Your exam
18 questions. 15 correct to pass — you may miss only 3. The shortest test of the six states, and the least forgiving.
Signalling — the number changes with your speed
| Your speed | Signal at least |
|---|---|
| Under 35 mph | 100 feet before the turn |
| 35 mph or more | 300 feet before the turn |
Most states give one distance. Pennsylvania trebles it above 35 mph, and the 100-foot figure is the one people remember because it matches everywhere else.
Headlights — the rule most drivers fail
Use low beams:
- within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle, and
- whenever you are following another vehicle.
The second half is the forgotten one, and it is the one that fills the mirror of the driver in front of you.
Daytime running lights are not enough. Your tail lights must be lit too — a modern car lights up at the front automatically and can still be invisible from behind in rain or spray.
Failing to use headlights when required: fines start at $25 and approach $100 once costs are added. Stopped for another violation in a work zone with your headlights off adds a further $25.
Overdriving your headlights
Low beams light about 250 feet ahead. At 55 mph it takes more than 250 feet to stop, so you would be unable to stop inside what you can see.
On a dark road at night, do not exceed 45 mph.
Related: 65 mph is almost 100 feet per second. A moment of inattention crosses the width of the shoulder before you can react.
Alcohol
| Driver | Limit |
|---|---|
| 21 or over | .08 |
| Under 21 | .02 |
At .04 — half the adult limit — drivers are already two to seven times more likely to crash than drivers with no alcohol. You can also be convicted below .08 if you were driving erratically.
Implied consent means you agreed to chemical testing by being licensed to drive in Pennsylvania. You never signed anything at the roadside; the licence was the signature.
Parking distances
| Distance | From |
|---|---|
| 15 feet | a fire hydrant |
| 20 feet | a crosswalk at an intersection |
| 20 feet | the driveway entrance to a fire station |
| 30 feet | any flashing signal, stop sign, yield sign or traffic control device at the side of the road |
Three different figures for four different things — the 30-foot one is largest because parking closer hides the sign from drivers approaching it.
Also never: in front of a public or private driveway, or on a limited access highway.
School buses
Amber lights flashing: the bus is preparing to stop. That is your cue to slow, not your last chance to get past.
Red lights flashing with the stop arm out: stop at least 10 feet away. This applies whether you are behind the bus, coming toward it on the same roadway, or approaching an intersection at which the bus has stopped — that last case is the one drivers miss.
Stay stopped until the red lights stop flashing. The bus driver decides when the crossing is over, not you.
Following a motorcycle
Leave three or four seconds. In dry conditions a motorcycle can stop more quickly than a car, which is exactly why closing up leaves you nowhere to go.
Insurance
A lapse of 31 days or longer suspends your registration for three months — counted whether or not the car moved. If you also drove, or let someone drive, while uninsured, your driving privilege is affected as well.
Turning
Left on red is permitted only from a one-way street onto another one-way street, from the left lane, after stopping and yielding — and only where no sign forbids it. Every part of that condition matters.