It’s time to take the Colorado Drive Test! No matter how old you are or how long you’ve been driving, everyone is understandably nervous on test day. Here are ten tips to help make test day stress free.
- STOP
Come to a complete stop at both stop signs and right turns on a red light. Rolling or incomplete stops are a traffic violation. You’ll know you’ve fully stopped when your wheels stop moving. It’s amazing how slow you can go and NOT stop. If you have a tendency to roll through stop signs, then count to three after you think you’ve stopped.
- DON’T SPEED.
Don’t go above the posted speed limit. Be especially careful in construction and school zones. In an active school zone, one to two m.p.h. above the speed limit in an active school zone is a traffic violation. Three m.p.h. above is an automatic fail!
3. SEARCH
Look BOTH left and right when approaching intersections. Check your rear view or side view mirrors for traffic behind you after you’ve turned or changed lanes. A good habit is to check one of your rear view mirrors every five to eight seconds.
4. — USE CORRECT STEERING TECHNIQUE
In Colorado, there are three accepted hand positions on your steering wheel. Thinking of your steering wheel as a clock fac, the three accepted positions are 10 and 2 and 9 and 3 (required if you have air bags) and 8 and 4. Don’t steer with one hand. Use hand-over-hand or push-pull sterring through turns. If you use hand-over-hand, don’t keep your forearm in front of the airbag during a turn. You want to leave that area as clear as possible.
5. — USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL
Turn on your turn signal at least 3 seconds before turns, lane changes and merging. After the turn, don’t forget to turn it off manually if it hasn’t done so automatically.
6. WATCH THE GAP
Maintain a good gap between your car and the car in front of you. (Maintain at least a 3-second following distance.) At stop signs and stop lights, you should be able to see the rear wheels of the car in front of you touching the ground.
7. STAY IN YOUR LANE
Keep in your lane during turns; turn into the same lane from which you started. Don’t cross over double yellow lines (unless you’re turning into an alley, private driveway or parking lot) and stay in the center of your lane.
8. YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY BEFORE TURNING.
Make sure to yield to oncoming traffic before turning!
9. YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY FAIL THE TEST IF YOU…
Have an accident, endanger another person or vehicle, engage in reckless driving or excessive speeding, follow another car too closely, turn the wrong way onto a one way street, lose control of your car, run a red light or stop sign, and fail to stop for a school bus.
10. REMEMBER TO BREATHE!
Take your time. Slow down. The test is not a race. Remembering to breathe deeply will help you relax which will give you better test results. If you fail, it’s not the end of the world! You can test again. If this happens, as hard as it may be and as upset as you may feel, listen to the examiner as they will review the test with you and give you powerful tips to help you next time.
Good luck and see you on the road!