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.
Big trucks have large blind spots (‘No Zones’) where your car disappears from view. If you can’t see the truck’s side mirrors, its driver can’t see you.
Safety advice Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
At 55 mph a typical car can stop in about 300 feet, but a large truck may need up to 400, so never cut in front of one and brake.
Safety advice Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Long vehicles swing wide on turns because their rear wheels cut inside the front ones. Check a truck’s turn signal before passing; it may be turning the other way.
Safety advice Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Pass large vehicles on the left and don’t linger beside them; once past, move ahead. Never change lanes right in front of one or follow it too closely.
Safety advice Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Never drive through a safety zone, the marked waiting area for bus, streetcar, or trolley riders. Pass a bus or streetcar stopped at one, or at a light, at 10 mph or less.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Light rail has the same rights as other traffic, so never turn in front of one. Pass a streetcar on the left only on one-way streets, when there’s no room right, or when directed.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Motorcycles are small and easily hidden in blind spots. Check mirrors and look for them before changing lanes, entering a road, or opening your door into traffic.
Safety advice Written test · Drive test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Follow a motorcycle by at least three seconds, and allow even more room when it rides over metal surfaces like bridge gratings or rail tracks, or on gravel.
Safety advice Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Whenever possible, give a motorcycle the full lane, and never try to pass one within its lane. Sharing lanes with motorcycles (lane splitting) is legal in California.
New York differs: Two motorcycles may ride side by side in one lane, but a motorcycle may not share a lane with, or pass within the lane of, a car or any other vehicle that isn’t a motorcycle. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Yield to police, fire, ambulance, and other emergency vehicles using sirens and red lights: pull to the right edge and stop until they pass. Already in an intersection? Clear it first.
Law Written test · Drive test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
It’s illegal to follow within 300 feet behind a fire engine, police car, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle running its siren or flashing lights.
New York differs: New York law (VTL §1217): don’t follow a fire vehicle showing its emergency lights closer than 200 feet in its lane or the next one, and don’t drive into or park in the block where it has stopped for a fire alarm (within 1,000 feet where there are no blocks). The driver’s manual doesn’t mention this rule. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Obey any order or signal from a police officer or firefighter, even if it conflicts with signs, signals, or other traffic laws.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Move over and slow down when passing stopped emergency vehicles, tow trucks, or road-work vehicles showing flashing amber or emergency lights.
Changed 2026-01-01: Since 2026-01-01 California’s Vehicle Code (Section 21809) applies this to any stopped vehicle showing flashing hazard lights or another warning device (such as cones, flares or reflective devices) and to stopped marked highway maintenance vehicles showing flashing amber warning lights: move to a lane not next to it if that’s safe and practical, or else slow down. DMV news release, Dec 26, 2025: new laws in 2026
New York differs: Move Over also applies to vehicles showing blue or green lights and to any vehicle stopped on a parkway or controlled-access highway, on the shoulder or in a lane. A violation counts as a moving violation. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
An orange-and-red triangle marks a slow-moving vehicle, often 25 mph or less. NEVs and low-speed vehicles top out at 25 mph and can’t use roads posted over 35 mph.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Bicyclists have the same rights and duties as drivers: ride with traffic, obey signs and signals, yield to pedestrians, keep brakes working, and wear a helmet if under 18.
Changed 2025-01-01: Selling parts or apps that let an e-bike go beyond its class is banned (AB 1774, AB 545). E-bikes need a red rear reflector or light visible from 500 feet at all hours, not just at night (AB 544). Selling a Class 3 e-bike to anyone under 16 is banned, with a fine of up to $250 (AB 965). Police may remove an electric two- or three-wheeler that isn’t a legal e-bike and can go over 20 mph on the motor alone when the rider lacks the right license, or a Class 3 e-bike ridden by someone under 16 (AB 875). Off-road electric motorcycles (‘e-motos’) are off-highway vehicles needing a DMV ID plate (SB 586). Marin County may ban under-16s from Class 2 and require helmets; San Diego County may ban under-12s from Class 1 and 2 (until 2029). The handbook doesn’t say this yet. California bill AB 1774 (2023-24)
Takes effect 2027-01-01: From 2027: a 10 mph speed limit on sidewalks (no license points) and local 10/15/20 mph limits on posted bike paths and multiuse trails (AB 2346). Riding an electric two- or three-wheeler that can exceed 20 mph on the motor alone on a public road is illegal unless it is a vehicle type the Vehicle Code allows there (for example a registered moped or motorcycle), and police may remove it; ‘moped’ and ‘motor-driven cycle’ get new definitions (SB 1167). The seat rule for bike riders and passengers also applies on Class I bike paths (AB 1614). San Mateo County may ban under-12s from Class 1 and 2 e-bikes until 2031 (AB 2595). New e-bikes need front and rear lights, and Class 2 a speedometer, from 2029. The handbook doesn’t say this yet. California bill AB 2346 (2025-26)
New York differs: Cyclists and bike passengers aged 1 to 13 must wear approved helmets. Carrying a baby under 1 is illegal, and children aged 1 to 4 must ride in an attached bicycle child seat. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
At night a bicycle needs a white front light visible from 300 feet, a red rear reflector or light visible from 500 feet, and pedal or ankle reflectors visible from 200 feet.
New York differs: At night a bicycle needs a headlight visible 500 feet ahead, a red taillight visible 300 feet behind, and a light visible 200 feet to each side. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
If you can’t change lanes to pass a bicyclist, leave at least 3 feet of space, or wait behind until you can. Don’t squeeze riders toward parked cars or opening doors.
New York differs: Overtake a cyclist on their left, keeping a safe gap until you’re completely past, so the rider has room. New York rule
New York differs: Give cyclists plenty of room and slow down as you pass, since a fast car’s air blast can knock a rider off balance. Pass them as you would any vehicle, moving into the next lane when it’s safe. New York rule
Law Written test · Drive test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Work-zone fines can reach $1,000 or more and double when workers are present or in Double Fine Zones; assaulting a highway worker can bring up to $2,000 in fines and a year in jail.
New York differs: Speeding fines double in work zones, even when no workers or work vehicles are present. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
School bus flashing red lights? Stop from either direction and stay stopped until the lights go off and children have crossed. Not stopping risks a fine up to $1,000 and a one-year suspension.
Law Written test · Drive test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean it’s about to stop to let children off, so slow down and get ready to stop.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
No need to stop for a school bus across a divided highway, or across a road with two or more lanes each way: California’s Vehicle Code (Section 22454) and the handbook both say so. DMV’s drive-test scoring criteria list only the divided-highway exception.
New York differs: Even across a divided highway, a school bus flashing its red lights means you stop. New York rule
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Flashing red lights at a railroad crossing mean stop and wait; don’t cross until they stop flashing, even if the gate goes up.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
When signals or a flagger warn of a train, stay at least 15 feet back from the nearest rail. Never drive around or under a gate that is down or lowering.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Never stop on railroad tracks. Don’t start across unless there’s room to clear them completely, and expect a train on any track, from either direction, at any time.
Law Written test · Drive test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Buses, school buses, and trucks with diamond-shaped hazardous-load placards must stop before crossing railroad tracks, so be ready to stop behind them.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
Horse-drawn vehicles and riders on horses or other animals may use the road, and scaring horses or livestock on purpose is illegal. A sign showing an animal means look out for animals in or beside the road; when animals or livestock are close to the road, slow down or stop until it’s safe, and follow the directions of whoever is in charge of them.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
In a work zone, slow down, leave extra space, expect sudden slowing or stopping, watch for drivers changing lanes, and avoid distractions. Merge early once it’s safe, never cutting across the cones or drums, and obey flaggers and special signs.
Safety advice Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
A bicyclist slower than traffic must keep as close as they can to the right curb or edge, except when passing, preparing to turn left, avoiding a hazard, in a lane too narrow to share, or approaching a right turn; where a one-way street has two or more lanes, they may ride near the left edge instead. Drivers should keep a safe following distance; when it is safe, the rider should move over so vehicles can pass.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)
For a right turn on a road with a bike lane, you may use the bike lane for the last 200 feet before the turn: merge into it only when it’s safe, fall in behind any bicyclist, and check your blind spots for riders first.
Law Written test California Driver Handbook: Laws and Rules of the Road (cont.)