Which of the following is a classic example of habit evidence?

• A. A driver checks the rear-view mirror before changing lanes every time.
• B. A person’s general tendency to be honest.
• C. A person once forgot to lock their door.
• D. A person habitually late.

Answer: (A)

Habit evidence is about a person’s regular, automatic response to a specific situation, used to show how they would typically behave in similar circumstances. The example of a driver checking the rear-view mirror before changing lanes every time demonstrates a consistent, context-specific routine: each lane-change cue triggers the same action, making it a classic form of habit evidence. This kind of pattern is more probative of how the person would act in a like situation than broad traits or isolated incidents.

Why the other options don’t fit as well: a general tendency to be honest describes a character trait, not a specific, automatic response to a repeated situation. Forgetting to lock the door once is a single lapse, not a regular habit. Being habitually late is a pattern, but it isn’t tied to a particular repetitive cue or narrow driving context like lane changes, so it doesn’t illustrate the same situational regularity that habit evidence requires.