Leaving the interstate — District of Columbia Permit Test

For an exit on the right, get into the right lane well before reaching the exit.

Cutting across lanes at the last moment at highway speed is how drivers sideswipe cars they never saw.

Get into the right lane well before reaching the exit, if the exit is on the right side of the highway.

When leaving an interstate, do not slow down on the main highway; start slowing once you are in the deceleration lane.

Traffic behind you on the highway expects you to keep its speed, so braking there invites a rear-end crash.

Don't slow down on the main highway. Start slowing down as soon as you get into the deceleration lane and continue slowing at the beginning of the exit ramp.

On an exit ramp, slow down to the posted advisory speed or you may have trouble getting around its curves.

Ramps curve much tighter than the highway, and a car still going highway speed can slide off the outside of the bend.

Slow down to the posted advisory speed for the ramp or you may have trouble getting around curves.

If you exit at the wrong place on an interstate, continue until you are off the exit ramp and look for a way to re-enter.

Stopping or backing up on a ramp puts you in the path of drivers who are not expecting a car to be there.

If you exit at the wrong place on an interstate, continue until you are off the exit ramp and look for a way to re-enter the interstate.

The exit is on the right. When should you move into the right lane?

Well before the exit. Cutting across lanes at the last moment at highway speed is how drivers sideswipe cars they never saw. DC Driver Manual, p.50: “Get into the right lane well before reaching the exit, if the exit is on the right side of the highway.”