FullCA · STUDY GUIDE
Rules of the Road
Right-of-way, the Basic Speed Law, lanes and turns, freeway driving, and safe-driving practice — a major area of the official handbook. This guide has 175 questions, each citing the CA manual section it comes from — the first 18 are free to read below.
1 · LANES AND TURNS
In California lane numbering, the "Number 1 Lane" is:
- ✓ The left (fast) lane
- · The far right lane
- · The center lane
- · The carpool lane only
Lanes number from the left: Number 1 is the left lane, Number 2 is next, and so on. Use the left lane to pass or turn left; the right lane for entering and exiting traffic.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Choosing a Lane, p. 152 · LANES AND TURNS
You may use an HOV (carpool) lane when:
- ✓ You meet the posted minimum occupancy, display a DMV zero/low-emission decal, or ride a motorcycle
- · You're running late
- · Traffic in other lanes is stopped
- · You're towing a trailer
HOV lanes are for the posted minimum number of occupants, DMV-decaled low/zero-emission vehicles, and motorcycles (unless posted otherwise). The lane is marked with a diamond symbol.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Carpool/HOV Lanes, pp. 15-163 · LANES AND TURNS
You may drive in a center left turn lane for no more than:
- ✓ 200 feet
- · 50 feet
- · 500 feet
- · As long as needed
The shared center lane is only for preparing left turns or U-turns — merge fully into it, but travel no more than 200 feet. It is never a passing lane.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Center Left Turn Lanes, p. 164 · LANES AND TURNS
On a two-lane road, you MUST use a turnout area when:
- ✓ You're driving slowly, passing is unsafe, and five or more vehicles are following you
- · Any single car follows you
- · You want to check your phone
- · The road curves
Driving slowly with five or more vehicles stacked behind you where passing is unsafe? You must use a turnout area or lane to let them pass.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Turnout Areas or Lanes, p. 165 · BICYCLISTS
Driving in a bicycle lane is legal only when:
- ✓ Parking where permitted, entering or leaving the road, or turning within 200 feet of an intersection
- · Traffic is heavy
- · No bicyclists are visible
- · You're below 15 mph
Bike lanes belong to bicyclists. Cars may enter only to park (where allowed), enter or leave the roadway, or prepare a turn within 200 feet of the intersection — after checking blind spots.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Bicycle Lanes, p. 176 · LANES AND TURNS
Making a right turn, you should signal about ___ before the turn:
- ✓ 100 feet
- · 25 feet
- · 500 feet
- · 10 feet
Start signaling about 100 feet before, look over your right shoulder, stop behind the limit line, and complete the turn into the right lane without swinging wide.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Right Turns, p. 187 · LANES AND TURNS
In a residential district, a U-turn is legal when:
- ✓ No vehicles are approaching within 200 feet
- · Any time, without conditions
- · Only at traffic lights
- · Never
Residential U-turns are fine when no vehicle is approaching within 200 feet — also across double yellow lines, at green lights or arrows (unless posted), and through divided-highway openings.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · U-Turn, p. 208 · LANES AND TURNS
Which U-turn is ALWAYS illegal?
- ✓ Using a fire station driveway to turn around
- · At a green light
- · Across a single double-yellow line
- · Through a divided-highway opening
Never use a fire station driveway to turn around. Also banned: where NO U-TURN is posted, at railroad crossings, on one-ways, with under 200 feet of visibility, and in business districts except at intersections or provided openings.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · U-Turn, p. 209 · HIGHWAY DRIVING
When entering a freeway, you should merge:
- ✓ At or near the speed of traffic — highway traffic has the right-of-way
- · Well below traffic speed for safety
- · By stopping and waiting for a large gap
- · Anywhere, since entering traffic has priority
Highway traffic has the right-of-way. Enter at or near traffic speed, don't stop unless absolutely necessary, and cross one lane at a time.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Merging, p. 2310 · HIGHWAY DRIVING
To merge into city traffic from a full stop, you need a gap of about:
- ✓ Half a block — about 150 feet (a full block, 300 feet, on the highway)
- · Two car lengths
- · A quarter block
- · 50 feet everywhere
From a stop, you need roughly half a city block (150 feet) — and about a full block (300 feet) to enter highway-speed traffic.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Crossing or Entering Traffic, p. 2411 · HIGHWAY DRIVING
Before exiting a freeway, signal for about:
- ✓ Five seconds — roughly 400 feet
- · One second
- · A quarter mile
- · Ten flashes
Know your exit ahead of time, move over one lane at a time, and signal about five seconds (approximately 400 feet) before exiting. Don't cross solid lines to exit.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Exiting, p. 2312 · PASSING
Do NOT pass within ___ of an intersection, bridge, tunnel, or railroad crossing:
- ✓ 100 feet
- · 500 feet
- · 50 feet
- · 1,000 feet
No passing within 100 feet of intersections, bridges, tunnels, railroad crossings, or other hazardous areas — nor at crossroads and driveways.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Passing, p. 2413 · PASSING
To pass safely near a hill or curve, you must be able to see ahead at least:
- ✓ One-third of a mile
- · 100 feet
- · One mile
- · Three car lengths
The hill or curve should be at least one-third of a mile away — if you can't see whether traffic is approaching, don't pass.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Passing, p. 2414 · PASSING
Passing on the right is allowed only when:
- ✓ The road has two or more lanes your way, the driver ahead is turning left, or you're on a one-way street
- · The shoulder is paved
- · The car ahead is slow
- · You honk first
Open highway with two-plus lanes your direction, a left-turning driver ahead you can safely pass on the right, or a one-way street. Never drive off the paved roadway to pass.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · How to Pass, p. 2515 · PASSING
When another vehicle is passing you, California says to:
- ✓ Maintain your lane position and your speed
- · Speed up slightly
- · Pull onto the shoulder
- · Brake to help them by
Hold your lane position and speed and let them pass. Don't speed up — and don't drift.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Being Passed, p. 2516 · PARKING
When parallel parked, your wheels must be within ___ of the curb:
- ✓ 18 inches
- · 6 inches
- · 3 feet
- · 12 inches
Back in at about a 45-degree angle and straighten out within 18 inches of the curb. Look for a space at least three feet longer than your vehicle.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Parallel Parking, p. 2617 · ROAD TEST SKILLS
The drive test's straight-line backing maneuver requires backing:
- ✓ Three vehicle lengths, staying within three feet of the curb
- · One car length anywhere on the road
- · Around a corner
- · Into a parallel space between cones
California tests straight-line backing: three vehicle lengths at a smooth, safe speed while staying within three feet of the curb — looking back over your shoulder, not at your mirrors.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Straight Line Backing, p. 2718 · PARKING
Parked headed DOWNHILL with a curb, turn your front wheels:
- ✓ Into the curb (toward the side of the road)
- · Away from the curb
- · Straight ahead
- · It doesn't matter with the brake set
Downhill: wheels into the curb. Uphill: wheels away from the curb and let the vehicle roll back to gently touch it. No curb: wheels toward the shoulder so a rolling car leaves the road.
📖 CA Manual · Sec. 6 · Parking on a Hill, p. 27Tip: use your ← and → arrow keys
FullPass is an independent study aid. Questions are reviewed against the cited official CA driver's manual; the state licensing agency remains the final authority.