Scanning — Kansas Permit Test

To be a safe Kansas driver you must know what is happening around your vehicle, looking ahead, to the sides and behind it.

A crash comes from a direction you were not watching. Scanning is what stops any direction being unwatched for long.

You must look ahead, to the sides and behind the vehicle.

In a Kansas city a driver should look at least two blocks or two traffic signals ahead.

City blocks come up fast. Two of them is enough to see a signal change before you are committed to it.

In the city, you should look at least two blocks or two traffic signals ahead.

On a Kansas highway a driver should look at least a quarter of a mile ahead.

At highway speed a quarter mile is about fifteen seconds. That is how long you need to do something useful.

On the highway, you should look at least a quarter of a mile ahead.

A Kansas visual lead is an area 20 to 30 seconds ahead from the front of the vehicle, which helps a driver see changes in the travel path and identify alternative paths.

Twenty seconds is far enough to change lanes instead of braking hard. Shorter than that and every problem is an emergency.

A visual lead is an area 20 to 30 seconds ahead from the front of the vehicle.

A Kansas driver can calculate how far ahead they are searching by finding a stationary object as far ahead as they can see and counting one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two and so on until they reach it.

Counting turns a vague habit into a number you can check. It is the only way to know whether you look far enough.

Start counting: one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three, etc., until you reach the object.

A Kansas driver who sees a traffic light that has been green for a long time should start slowing down and be ready to stop, because it may change before they get there.

A stale green is about to end. Treating it as a free pass is how drivers end up braking hard or running it.

If you see a traffic light that has been green for a long time, it may change to red before you get there. Therefore, you should start slowing down and be ready to stop.

By looking well ahead a Kansas driver can operate more safely, save fuel, help keep traffic moving at a steady pace and steer with less weaving.

Looking further ahead smooths everything out. The car stops lurching between accelerator and brake.

Looking well down the travel path will also help you to steer with less weaving.

Making driving changes well ahead of time gives drivers behind a Kansas vehicle more time to react, so the earlier a driver acts the less often someone behind must react quickly.

Acting early is a favor to the car behind as much as to yourself. Their stopping room is your decision.

Making driving changes well ahead of time gives drivers behind you more time to react. The earlier you act, the less often someone behind you must react quickly to your vehicle.

Where does a Kansas driver scan while driving?

Ahead, to the sides and behind the vehicle. A crash comes from a direction you were not watching. Scanning is what stops any direction being unwatched for long. Kansas Driving Handbook, p.56: “You must look ahead, to the sides and behind the vehicle.”