Maryland Driver's Manual (DL-002): study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

1. Driving Tests Requirements

• Applicants must have binocular vision, visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye and a continuous field of vision of at least 140 degrees.
• The vision standard includes a continuous field of vision of at least 140 degrees.
• There are 25 questions on the knowledge test.

2. Licensing Requirements and Process

• GLS applies to anyone who has never had a driver's license, of all eligible ages.
• The Type 1 Learner's Instructional Permit lasts up to 2 years.
• Applicants younger than 25 must be at least 15 years and 9 months old.

3. Basic Driving

• The MVA recommends a minimum following distance of 3 to 4 seconds under ideal conditions.
• Increase to four or five seconds, and possibly more, behind vehicles that stop often.
• You may not pass when crossing or within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad grade crossing.

4. Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings

• At a steady red arrow, stop and remain stopped as long as the red arrow is shown if you want to go that direction.
• At a railroad crossing you must stop completely at a flashing red signal even if you don't see a train.
• A steady yellow X means move out of the lane as soon as you can do so safely.

5. Driving Situations and Conditions

• Yellow markings divide opposite-direction traffic and should always be on your left, never on your right.
• You must turn on headlights any time there isn't enough light to clearly see at least 1,000 feet ahead.
• Change to low beams at least 500 feet before reaching oncoming vehicles.

6. Dangerous Driving Behaviors

• Your judgment and coordination may be impaired at a much lower BAC, which could result in criminal charges.
• Under 21, drinking any alcohol is illegal; the license will be suspended or revoked and the driver could be charged with violating the alcohol restriction.
• A six-pack with open, empty or missing bottles or cans can be considered an open container.

7. Sharing the Road

• Most intersections have a crosswalk even if it is not marked.
• You may not pass an emergency vehicle using its signals unless it stops or an officer directs you.
• Fully loaded trucks can weigh more than 80,000 pounds and take the length of a football field to stop.

8. Crashes and Traffic Stops

• With injuries, stay at the scene, call 911 immediately and do not move the vehicles.
• If there are no injuries and your vehicle can move, move it off the road near the crash site.
• Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

9. Other Restrictions, Violations and Penalties

• Provisional drivers under 18 may not drive unsupervised with passengers under 18 for the first 151 days unless they are immediate family.
• For provisional licensees under 18, unsupervised driving between midnight and 5 a.m. is allowed only for a job, an organized volunteer program, an official school activity, or an athletic event or training.
• Driving to or from an official school activity is one of the exceptions to the midnight-to-5 a.m. restriction for provisional licensees under 18.

10. Other Important Information

• Report diabetes that has caused a low blood sugar episode requiring assistance from another person in the past 6 months.
• Report an eye problem preventing a corrected acuity of 20/70 in at least one eye or a binocular field of at least 110 degrees.
• The supervising driver must be currently licensed at least three years to drive the same class of vehicle.

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 Maryland, which are where most people lose points.