Class D & E Driver's Guide: study guide

Key rules by chapter

A few of the rules from each chapter that come up in our practice questions:

1. Getting a Driver's License

• Non-residents with a valid license from another state may drive in Louisiana for 90 days.
• Class D requires a minimum age of seventeen.
• Stage 1 requires thirty hours of classroom instruction and eight hours of behind-the-wheel instruction.

2. Highway Transportation System

• The four leading causes were alcohol, distraction, aggressive driving and lack of seat belt usage.

3. Signs, Traffic Lights, and Pavement Markings

• The white crossbuck is a regulatory sign with the same meaning as a yield sign; you must yield to trains.
• Fluorescent pink is used for incident management signs, such as hurricanes or road closures due to crashes.
• The reduced school-zone limit is required only when flashing; otherwise obey the roadway's speed limit.

4. Basic Driving and Safety

• The guide says belts cut the risk of serious injury, and of death, by about half (50 percent).
• Louisiana's child restraint law calls for a rear-facing, federally approved car seat from birth until at least age 2.
• Children 4-9 years must use a booster seat with restraints; from age 9, a correctly fitting lap/shoulder belt.

5. Safe Driving Habits

• Whether manual or automatic, hilly or flat, use your parking brake every time you park.
• Notify police immediately after seeing a motorist driving suspiciously or recklessly: call *LSP (*577).
• The 3-second rule makes judging distance easier and can be used at any speed.

6. Traffic Laws and Regulations

• Signal left on approach; once three-quarters of the way around, signal right to take the exit.
• If you're going straight through, no signal is needed while approaching (signal right to exit).
• Yield to traffic in the circle; if another vehicle arrives at the same time, yield to the vehicle on your right.

7. Interstate Driving and Rural Roads

• Always keep at least a four-second space cushion; when weather is bad or pavement slick, double that time.
• The triangle on farm, construction or animal-drawn vehicles means the vehicle travels less than 25 mph.
• Animal-drawn vehicles usually move at 5 to 8 mph, and even slower with heavy loads or at intersections.

8. Driving Hazards and Emergencies

• In 95% of motor vehicle collisions, some factor of driver behavior combined with another factor caused the crash.
• When pressed hard, ABS pumps the brakes up to 30 times per second.
• ABS doesn't stop the car faster; it helps you keep control and steer to safety.

9. Driving Offenses

• Each conviction of driving under suspension extends the suspension period by one year.
• Refusing the test suspends your driving privileges for 365 days on a first offense (730 days for a second or subsequent).
• You must file an SR-22 (high-risk insurance) or $30,000 cash/security and maintain it for three years.

11. Motor Vehicle Registration and Title

• A buyer of a used vehicle must apply for a title in their own name within five days of the sale.
• The plate is seized and the vehicle may be impounded; you have three calendar days, excluding weekends and holidays, to provide proof.
• Remove the plate and surrender it to OMV before the insurance is cancelled; penalties apply otherwise.

How to study the handbook

Read one chapter, then take a practice test. Every answer explanation names the handbook section it comes from, so when you get one wrong, go back to that section. Pay most attention to exact numbers and to the rules specific to Louisiana, which are where most people lose points.