A full stop is required at a stop sign, at a red signal, and whenever a traffic officer tells you to stop. Ignoring any one of them is a violation and a common cause of serious crashes.
A siren or flashing red or blue lights mean an emergency vehicle needs the road. Move to the right edge, stop, and stay there until it has gone by; failing to do so breaks the law and puts lives at risk.
Pick a landmark the red car passes and count: the blue car should take at least three seconds to reach it. A gap of one or one and a half seconds is too short to stop in time, and the space should grow in rain, fog or heavy traffic.
Water on the pavement makes stopping take longer, so open up a gap of at least 4 to 5 seconds behind the vehicle ahead. Brake, steer and accelerate gently to avoid skidding.
Tip On wet pavement, plan on about twice your usual following distance so you have room to stop.
A Missouri instruction permit has no time-of-day limit, but you must always have a qualified licensed driver in the front seat with you, such as a licensed driver age 21 or older once you are 16. The 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. limit on driving alone applies to the intermediate license, not the permit.
Each of these lowers the force of the crash: objects that give way absorb energy, a stationary object adds no speed of its own, and a glancing blow transfers less force than a head-on hit. If a collision is likely, brake hard and steer toward the least harmful option.
Without a sign showing otherwise, residential districts carry a 25 mph limit. Homes along the street mean children, walkers and bike riders may appear suddenly, so keep your speed down and stay ready to brake.
Drivers who are 21 or older break the law once their BAC hits 0.08%. Anyone under 21 is held to a zero-tolerance limit far below that, so 0.08% is not their cutoff, and 0.06% is not the standard adult limit.
Set the front wheels so that the curb would stop the car if it started to roll: angle them toward the curb if the car points downhill and away from it if the car points uphill. Apply the parking brake every time.
Tip Downhill means wheels toward the curb; uphill with a curb means wheels away from it.
Slippery pavement gives your tires less traction, so lose speed before a curve or intersection rather than while you are in it. Speeding into a curve, or waiting until you are already descending a hill to downshift, makes a skid more likely.
Highway traffic moves fast, so situations change in seconds. Paying full attention, scanning constantly, and being ready for hazards such as debris, stalled cars, or sudden braking all help you avoid a crash.
You must not pass or go around a vehicle that has stopped for people at a crosswalk, because it may be hiding a child who is stepping into the road. Obeying the school speed limit and letting children cross first are things you must do, not things you must avoid.
Most states require a parallel-parked car to have its wheels within 12 inches of the curb, and some allow up to 18, so staying within 12 inches keeps you legal in either case. A wider gap leaves the car sticking out into the travel lane, where it becomes a hazard to passing traffic.
Tip A gap of roughly 6 to 12 inches keeps you within the limit while protecting your tires from the curb.
Flashing red lights mean children are getting on or off, so you must come to a full stop at least 20 feet behind the bus. Do not move again until the lights go off and the stop arm has been pulled back in.
Missouri does not let intermediate license holders drive from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. unless a licensed driver aged 21 or older is with them; trips to or from school or work, or because of an emergency, are exempt. At any other time they can drive alone.
SATOP, Missouri's Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program, offers alcohol and drug education or treatment, and drivers convicted of DUI must complete it before getting full driving privileges back. Fines, a period without a license and possible jail time come with it; a DUI never ends with just a small fine or a warning, and a first offense does not bring a five-year suspension.
Under implied consent, getting a license and driving on public roads count as advance agreement to chemical testing, such as a breath test, when you are arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Refusing the test usually brings its own penalties, including loss of your license.
One standard drink equals either 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits; each holds about the same amount of alcohol. Choosing beer or wine over liquor does not make you any less impaired.
Before you back up, change lanes or brake suddenly, check the traffic behind you with your mirrors and by turning your head. Look over your shoulder through the rear window when backing, and check your blind spot before moving into another lane. These are the moments when a collision with someone behind you is most likely: backing takes you toward whatever is back there, and if you change lanes or brake hard, a vehicle coming up behind you may have no room to avoid you.
When the wipers fail in rain or snow, ease off your speed at once, open the driver's window and look out of it if that is the only way to see, and then brake and leave the road at a safe spot. Wait there with your hazard flashers on until the weather clears or the wipers are fixed.
After a blowout, hold the steering wheel firmly, take your foot off the accelerator, and keep the car going straight while it loses speed on its own. Braking hard can make you lose control, so stop only after you have eased off the road to a safe spot.
Blinking your brake lights or turning on the hazard flashers lets the people behind you know early that traffic is stopping for a crash ahead, which gives them room to slow down. These signals warn of danger or an unexpected slowdown; they are not a way to thank another driver or something to use while reversing out of a parking spot.
Tip Hazard flashers are for warning others of a sudden danger, not for excusing double-parking or for ordinary driving.
Mirrors show a lot, but not the red blind-spot zones beside the car, so a shoulder check is the only way to be sure no vehicle is hiding there. Skipping either the mirrors or the shoulder check leaves part of the area around you unchecked.
The examiner looks over the vehicle first, and any one of these problems is enough to cancel the test: an unsafe car, missing seat belts, or equipment that stops the examiner from using the brake pedal if needed.
Alcohol makes it hard to hold a steady lane position and speed, so swerving between lanes, crawling well below the pace of traffic, and stopping suddenly for no clear reason are classic warning signs. Give such a driver plenty of room and report the vehicle to police when you can do so safely.
To indicate a right turn, stick your left arm through the driver's window and bend it up at the elbow so your hand points toward the sky. A straight, extended arm signals a left turn, while an arm bent downward signals that you are slowing down or stopping.
The law requires headlights starting 30 minutes after the sun sets and ending 30 minutes before it rises, which means that in the morning you can turn them off when sunrise is half an hour away. Leave them on longer when rain, fog, or snow limits visibility.
The headlight requirement begins 30 minutes after sunset, when fading daylight makes it harder for others to see you. Also turn them on at any hour when rain, snow, or fog limits visibility.
Total stopping distance is the ground you cover while reacting plus the distance needed to brake, which depends on speed, brakes, tires, and the road surface. Darkness can make hazards harder to spot, but the clock itself does not change how far the vehicle needs to stop.
Tip When judging how quickly you can stop, think about speed, reaction time, brakes, tires, and pavement, not the hour.
Passing must always be done on the paved, main part of the road. Pulling onto the shoulder or dirt edge to get by is never allowed, even next to a vehicle that is turning left.
Since none of them arrived first, each driver gives way to the vehicle approaching from the right, and the truck, which is turning left, must also wait for oncoming traffic. So the yellow car goes first, then the blue car, which had the yellow car on its right, and finally the truck, which had the blue car on its right.
Cutting across a parking lot, gas station, or other property to avoid a sign or signal is illegal. The only exception is when a police officer directs traffic that way.
If a school bus stops on a two-lane road with its red lights flashing, traffic approaching from either direction has to stop and stay put until the lights go off and the bus moves on. Simply slowing down is not sufficient, including when the bus is on the opposite side of the road.
Tip Drivers on the far side of a highway split by a physical divider, such as a raised median, are not required to stop.
All three situations call for a lower speed: narrow or curving roads leave little room for error, intersections and railroad crossings bring cross traffic and trains, and slick pavement makes stopping take longer. Driving slower buys you extra time to react.
No one number is safe in every situation. Choose your speed based on the weather, the road surface, how far you can see and how heavy traffic is, and remember that driving under the limit can still be too fast in poor conditions.
Headlights must be on at night, which many states take to mean the time starting 30 minutes after the sun sets and ending 30 minutes before it rises, and also whenever rain, fog, or other bad weather makes seeing difficult. They light the road ahead and help other drivers notice your vehicle.
Every question in this set has its own page with the correct answer and an explanation.
