Minnesota Driver's Manual: study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

0. New laws and information (incl. written and road test checklists)

• You must stop for flashing red school bus lights even if the stop arm doesn't swing out.
• Motorcycles may share your lane in slow or stopped traffic; this is legal and you must not get in their way.

1. Your license to drive

• If you are under 18, you must be supervised by a driver aged 21 or older.
• Permit holders 18 and older must be supervised by a driver aged 18 or older.
• Teens must complete 30 classroom hours and be enrolled in behind-the-wheel, or have finished the first 15 hours of a concurrent course.

2. Your vehicle

• High beam headlights must make objects visible at least 350 feet ahead.
• Dirty headlights can reduce light output by up to 75 percent.
• A tire is illegal if the tread is less than one-sixteenth inch deep.

3. Traffic laws and vehicle operation

• Driving over 100 mph results in revocation for at least six months.
• You must pass a written test, pay a $30 reinstatement fee, apply for a new license and submit an insurance certificate.
• Conviction for operating an uninsured vehicle can bring a fine up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail.

4. Sharing the road

• Fines for speeding in work zones are $300 in addition to the regular speeding ticket.
• At an uncontrolled T intersection, you must yield to all cross traffic if you are the one turning.
• If you are in an intersection, proceed through it before stopping.

5. Signs, signals and pavement markings

• With a valid disability permit or plates, you may park at an angle and occupy two standard spaces if disability spaces are occupied.
• An exempt sign means buses and trucks usually required to stop may proceed without stopping, though they must look for trains.
• The emblem must be displayed on vehicles that travel at 30 mph or less, such as farm implements.

6. Driving conditions

• When road conditions are poor or your vehicle is longer than standard, increase to a four- or five-second count.
• If you pull a camper or trailer, you must maintain at least 500 feet of following distance.
• The time from perceiving danger to using the brakes is about 3/4 of a second.

7. Your driving privileges

• A conviction for fleeing a police officer is one of the listed grounds for revocation; parking tickets, late renewal and address changes are not.
• Your license will be canceled for 60 days or until correct information is provided, whichever is longer.
• Your license may be suspended for failing to stop for a school bus within five years of a prior conviction for it.

8. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs

• The limit is 0.04 percent when driving a commercial vehicle.
• If an officer can prove alcohol caused driving errors, the driver can be arrested for DWI as low as 0.04.
• It is illegal for a person under 21 to drive with any detectable alcohol; a first conviction brings a 30-day suspension (180 days for a second).

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 Minnesota, which are where most people lose points.