Massachusetts Driver's Manual (Passenger Vehicles, Class D): study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

1. Obtaining Your License

• You may not receive a Class D license until at least 16½, after holding a permit for six months and completing driver education.
• Each learner's permit exam has 25 multiple-choice questions; you must answer 18 correctly.
• You must answer 18 questions correctly within the allotted time of 25 minutes.

2. Safety First

• A driver or passenger 16+ not wearing a belt can be fined $25; drivers are also fined $25 for each unbelted passenger aged 12-15.
• A driver can be fined $25 for each passenger age 12, 13, 14 or 15 not wearing a safety belt.
• You can only get a safety belt fine when you are stopped for a traffic violation.

3. Keeping Your License

• You have 20 days to pay the fine or request a hearing; otherwise you're found responsible and charged a late fee.
• Requesting a hearing requires a $25 filing fee, refunded if you're found not responsible for all violations.
• The lowest penalty for speeding is a $100 fine, plus a $5 public safety surcharge.

4. Rules of the Road

• The default is 30 mph in a thickly settled or business district, unless signs show 25 mph.
• The default outside thickly settled or business districts is 40 mph; on a highway outside these districts it is 50 mph.
• Unless posted otherwise, over 50 mph on a highway outside a thickly settled or business district is not reasonable and proper.

5. Special Driving Situations

• Slow to a reasonable and safe speed; on a highway with at least four lanes (two your way), move over to leave an open lane if you can.
• It covers fire trucks, police, ambulances, disaster vehicles and highway maintenance or recovery vehicles with flashing lights.
• It is illegal to follow closer than 300 feet behind an emergency vehicle responding to an alarm.

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 Massachusetts, which are where most people lose points.