Nevada Driver's Handbook (Official Driver Handbook, DMV 700): study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

1. Getting Your Nevada Driver's License

• To obtain a Nevada instruction permit you must be at least 15½ years old, pass vision and knowledge tests, and have a parent or guardian authorize issuance.
• The supervising driver must be 21 or older, have at least one year of licensed driving experience, and sit beside the permit holder.
• Teens near an approved school must log 50 hours of supervised behind-the-wheel experience, 10 of them at night.

2. Buckle Up

• In a vehicle that has seat belts, the driver and every passenger six or older must buckle up.
• NRS 484B.157 requires an approved child restraint for children younger than six and for those shorter than 57 inches.
• Children younger than two must ride rear-facing in a child restraint in the back seat.

3. Driving Safely

• A circular sign warns that a railroad crossing is ahead.
• When traffic control lights are not working, come to a full stop, yield to pedestrians and vehicles already stopped or in the intersection, then proceed with caution.
• A flashing yellow arrow means you must yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians and may turn when it is safe.

4. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

• Convenience technologies like adaptive cruise control and automatic parallel parking are not permitted during the testing process.
• Drivers should not become dependent on these systems; always check mirrors and look over the shoulder too.
• It is advised not to use adaptive cruise control in bad weather and other unsafe driving conditions.

5. Special Driving Conditions

• Orange speed limit signs are advisory and indicate slower, safer speeds through the work zone.
• Certain emergency vehicles, incident-management vehicles, tow cars, coroner vehicles and public transit buses may use such shoulders; other drivers may not stop there.
• Switch from high to low beams once an oncoming vehicle is within 500 feet.

6. Sharing the Road

• A crosswalk exists anywhere two streets intersect, even at a T intersection and even if it is not painted.
• Drivers must yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk on their half of the highway or the half they are turning onto, or approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger.
• It is illegal to overtake a vehicle that is slowing or stopped until you slow down enough to determine why it has slowed or stopped.

8. Insurance and Financial Responsibility

• Minimum coverage is $25,000 for injury/death of one person, $50,000 for two or more, and $20,000 for property damage.
• If a crash isn't investigated by police and causes $750+ damage or any injury, send an SR-1 to the DMV within 10 days.
• Reinstatement after a lapse brings a fee plus fines starting at $250 and up to $1,750 for each registered vehicle.

9. Your Driving Record

• Collecting 12 or more demerit points within any 12-month period leads to suspension of your license.
• Drivers with 3 to 11 points may have up to three points removed by completing an approved traffic safety course, once in 12 months.
• Reckless driving is assigned 8 demerit points.

10. Driving Under the Influence

• For drivers under 21, a test result of .02% up to (but not including) .08% triggers administrative action; the penalties section lists a 185-day revocation.
• Commercial license holders face per se action at .04% or more but less than .08%.
• The Illegal Per Se administrative action revokes the license for 185 days.

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 Nevada, which are where most people lose points.