Question 1

A school bus ahead of you stops on an ordinary two-lane street, its red lights flashing and stop arm out. What must you do?

Accepted Answer

Stop at least 10 feet away, whichever direction you are travelling. Pennsylvania requires a stop at least 10 feet from the bus, and it applies whether you are behind it or meeting it head on. You stay stopped until the red lights go off, the arm folds in and the children are safely clear. Official wording: "When the bus stops with its red lights flashing and its stop arm extended, you must stop at least 10 feet away from the bus whether you are behind it or coming toward it on the same roadway or approaching an intersection at which the school bus is stopped." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 2

On a dry highway, what following distance does the Pennsylvania manual tell you to keep behind the vehicle ahead?

Accepted Answer

Four seconds. Four seconds is Pennsylvania's baseline on dry pavement. You time it by watching the vehicle ahead pass a fixed object and counting until you reach the same spot. Official wording: "A 4-second following distance, as shown above in Area 1 of the space management diagram, will allow you to steer or brake to avoid a hazard safely on the highway, if the pavement is dry." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 3

You are 19 and holding a Pennsylvania licence. At what blood alcohol concentration are you considered to be driving under the influence?

Accepted Answer

0.02 percent. Pennsylvania's zero tolerance law puts drivers under 21 at 0.02 percent. That is far below the 0.08 that applies to drivers of legal drinking age, and low enough that a single drink can reach it. Official wording: "If you are a driver under age 21 and your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .02 percent or more, you are considered to be driving under the influence (DUI)." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 4

You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you treat it?

Accepted Answer

As though it were a four-way stop. A non-functioning signal is treated as a four-way stop. Every approach stops, and the usual order of arrival and left-yields-to-right rules take over. Official wording: "A non-functioning traffic signal should be treated as though it were a four-way STOP sign." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 5

It starts raining and you switch your windshield wipers on. What else does Pennsylvania law require?

Accepted Answer

Switch on your headlights. Wipers on means headlights on. Any time the wipers are running continuously or intermittently because of the weather, the headlights must be lit too. Official wording: "Anytime your vehicle's wipers are in continuous or intermittent use due to weather conditions." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 6

When may you turn left on a red light in Pennsylvania?

Accepted Answer

From a one-way street onto another one-way street, from the left lane, after stopping. Both streets must be one-way and you must already be in the left lane. Stop first, yield to pedestrians and traffic, and go only if no sign forbids the turn. Official wording: "You may also turn left after you stop at a red light, if you are in the left lane and are turning left from a one-way street onto another one-way street, unless a sign tells you not to turn." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 7

You are overtaking a cyclist on a Pennsylvania road. How much space must you leave?

Accepted Answer

At least four feet. Four feet is the statutory minimum between your vehicle and the bicycle. You must also pass at a careful speed rather than simply squeezing by at the limit. Official wording: "When passing, you must allow at least four (4) feet between your vehicle and a bicycle in order to pass safely." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 8

You hold a Pennsylvania junior driver's licence. Between which hours may you not normally drive?

Accepted Answer

11 p.m. to 5 a.m.. The junior curfew runs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Inside those hours you may only drive with a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis or a spouse who is 18 or older in the vehicle. Official wording: "You may not drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., unless your parent, guardian, person in loco parentis, or spouse who is 18 years of age or older is with you." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 9

You are 17 and holding a learner's permit. How much supervised driving must you complete before your road test?

Accepted Answer

65 hours, including 10 at night and 5 in bad weather. Sixty-five hours behind the wheel, of which at least 10 must be at night and at least 5 in bad weather. It is a separate requirement from the six-month wait, and both must be met. Official wording: "If you are under the age of 18, you are required to complete at least 65 hours of behind-the-wheel skill-building including no less than 10 hours of nighttime driving and five (5) hours of bad weather driving before taking your Road Test." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 10

At what speed can a vehicle begin to hydroplane on a wet road?

Accepted Answer

35 mph. Hydroplaning can start at speeds as low as 35 mph when the water is only a tenth of an inch deep. Worn tyres bring the threshold lower still. Official wording: "You can hydroplane at speeds as low as 35 mph, when water is only 1/10 of an inch deep." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 11

You are parking facing downhill on a street with a curb. Which way should the front wheels point?

Accepted Answer

Fully to the right, towards the curb. Parking downhill, with or without a curb, the wheels turn completely to the right. If the car rolls, it rolls into the curb or off the road rather than into traffic. Official wording: "When parking your vehicle on a downhill with or without a curb, you should turn your steering wheel so your wheels are completely to the right." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 12

A flashing yellow arrow is displayed for your left turn lane. What does it permit?

Accepted Answer

A turn after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. A flashing yellow arrow means you may turn, but the turn is not protected. Oncoming traffic has a green light, so the gap is entirely yours to find. Official wording: "A FLASHING YELLOW ARROW means you may turn in the direction of the arrow with caution, however, you must first yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 13

You have held a Pennsylvania junior driver's licence for three months. How many passengers under 18 who are not immediate family may you carry, with no parent in the car?

Accepted Answer

One. For the first six months on a junior licence the limit is one passenger under 18 who is not an immediate family member, unless a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis or spouse aged 18 or over is in the vehicle. Official wording: "You may not carry more than one (1) passenger under the age of 18 who is not an immediate family member unless a parent, guardian, person in loco parentis, or spouse who is 18 years of age or older is in the vehicle with you." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 14

You are approaching a police car stopped on the shoulder with its lights flashing, and traffic makes it impossible to change lanes. What does the Move Over law require?

Accepted Answer

Pass at no more than 20 mph below the posted speed limit. Moving to a non-adjacent lane is the primary duty. Where that is impossible, illegal or unsafe, you pass at a speed at least 20 mph below the posted limit and reasonable for passing safely. Official wording: "If drivers cannot move over because of traffic or other conditions, they must reduce their speed to at least 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 15

You are driving on a highway divided by a grass median with guide rails. A school bus stops on the opposite carriageway with red lights flashing. What must you do?

Accepted Answer

Reduce your speed and continue with caution. This is the single exception to Pennsylvania's school bus rule. Traffic on the far side of a physically divided highway does not have to stop, but does have to slow down and stay alert. Official wording: "If you are approaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended and you are driving on the opposite side of a divided highway, (i.e. concrete/metal barriers, guide rails or trees/rocks/streams/grass median), you do not have to stop." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 16

You drive through a posted work zone at two in the afternoon on a clear day. Nobody is working. What does the law require of your headlights?

Accepted Answer

Headlights on, because the rule covers all posted work zones. Headlights are required in every posted work zone, not just the active ones, and at every hour of the day. Daytime running lights do not satisfy it because they leave the tail lights dark. Official wording: "All motorists are required to travel with their headlights turned on in all posted work zones, not just active work zones." (PennDOT - Work Zone Safety).

Question 17

You are 30 and your driving record reaches six points for the first time. What happens?

Accepted Answer

You must pass a written special point examination or attend Driver Improvement School. Six points is where PennDOT starts taking corrective action. For an adult reaching it the first time, that means a written special point exam or Driver Improvement School, not a suspension. Official wording: "When any driving record reaches 6 or more points for the first time, the driver will receive a written notice to take a special written point examination or attend a Driver Improvement School." (PennDOT - The Pennsylvania Point System (fact sheet, March 2024)).

Question 18

What blood alcohol concentration puts a commercial driver, in a commercial vehicle that is not a school bus, over the limit in Pennsylvania?

Accepted Answer

0.04 percent. Commercial drivers are at 0.04 percent, half the figure that applies to an ordinary driver of legal drinking age. Official wording: "0.04% or greater within two hours after the individual has driven, operated or been in actual physical control of the movement of a commercial vehicle other than a school bus or a school vehicle." (75 Pa.C.S. (Pennsylvania Vehicle Code)).

Question 19

What are Pennsylvania's minimum bodily injury liability limits for an ordinary auto insurance policy?

Accepted Answer

$15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident. Fifteen thousand dollars per person and thirty thousand per accident is the statutory minimum for bodily injury liability in Pennsylvania. Official wording: "If you injure someone in an auto accident, this coverage pays damages for which you are liable, such as medical and rehabilitation expenses. The minimum limit is $15,000/$30,000." (Pennsylvania Insurance Department - Auto Insurance).

Question 20

You are driving through a work zone and a solid white line separates your lane from the next one. What does it require?

Accepted Answer

Do not cross it; stay in your lane. PennDOT is explicit about this one: do not cross a solid white line in a work zone. Lane changes belong before the taper, not inside it. Official wording: "DO NOT CROSS a solid white line in a work zone; stay in your lane." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 21

You are 17 and are convicted of driving 30 mph over the posted limit. What happens to your licence?

Accepted Answer

A mandatory 90-day suspension. A driver under 18 who is convicted of exceeding the limit by 26 mph or more, or who accumulates six or more points, receives a mandatory 90-day suspension. Any further occurrence is 120 days. Official wording: "You will receive a mandatory 90-day suspension if you accumulate six (6) or more points or are convicted of driving 26 miles per hour (mph) or more over the posted speed limit." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 22

Your accelerator pedal sticks down and the car keeps gaining speed. After tapping the pedal fails, what should you do?

Accepted Answer

Shift to neutral and use the brakes. Neutral cuts the drive to the wheels, so the engine races but the car stops accelerating and the brakes can do their job. Official wording: "Shift to neutral immediately and use the brakes, if the pedal remains stuck." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 23

You end up in a lane marked for turns only, but you wanted to go straight through the intersection. What must you do?

Accepted Answer

Make the turn the lane is marked for. The lane markings decide it, not your intentions. In a turn-only lane you turn, even if you got there by mistake, and correct your route afterwards. Official wording: "If you end up in a lane marked for turns only when you want to go straight through the intersection, you must make the turn." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

Question 24

On an unlit road at night with low beams, what is the fastest you should drive to avoid outrunning your headlights?

Accepted Answer

45 mph. Low beams reach only about 250 feet, and stopping from 55 mph takes more than that even on dry pavement. Forty-five is the figure the manual gives for staying inside the lit distance. Official wording: "To avoid overdriving your headlights on a dark road at night, you should not drive faster than 45 mph." (Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95, 4-21)).

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