Open and secondary roads — North Carolina Permit Test

Driving on rural roads is often more dangerous than heavy city traffic because the road may be narrower, the lighting poorer and the speeds higher, with slow drivers and wildlife to watch for.

Country roads feel empty, which is the trap. Narrow, dark and fast is a worse combination than crowded and slow.

Driving on rural roads is often more dangerous than driving in heavy city traffic because: • The road may not be as wide; • The lighting is often not as good; and/or • The travel speeds may be higher.

A paved secondary road is built for local travel, not highway speed: hills are steeper, curves sharper and sight distances short, so it cannot be driven safely at primary-highway speeds.

Paving does not straighten a road. A secondary road keeps the hills and bends it was built around.

On these roads, hills are likely to be steeper and curves are likely to be sharper than on primary roads. Sight distances are often very short.

Why is driving on a rural road often more dangerous than city driving?

Narrower roads, poorer lighting and higher speeds. Country roads feel empty, which is the trap. Narrow, dark and fast is a worse combination than crowded and slow. North Carolina Driver Handbook, p.63: “Driving on rural roads is often more dangerous than driving in heavy city traffic because: • The road may not be as wide; • The lighting is often not as good; and/or • The travel speeds may be higher.”