Montana Driver Manual (form 25-0100M): study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

1. The Driver License

• A NCLP may be issued at 14½ to a person participating in or having completed a state-approved traffic education course.
• The manual says traffic education courses must be approved by the Office of Public Instruction and the Department of Justice, and that online or third-party courses are not approved.
• The NCLP must be used for six consecutive months by any new driver under 18.

2. Motor Vehicle Equipment

• No person may drive in Montana unless each occupant is wearing a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt.
• Montana law places responsibility on the driver to ensure each occupant is buckled; a driver who violates the law is fined $20.
• Babies and children up to age 6 and 60 pounds must be buckled in a child safety seat.

3. Signs, Signals, & Markings

• The railroad crossing ahead sign is round; it is the only round warning sign.
• Narrow Bridge: narrower than the road but room to meet and pass. One Lane Bridge: no room to meet or pass another car or truck.
• Stripes sloping downward to the right mean bear right; sloping downward to the left mean bear left.

4. Driving Rules

• Owners must carry at least $25,000 for one person, $50,000 for two persons, and $10,000 for property damage in any one accident.
• Liability insurance is mandatory except for motorcycles.
• A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $250 to $500, up to 10 days in jail, or both, plus 5 points.

5. How to Drive Safely

• Sunglasses reduce visibility dangerously at night; even tinted and some photo-gray lenses can detract up to 30% of night vision.
• When four or more vehicles are slowed up, slow-moving vehicles must turn off the roadway whenever there is sufficient room for a safe turnout.
• Stopping at 60 mph does not take twice the distance as at 30 mph, but over three times the distance.

6. Physical Requirements

• Montana's vision test checks that you have at least 20/40 vision in at least one eye, with or without corrective lenses.
• First conviction: fine of $300 to $1,000 plus court charges, 1 to 60 days in jail, and a six-month license suspension.
• You can be arrested for driving with a BAC of 0.08% or more, or while driving under the influence.

7. Emergencies, Crashes, & Enforcement Stops

• You must report an accident immediately to law enforcement if anyone is injured or killed, or property damage is $500 or more.
• Report to the Highway Patrol if there is injury, death or $1,000+ damage to one person's property; file within 10 days.
• Vehicles in the lane next to a stationary emergency or police vehicle must slow to at least 20 mph below the posted limit and, when possible, move farther away.

9. Other Services

• A minor who is at least 15 can request an organ donor designation; parent authorization is not required.

10. Quiz Answers; Additional Resources

• After being awake for 18 hours straight, driving skills are the same as someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

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 Montana, which are where most people lose points.

Third-party sites claim '33 questions, 80%'; not used.