On a highway with three lanes that go your way, you drive in the middle lane. For several miles, one car stays beside you on the left and another stays beside you on the right. What should you do, according to the Smith System in the manual?

Correct answer: Change your speed a little so that at least one side has open space.

Why

The Smith System uses a space cushion: open space between your vehicle and everything else on the road. The manual's zone system calls an area with no restriction an open zone and a blocked area a closed zone. When the zones on both sides and in front are closed, change your speed or position to open one of them, so that you have somewhere to go if another driver makes a mistake.

Verified against Rhode Island Driver's Manual online version · Systems for Safe, Courteous, and Defensive Driving · p. 50