California · Rules
Signals and lights tell other people what you’re about to do; seat belts protect you when someone guesses wrong. Several of these get checked before a drive test even starts.
Roadfeel’s road-sense principles
Tags show the kind of rule and whether it’s a written-test point or matters on the drive test (our tagging). Each rule links to its official source.
Keep both hands on the wheel when possible. For push-pull steering, hold it at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 o’clock and don’t cross your hands over the middle.
Use hand-over-hand steering, starting at 8 and 4, for slow turns, parking, and skid recovery. Steer one-handed only when backing while looking back (hand at 12) or using a control.
Signal before every turn, lane change, slowdown, or stop, even when no one seems to be around, and switch the signal off once you’re done.
Start your turn signal no less than 100 feet ahead of any turn.
On the freeway, signal for at least five seconds before moving into another lane.
Signal before pulling to or away from the curb. If you’ll turn just after crossing an intersection, wait to signal until you’re nearly through it.
If your signal lights fail or sunlight washes them out, use arm signals out the driver’s window: arm straight out for left, bent up for right, bent down to slow or stop.
Use the horn to prevent a collision, or to alert oncoming drivers on narrow mountain roads where you can’t see at least 200 feet ahead.
Dim your high beams when an oncoming vehicle is within 500 feet, or when you’re within 300 feet behind another vehicle.
New York differs: Switch to low beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle, and within 200 feet of a vehicle you’re following, even if it’s in a different lane. New York rule
Headlights must be on from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and whenever darkness keeps you from seeing 1,000 feet (California’s Vehicle Code, Section 24400 and Section 280).
Whenever fog, rain, or snow makes you use your windshield wipers, your low-beam headlights must be on too.
Driving with only your parking lights on is illegal; switch on your actual headlights.
Driver and passengers must all buckle up. You can be ticketed for your own seat belt and for any unbelted passenger under 16.
A child younger than 2 who weighs less than 40 pounds and stands under 3 feet 4 inches must ride rear-facing, and never in the front seat of a car with airbags.
Children under 8, or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches, must ride in a child safety seat in the back seat, except in a few special situations.
New York differs: Passengers aged 8 to 15 must wear a seat belt. A 4- to 7-year-old over 4 feet 9 inches and/or 100 pounds may use a regular belt, while a child 8 or older still under that size should keep using a booster. New York rule
Kids who have turned 8, or who stand 4 feet 9 inches or taller, may use a regular seat belt that fits properly.
Takes effect 2027-01-01: From 2027, a child 8 to 15 may ride with just the seat belt only if it fits by the 5-Step test: back flat against the seat, knees bending at the seat edge, shoulder belt across the middle of the chest and shoulder (not the neck), lap belt low on the thighs, and able to sit that way the whole trip. Otherwise the child needs a booster or other child restraint. The same 5-Step definition goes into the general seat-belt law for riders 16 and older. The handbook doesn’t say this yet. California bill AB 435 (2025-26)
Keep your breastbone 10 or more inches from the airbag cover in the steering wheel’s center; a front passenger needs the same gap from theirs.
Leaving a child 6 or younger alone in a vehicle is illegal unless someone at least 12 is watching them; never leave kids or pets in a hot car.
Also use your headlights on mountain roads and in tunnels, even on sunny days; when clouds, dust, smoke, or fog hide other vehicles from you; where a sign says headlights must be on; and to help others see your car, especially when the sun is low.
Wear the shoulder belt across your shoulder and chest with little or no slack, never tucked under an arm or behind you, and keep the lap belt snug and low on the hips. During pregnancy, keep the lap belt as far down as it goes, beneath the belly, with the shoulder strap between the breasts and off to the side of the bump.
3 of our 43 practice questions for this chapter, with explanations. The rest are in the app.
Answer: A. At least 100 feet before the turn
Signal at least 100 feet before you turn, so others know your plan in time. Do it even when you don’t see any other vehicles around you.
Answer: A. A quick tap to warn a driver who is backing out toward you
The handbook lists the horn’s uses: letting others know you’re there, warning of hazards and avoiding collisions, like a car about to back into you. Hurrying or scolding someone isn’t on that list, and never honk at a blind pedestrian.
Answer: B. 300 feet
Dim your high beams within 300 feet of a vehicle you’re following, and within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle. High beams shining into another driver’s mirrors or eyes can blind them.
40 more practice questions for this chapterKeep practicing in Roadfeel
Restated in our own words from the California Driver Handbook (DL 600, rev. 6/2025) and dmv.ca.gov. The handbook is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, which bars commercial reuse, so we don’t reproduce it; we quote short phrases and link to it.