New Jersey Driver Manual: study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

1. The New Jersey Driver License System

• Any New Jersey resident at least 17 who is not suspended can obtain an examination permit; no instructor or school enrollment is needed.
• For a special learner permit, the approved instructor buys the permit after the student's documents are provided.
• An approved course is six full hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in a dual-controlled vehicle, not counting time at the MVC.

2. New Jersey Driver Testing

• A minimum of 50 practice driving hours, including 10 hours during darkness, is required, certified on the BA-CSD form.
• You need 80 percent, or 40 of the 50 questions, correct.
• Basic license applicants need 20/50 vision with or without corrective lenses.

3. Driver Responsibility

• Pull up alongside, parallel to the car in front, about two to four feet away before backing in.
• State law requires moving to the proper lane and signaling at least 100 feet before any turn.
• Motorists may sound the horn when passing another vehicle when not in a business or residential zone.

4. Safe Driving Rules and Regulations

• GDL permit and probationary license holders may not use hand-held or hands-free phones or any other electronic device while driving.
• Suburban business and residential districts have a 35 mph limit unless posted otherwise.
• Non-posted rural roadways have a 50 mph limit.

5. Defensive Driving

• Run at a 45-degree angle away from the tracks in the direction of the train to avoid flying debris.
• During bad weather or on wet roads, increase the interval to four or more seconds.
• A good rule on snow-covered roads is a following distance of six seconds or more.

6. Drinking, Drugs, and Health

• For drivers under 21, it is illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.01 percent or higher.
• About 90 percent of alcohol is oxidized by the liver; the other 10 percent leaves in breath, urine and sweat.
• Each of these standard drinks contains about the same amount of alcohol, about half an ounce.

7. Driver Privileges and Penalties

• Two points are added to a New Jersey driving record for traffic violations committed in other states.
• Up to three points are subtracted each year without a violation or suspension, but never below zero.
• Motorists who accumulate 12 or more points receive a Notice of Scheduled Suspension from the MVC.

8. Sharing the Road with Others

• The fatality rate jumps from 5 percent at 20 mph to 85 percent at 40 mph.
• Motorists must slow to 25 mph or less and proceed with caution when approaching or passing horses.
• Under the Safe Passing Law, if 4 feet is not possible you must slow to 25 mph and be ready to stop until you can pass safely.

9. Vehicle Information

• A new resident must have a passenger vehicle five model years or older inspected within 14 days after registering it.
• Replace lost or damaged plates within 24 hours at any MVC Vehicle Center.
• Gasoline passenger vehicles (1996 and newer) more than five model years old must pass inspection every two years.

11. Appendix: Driver Safety (signals, signs, road markings)

• The crossbuck means the same as a Yield sign; motorists must always yield to trains.
• Green signs mark routes where trucks are permitted; red signs mark where trucks are prohibited and the end of designated routes.
• Flaggers have the same authority as a regulatory sign, so you may be cited for disobeying them.

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 New Jersey, which are where most people lose points.