🚦 Driving in traffic
The DMV says the road test includes driving safely in traffic — and that's where most points are won or lost. The manual's defensive-driving chapter is effectively the scoring guide: scan well ahead instead of staring at the car in front, check your mirrors every few seconds, and keep at least a two-second cushion that grows in bad weather.
What the examiner is watching for
- ✓Eyes moving — scanning ahead and to the sides, not fixed on the vehicle in front
- ✓Mirror checks every few seconds, and a head-turn over the shoulder before any lane change
- ✓A two-second following distance, stretched to three or four in rain or behind trucks
- ✓Speed reasonable for conditions, never over the limit — 55 mph is the default where nothing is posted
Step by step
- 1Sit upright with both hands on the wheel — slouching or one-handed driving costs control and points.
- 2Pick your travel lane and keep right; pass on the left only when it's legal and needed.
- 3Count the two-second gap off a fixed object; add seconds for weather or a large vehicle ahead.
- 4Signal at least 100 feet before every turn or lane change, and check the blind spot with your head, not just mirrors.
- 5Brake early and gently for stops so the examiner — and the driver behind — sees it coming.
Mistakes that cost points
- ✗Following too closely — four in ten crashes are rear-end collisions, and examiners know it
- ✗Relying on mirrors alone for lane changes; the manual is explicit that mirrors leave blind spots
- ✗Driving the posted limit when conditions call for less — 'not reasonable for conditions' is a scorable fault
- ✗Rolling stops at STOP signs and stop lines
The other 5 skills NY grades
FullPass is an independent study aid. Road-test guidance is written from official DMV test requirements; your examiner and the Department of Motor Vehicles remain the final authority.