Oklahoma Driver Manual: study guide

Key rules by chapter

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

1. How to Apply for Your Oklahoma Driver License

• You must have held a learner permit for at least 180 days.
• At 16 you need a driver education completion certificate; at 16½ driver education completion is not required.
• The intermediate license requires a Work Zone Safe completion certificate.

2. Your Driver License Restrictions and Renewals

• Restriction T is the graduated driver license: driving 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with exceptions, and passenger limits. It does not apply at 18 or older.
• On conviction, the penalty is a fine of up to $500 or 6 months in jail or both. Violating a restriction carries the same.
• When you move you must notify Service Oklahoma within 10 days.

3. Requirements for Oklahoma Drivers

• Service Oklahoma will suspend the license of the uninsured driver/owner in a collision with any injury or property damage of $500 or more.
• Every driver and front-seat passenger must wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt.
• Drivers transporting a child under 8 must properly use a child passenger restraint system.

4. Signs, Signals and Markings

• Fluorescent yellow-green is the high-emphasis warning color for schools, pedestrians and bicycling.
• Stripes sloping downward to the right mean bear to the right; sloping to the left mean bear to the left.
• Do not pass a vehicle required to stop at a crossing except when driving on a multi-lane highway.

5. Right-of-Way—When to Yield

• A vehicle must stop 15 feet from a blind person in the roadway or at an intersection, outside the crosswalk.
• The cane may be all white, white with a red tip, or chrome; yield the right-of-way.
• You must still pull over to the right shoulder, even if it means crossing several lanes safely.

6. Lane Usage and Maneuvers

• Drive between the minimum (usually 40 mph) and maximum (55-75 mph) speed limits; driving too slowly is against the law.
• Signal right at least 100 feet before the exit.
• Watch 15-20 seconds ahead for cars braking, entering and exiting.

7. The Basic Speed Rule

• If you can't stop in time, you were breaking the Basic Speed Rule, even within the limit, or following too closely.
• Upon conviction of speeding you may be fined up to $654 and sentenced to 30 days in jail; fines double in school and construction zones when workers or equipment are present.
• Controlled access highways are 75 mph unless otherwise posted.

8. Stopping and Following

• The manual lists perception at about .5 seconds and reaction at about .66 seconds.
• Maximum braking comes just before the wheels lock; too much pressure locks the wheels and causes a skid.
• On loose or slippery surfaces tap the brakes slightly about one second apart; never tap antilock brakes.

9. Parking

• Unless signs prohibit parking or the curb is painted yellow, you may park parallel to the curb within 18 inches of it.
• To park on a hill, parallel park but stop within six inches of the curb and brace the wheels against it.
• Facing uphill against a curb, turn your wheels sharply away from the curb and back slowly until the tire rests against it.

10. Sharing the Road

• Oklahoma law requires a safe distance of not less than 3 feet when overtaking and passing a bicycle (Title 47-11-1208-A).
• Cyclists must slow down at stop signs, stop if there's danger and yield; if no danger is present, they can proceed without stopping.
• Research shows two-thirds of car/motorcycle collisions are caused by the driver who turned in front of the motorcycle.

11. Driving Tips

• Dim your high beams within 1,000 feet of an oncoming vehicle or within 600 feet of a vehicle you are following.
• Dim to low beams within 600 feet of the vehicle you are following.
• Generally your left hand should be between 9:00 and 10:30 and your right hand between 2:00 and 4:00, with at least 1/3 of the wheel between them.

12. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving—Oklahoma Is Tough on DUIs

• Alcohol is responsible for about 1/4 of all highway deaths.
• Refusal will result in an automatic revocation of your driving privilege, even if you have not been drinking.
• The revocation period is 180 days to 2 years depending on your previous driving record.

13. Violations and Penalties

• Minimums are $25,000 for one person, $50,000 for two or more persons and $25,000 property damage, per accident.
• Oklahoma requires $25,000 for property damage.
• Failure to comply or produce proof can bring a fine up to $250, 30 days in jail or both, plus suspension of license and registration.

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 Oklahoma, which are where most people lose points.