the next one. Never back up or use the emergency crossovers.

Passing

• Signal left, check mirrors and your blind spot, and pass on the left. At night you may flick your lights low-high-low to warn the driver ahead.
• Leave at least four feet of clearance. Return when you can see the entire front of the vehicle in your inside mirror.
• When being passed, slow a little and keep right.
• You may pass on the right on a multilane road, or on other roads when the vehicle ahead is turning left and there is room. Never leave the pavement to pass.
• Do not pass on hills, curves, railroad crossings or intersections.