Expressway Driving

Legacy High School

Drivers Education

• Expressway driving also called freeway driving requires special driving skills.– Access is controlled and limited.– There are no intersections.– Slow-moving vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians

are nor permitted.– Rates of speed are higher.

Interchanges

• Interchanges are used instead of intersections to allow drivers to enter, exit, or cross a freeway without interrupting the normal flow of traffic.

Cloverleaf interchange

• A cloverleaf interchange allows drivers to exit from and enter to the right lane of a freeway without stopping.

Diamond interchange

• With a diamond interchange, drivers enter and exit the freeway from the right lane, but must stop before turning left when entering the freeway and must stop when exiting the freeway.

Trumpet interchange

• A freeway and a highway for a “T”.

• Allows freeways to “end” or merge with another freeway or high speed roadway.

• Allows high speed roadways to end and merge with a freeway.

Directional interchange

• Several freeways may meet and traffic is channeled in various directions through a series of ramps and exits.

Increasing space

• Leave as large a space between you and other drivers when using a freeway, 3-4 seconds minimum.– Escape routes are

limited– Faster travel lanes.

Choosing a lane

• Choose a lane based on the volume and speed of the traffic and the exit you wish to use.– Enter and exit on the

right lane.– Use the left lane to pass

slower moving traffic.

Choosing a lane

• Use the center lane(s) for through traffic.

Entering freeways

• Entering freeways requires skill in that you must be able to safely accelerate to the freeway speed and merge with freeway traffic.

• Green directional signs indicate on ramps, providing freeway name or number and direction

On ramps

• Entrance to freeways occurs at one-way lanes called on ramps.

• On ramps may be located on either side of the surface street, depending on the interchange configuration.

• Cloverleaf• Diamond

On ramps

• Sometimes it is easy to confuse entrance ramps with exit ramps, pay careful attention to all signs.

On ramps

• Once you have entered the on-ramp, make sure you maintain a safe following distance behind the vehicle in front of you.– The driver in front of you may slow down to merge behind

freeway traffic.– Freeway traffic may be slowed, making it necessary for you

to slow down.– Multiple drivers may be entering the freeway.– Freeway entrance signals may control the number of

vehicles entering the freeway.

• Adjust your freeway entrance speed to traffic conditions.

Metered on-ramps• A ramp meter or metering

light is a device, usually a basic traffic light or a two-phase (red and green, no yellow) light, that regulates the flow of traffic entering freeways according to current traffic conditions. They are intended to reduce congestion on the freeway in two ways.

• A meter may ensure that the total flow entering the freeway does not exceed the capacity at a downstream bottleneck.

Carpool lane

• Carpool or high occupancy vehicle (HOV) are usually left lanes that allow vehicles with multiple occupants.

• Entrances and exits may be limited.

• Fees may apply.

Acceleration lanes

• A temporary lane that is an extension of the on-ramp that allows entering vehicles to match freeway speeds before merging into traffic.

Merging with freeway traffic

• On-rams and acceleration lanes may be short or sharply curved.

• Look over your shoulder and use side view and rearview mirrors to find a gap that you can safely enter.

• If safe, accelerate to freeway speed.• Activate your turn signal.• Only merge into the first lane – it may be illegal to

merge into any other lane.• Continue to monitor traffic around you, keep a safe

following distance from the vehicle in front of you.

Freeway exits

• Most freeway exits are well marked.

• Move into the exit lane at least 1 mile before the exit.

• Use signal to exit the freeway.

• Monitor vehicles merging or exiting for speed and position.

Deceleration lanes

• Deceleration lanes allow drivers to adjust to slower-speed conditions when leaving the freeway.

• Some deceleration lanes or off ramps may be short or curved and require you to reduce your speed quickly.

Weave lanes

• Weave lanes occur when vehicles are using the same lane to enter and exit the freeway.

• Extra caution must be taken when using a weave lane.