Question 311 Rules of the Road

The correct answer is B) exchange one short blast. When two power-driven vessels are meeting head-on in inland waters, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) Rule 14 states that each vessel shall alter course to starboard to pass with a safe clearance. By exchanging one short blast, the vessels are indicating their intention to pass port-to-port, which is the proper action to take in this situation. The other options are incorrect because: A) sounding the danger signal is not the appropriate signal for a head-on meeting, C) sounding one prolonged and two short blasts is the signal to indicate the vessel's intentions to pass starboard-to-starboard, and D) exchanging two short blasts indicates the vessels' intentions to pass starboard-to-starboard, which is not the correct maneuver for a head-on encounter.