 |
Who taught YOU to drive?
The odometer on Who Taught You to Drive? is really creeping up there. Four years, 168 columns. In car lingo that’s got to be close to 100,000 miles. It’s about time for another periodic review of all we’ve learned.
Today’s quiz comes to you in four sections: a “What’s worse?’’ category; Fact or fiction?; Do you have a gripe?; and a dash of driver’s ed 101. Of course, that last one is what we’ve been doing all along. Good luck.
What’s worse?
1. Urinating in public view on the side of the road, or driving with a dog untethered in the back of a pickup truck?2. Cutting through a gas station to avoid a red light, or stopping in a crosswalk?
3. Driving without stopping through an intersection whose traffic lights don’t work, or driving through a yellow light?
4. Keeping your license plate in a clear-plastic frame, or making a plate out of cardboard?
5.Putting on lipstick while driving, or running a stop sign in the mall parking lot?
6. Riding a horse in the street, or riding a Segway in the street?
Fact or fiction?
7. You’re safe inside a car during lightning because of the rubber tires.8. Your car might not start in wintertime if you don’t keep your gas tank filled.
9. Driving 55 miles per hour saves gasoline.
10. A written warning goes on your driving record.
11. Making a call on your cellphone while pumping gas is dangerous.
12. Convicts make our license plates.
Legitimate gripe?
13. You park your car after the street sweeper’s gone by, but still get a ticket.14. Your car fails inspection because you have an inch-long crack in the middle of your windshield.
15. The used car you bought for $500 breaks down 29 days after you drive it home from a local dealer.
16. You get charged with an open container violation for having an empty beer can in the glove compartment.
17. You pay for 90 octane gas, but the station mixes 87 octane gas with 93 octane to create it.
Driver’s ed
18. Can you be arrested for drunken driving if your blood alcohol count is under .08?A. Yes, anything above .05 can be grounds for arrest.
B. No, it must be above .08.
C. Only if you fail a sobriety test.
19. When can you pass on the right?
A. Always
B. Never
C. Only on highways
20. How many volts should your battery meter read when driving?
A. About 14
B. About 8
C. About 17
21. Lastly, what’s the best advice to follow when your brakes don’t work?
A. Put the car in neutral
B. Hit the emergency brake
C. Downshift slowly to the lowest gear
D.Turn off the car, then start it up again
Answers: 1. A loose dog is a moving violation that carries a $50 fine. Urinating in public is considered indecent exposure — a misdemeanor, which is worse.
2. Cutting corners isn’t specifically illegal, but police might still charge you with failure to stop for a red light, a $100 fine. Stopping in a crosswalk is a flat $200 fine, so that’s worse.
3.The law requires you to slow down, not stop, when lights are broken. Legally, you’re supposed to stop for a yellow light, so that’s worse.
4. It’s a $35 fine to cover your license plate with plastic. You’re legally allowed to make a temporary plate out of cardboard.
5. Street signs in private parking lots aren’t official, so you can’t be charged with running the stop sign. (You could be cited for driving to endanger if you’re not cautious.) Police could charge you $35 for putting lipstick on if you’re not paying attention to the road under the charge of impeded operation.
6. Horses still have the right of way in Massachusetts on local roads. State law is unclear about where Segways can be driven, so your chances of getting a ticket are higher.
7. Fiction. Due to magnetism, not rubber tires, electricity stays on the outside of the car.
8. Fiction. Getting moisture in your tank isn’t generally a problem with cars less than 20 years old.
9. True. According to the federal government, fuel economy diminishes after 60 miles per hour.
10. Fiction.
11. Fiction. According to the state fire marshal’s office, cellphones can’t cause sparks, which is the main concern around pumps.
12. Fact. All Massachusetts plates are manufactured at MCI-Cedar Junction, the state’s maximum-security prison in Walpole.
13. Maybe. Some communities, such as Cambridge, allow you to park right away. Others, such as Somerville, require you to wait until the posted sweeping hours are over.
14. Yes. You can have a crack up to 2 inches long anywhere and still pass.
15. No. Our state’s lemon laws only covers you if your vehicle cost more than $700.
16. Yes, but the can has to be empty, with no evidence it was recently consumed.
17. No. That’s a common and accepted practice.
18. A
19. A; always, so long as you’re within the speed limit.
20. A
21. C. When you’ve reached the lowest gear, then apply the emergency brake.
Peter DeMarco can be reached at demarco@ globe.com. He also updates a Facebook page, “WhotaughtYOUtodrive?’’ 
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
