In July 2025, I had the privilege of speaking to the Police Academy in Plattsburgh, where new police officers receive a 6-month training course before they return to their agency and begin their career of enforcement. At the end of my presentation, I gave the students a number of questions on vehicle and traffic law and traffic safety. The questions on this year’s “Safety on the Roads” column to test your knowledge of traffic law and traffic safety were all asked of the students in the academy and have all previously been part of the annual 20-question test, so there should be no excuse for not knowing the answers. The answers will be presented in next week’s column.

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True or false

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1. If your vehicle has daytime running lights, you are not required to turn on your headlights when your wipers are on.

2. When approaching a STOP sign at an intersection, you must stop AT THE STOP SIGN.

3. You pull over to the shoulder of the road to make a phone call. While stopped on the shoulder, it is illegal to keep your right turn signal on.

4. Under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, if you are caught speeding more than 50 km/h (31 mph) above the posted speed limit, police can impound your vehicle and license on the spot.

5. Rear seat passengers 16 years old and older are not required to wear seatbelts.

6. It is illegal for pedestrians to cross a roadway other than at an intersection.

7. A driver facing a steady red turn arrow may proceed with the turn after having first stopped and determined it is safe to complete the turn.

8. A battery-powered wheelchair used by a person with a disability is considered an assist to pedestrians and therefore, if there are no sidewalks available, wheelchairs must be ridden against traffic.

9. As long as you are licensed to drive the vehicle, you may legally park in front of a fire hydrant, provided you remain seated in the front seat and can immediately move such vehicle in case of emergency.

10. You approach an intersection controlled by a non-working traffic light (i.e, a power outage). All drivers must treat the intersection as an “ALL-WAY” STOP.

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Multiple choice questions

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11. At a signalized intersection, you are facing a green light and want to turn left, but there is a string of oncoming traffic. You should:

a) stop at the stop bar and wait,

b) go straight so as not to hold up traffic behind you,

c) turn right and then make a U-turn,

d) proceed into the intersection and wait for a break in oncoming traffic or the light to change, then complete your left turn

12. Parking is prohibited:

a) within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection,

b) within 15 feet of a fire hydrant,

c) on a crosswalk,

d) on a sidewalk,

e) where prohibited by an official sign,

f) all of these

13. Under which three of the following five conditions are U-turns prohibited:

a) upon any curve or upon the approach to, or near the crest of a grade where motor vehicles cannot be seen by another driver within 500 feet,

b) within a school zone,

c) on any roadway with a speed limit over 40 mph,

d) where official signs prohibit U-turns,

e) on a highway with 4 or more lanes

14. If facing a blinking yellow left turn arrow, it means

a) don’t turn — the yellow arrow is about to turn red,

b) you may turn left only if it is safe to do so,

c) you must wait for a green light to make a left turn,

d) trucks only may turn left

15. All drivers must, by law, obey regulatory signs. Which of the following signs is NOT a regulatory sign: a) speed limit 30 mph, b) no parking, c) round yellow railroad crossing in advance of a RR crossing, d) the white cross-buck railroad crossing sign at the near edge of the tracks?

16. You may lose your license PERMANENTLY if convicted of DWI

a) twice,

b) three times,

c) four times,

d) five times

17. The “Slow Down — Move Over” law mandates moving over if there is room to do so when approaching a vehicle on the side of the road with

a) flashing red/white lights,

b) flashing red/blue lights,

c) flashing amber lights,

d) any vehicle on the side of a limited access road,

e) all of these

18. Fines for a speed limit violation are doubled if convicted for speeding in

a) a tunnel,

b) a work zone,

c) on a bridge,

d) in a school speed zone

19. It is a violation to drive with

a) damaged license plates,

b) peeling license plates,

c) with a clear plastic cover over your license plates,

d) all of these

20. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assesses driver error in:

a) 50%,

b) 75%,

c) 88%,

d) 94 % of all traffic crashes.

The answers will be the subject of next week’s article. All of the questions are taken from previous articles over the past six or seven years, so you should have done very well. If not, now is the time to review the NYS driver’s manual and take a “Smart Driver” course. Reading these weekly articles on VTL and traffic safety would also help. Most of us think we’re good drivers, yet we don’t know all the laws that govern how we drive. We are never too old to learn, so let’s keep learning.