Everyday across Texas, from Brownsville to San Antonio, Houston to Sealy, Laredo to El Paso, Lubbock to Amarillo, Waco to Dallas, and everywhere in between…

Texas teens are working towards obtaining a license to drive and eventually taking to the road.

With their first true taste of freedom, novice drivers must learn the importance and obligation they will have to themselves and others, once behind the wheel of a car.

Module 1: Lesson 1.1: Traffic Laws

Objectives include:

• Reduced Risk Driving Practices
• Novice vs Experienced Drivers
• Highway Transportation System (HTS)
• Understanding Traffic Laws

Drivers should minimize risk and avoid unnecessary distractions such as pets & cell phones, and should apply reduced-risk driving practices by obeying speed limits and always wearing seat-belts.

To minimize risk, novice drivers must apply reduced-risk driving practices such as focusing on the driving task, maintaining a safe following distance and avoid dangerous distractions such as texting and driving.

It is important for novice drivers to have a clear understanding of basic motor vehicle traffic laws and traffic signs.

Drivers must also be able to correctly identify Roadway Markings and understand how they dictate traffic direction, turn lanes, merging traffic, legal passing zones & lane change zones.

A white line separates lanes of traffic travelling in the same direction.

While a yellow line separates lanes of traffic traveling in opposite direction.

Regardless of color, a solid line indicates no passing or lane change allowed.

While a dotted or broken line indicates that passing and lane changes are allowed, when safe.

A dotted or broken line indicates that passing is allowed, when safe.

Risk reduction practices also include understanding Right-of-Way rules and how to properly and safely merge into traffic.

To minimize risk, drivers must recognize all Traffic Control Devices.

For example, this sign means, come to a complete Stop and only proceed when it is your turn and when it is clear.

A flashing yellow light means to proceed with caution.

Reduced-Risk Driving Practices

• Understanding Pre-Drive tasks
• Understanding Right-of-Way Laws
• Understanding Traffic Control Devices

Reduced-Risk Driving Practices require that drivers be able to identify and understand the meaning of vehicle symbols and devices.

Drivers must also demonstrate the ability to perform starting tasks, vehicle operation and control tasks, and post-drive tasks.

Reduced-Risk Driving Practices also include knowledge of alcohol and drug laws to minimize risk and prevent licensing, driving or possibly fatal consequences.

This course is designed to educate the novice driver about the importance of the life-long, legal and responsible reduced-risk driving practices within the Highway Transportation System (HTS).

The Highway Transportation System (HTS) consists of 3 core components:

• Roadway Users (people)
• Vehicles
• Roadway Infrastructure

The HTS is complex and includes federal, state, local and individual systems functioning together to provide a reduced-risk and a lawful driving environment.

There are four main types of driving environments in the Highway Transportation System (HTS).

Each driving environment will vary in size and complexity.

The 4 main types of driving environments:

The Highway Driving Environment, includes interstates, freeways and highways used to travel intrastate or inter-state at high speeds.

Highways encompass high speed, limited-access roads, with wide shoulder areas, focusing on smooth flow and lane changes rather than complex urban navigation.

Highway speeds vary and can increase rapidly.

It is important to constantly monitor your vehicle speed, as speed limits can get up to 85 miles per hour.

Drivers should always be aware of the space around their vehicle, especially when changing lanes.

Rural Driving Environments typically have low traffic, and narrow farm and country roads with no improved shoulder area.

Rural Driving Environments have narrow lanes, no center line or improved shoulder area, poor road surface conditions and wildlife, such as deer, wild bore, lose cattle or horses, etc...

Rural Driving Environments also encompass narrow, winding roads, blind-curves, blind-hills, low water crossings, varying speeds, no shoulder, limited passing zones and winding roads.

A Suburban Driving Environment is a mix of residential, neighborhood and commercial areas with varying traffic congestion and speeds, especially during morning and evening rush hour traffic.

Suburban Driving Environments have lower density than cities, and include schools, parks, bicyclists, shopping areas, and varied speed limits; which requires drivers to be on the look-out for children, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Urban Driving Environments encompass city, downtown and highway driving with heavy pockets of traffic and fluctuating speeds.

Urban Driving Environment, encompasses city and downtown streets with pedestrians, buildings, restaurants and retail, construction zones and frequent parking needs.

Adverse and Inclement Weather, conditions such as rain, sleet, fog or snow, usually result in reduced visibility and loss of traction.

When driving in inclement weather, monitor your speed, slow down and if the conditions become difficult to manage, move off the roadway to a safe area and wait for weather to clear.

Reduced-Risk Driving Practices requires an understanding proper spatial awareness and management, to help minimize risk.

Reduced-Risk Driving Practices include preventative and scheduled vehicle maintenance services to help minimize risk and vehicle malfunctions.

A Novice Driver is has little or no experience, usually less than one year operating a motor vehicle.

A Novice Driver is slow to recognizes potential hazards slowly and often fails to scan the roadway for information that can help reduce risks

An Experienced Driver has more than one year of driving experience and is able to anticipate potential hazards well in advance, and manage high-risk driving environments safely and efficiently.

An Experienced Driver understands how to minimize risk by applying reduced-risk driving practices and obeying all motor vehicle traffic laws, signs, and markings.

An Experienced Driver constantly monitors the space around their vehicle, by scanning the road ahead, to the sides and behind, for unsafe roadway conditions or hazards.

It is important for novice drivers to be proactive by staying alert, focusing on the driving task and anticipating potential hazards.

Tens-of-thousands of people are injured and killed in traffic crashes every year, due to inexperience, immaturity, negligence and poor judgment.

Using reduced-risk driving practices helps promote responsible, defensive and legal driving among all drivers and users in the HTS.

Novice drivers must acknowledge that driving is a privilege that offers a ton of freedom and mobility, but also comes with consequences and obligations to all users in the HTS.

Your responsibilities and obligations while behind-the-wheel require that you always be Emotionally, Mentally and Physically, ready to drive.

And never drive upset or allow the actions of others to affect your driving decisions.

Potential Consequences of IGNORING driver's responsibilities may include:

• Suspension or Loss of Driving Privileges
• Penalties, Fines and Legal Fees
• Injury to yourself or others
• Job and Income Loss
• DEATH!

To help reduce risk, novice drivers must have a clear understanding of all motor vehicle Traffic Laws.

Knowing how, when and why Motor-Vehicle and Traffic Laws apply, will help a novice driver make informed, responsible, safe and legal driving decisions.

There are many variables that affect our decision- making process while behind the wheel of a car.

Young drivers must also account for their lack of experience, their emotions, reckless driving, other roadway users and distractions

A novice driver must understand that a person’s attitude can have both a negative or positive impact on their ability to successfully and responsibly navigate the Highway Transportation System (HTS).

A driver can decrease the odds of a serious and fatal error, by making driving their priority and focusing on the task at hand.

Motor vehicle crashes are a serious problem for everyone, but especially for teenagers, who are statistically 2- 3 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than older and more experienced drivers.

Drivers should never become complacent or overconfident in their ability to operate a motor vehicle safely…and should never, ever text and drive!

Drivers should minimize distractions, focus on the task-at-hand and be aware of their surroundings.

By focusing on the driving task, and staying attentive, drivers minimize exposure, risk, and the odds of being in a collision or receiving traffic citations.

The knowledge and skills necessary for safe and defensive driving will take time to develop. So, be patient…

Physical skills such as basic vehicle operation (steering, braking, accelerating and parking) may develop sooner than analysis skills like perception, acuteness, and awareness.

It is important that both the student and the instructor be patient and mindful that some skills and techniques may take longer to develop than others.

Your parent-instructor’s experience and knowledge about driving is an invaluable resource that is at your disposal, and one that will greatly benefit your growth as a driver.

There will be situations that your parent-instructor will have faced many times, so we encourage students to ask a great deal of questions during the instruction process.

Exiting a Parking Lot

When faced with adversity, drivers must make decisions in a matter of seconds.

A driver’s ability to think fast, and make the right decision quickly, will be based on knowledge and past-experience.

It is difficult to predict and discuss every driving scenario you will face in your lifetime, but the better versed you are, the better fit you will be to process information quickly and react accordingly.

As the basic physical and organizational structure of our highway transportation system changes, so do the number of roadway users and distractions.

Advances in technology and easier access to mobile-phones, personal video game components and social media apps have added to the distractions faced by all roadway users.

As young drivers develop patience, experience and maturity, they will have a better understanding of how to safely navigate the Highway Transportation System (HTS).

The following data has been gathered from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Center For Disease Control and Prevention.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens.

Six teens ages 16-19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries.

Immaturity, complacency & inattention can result in recklessness, speeding and other risky habits.

Inexperience inhibits a teen driver’s ability to recognize and respond to road hazards in a safe and swift manner.

Per mile driven, teens ages 16-19 are nearly three (3) times more likely to die in crashes than drivers 20 years of age and older.

Excessive speed is a factor in about one-third (1/3) of teen fatal crashes.

The fatal crash rate for teens ages 16-19 is about four (4) times as high at night as it is during the day.

Driver Error, inattention and speed are leading causes of teen motor vehicle fatalities.

Teens who text while driving, spend approximately 10% of their driving time outside of their lane.

Fatal crashes for teens are more likely to occur when other young passengers are riding with them. This risk increases with the addition of every passenger.

Approximately 3 of 5 teen-passenger deaths occur in crashes with another teen behind-the-wheel.

Night-time driving is a high-risk activity for novice drivers.

Per mile driven, the fatal crash rate for 16-year-olds is about twice (2x) as high at night-time than during the daytime.

Teens are less likely than adults to drive after drinking alcohol, but their crash risk is substantially higher when they do.

About 1 in 5 fatally injured 16-year-old drivers have blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% percent or higher.

Studies show that young males, pickup-truck drivers and passengers, and people living in rural areas are statistically less likely to “buckle up.”

Studies indicate that teen drivers and passengers are among those least likely to wear their seat belts.

Approximately 3,300 teen passengers, ages 16 to 20, are killed in motor vehicle crashes every year.

56% (1,880) were unrestrained at the time of the fatal crash.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 3,000 people are killed in distracted driving crashes every year.

Statistics indicate that the largest proportion of distracted drivers are the “under-20” age group.

16% of drivers under the age of 20, involved in fatal crashes, were reported to have been distracted while driving.

77% of young drivers are confident that they can safely text while driving.

A University of Utah study found that the reaction time of a teen driving and talking on a cell phone, is the same as that of a 70-year old driver who’s not using a phone.

Texting while driving increases the odds of a crash by 23 times, because it is the longest, eyes-off-the-road, time of all distracted driving activities.

Despite the increase in fatalities of texting and driving, many teen drivers ignore the warnings and continue to engage in risky behavior.

Today’s drivers face many more challenges and distractions than those drivers from just a few years ago.

It is important for teen drivers to focus on the task-at-hand and minimize distractions while driving.

It is difficult to predict every scenario a driver will face in their lifetime, but statistics indicate that paying attention, being aware of the space around your vehicle and minimizing risky behavior such as texting & driving helps prevent crashes.

Simply put, pay attention, be courteous, don’t be overconfident in your ability to operate a motor vehicle safely and never allow others to dictate how you drive!

The preceding data has been gathered from numerous sources including, but not limited to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.