California practice test, lanes and passing
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Lane discipline and passing, from the Vehicle Code's own sections: keep right unless passing, what the carpool and restricted lanes allow, when passing on the right is lawful, and the three feet you owe a bicycle under section 21760. Freeway behaviour sits here too, including who may not use a freeway at all where it is posted. Every answer names the section, because the neighbouring rule is usually the tempting wrong answer.
Each topic set draws up to 20 questions from that topic in the California bank and grades against our practice target of 80 percent. The target is our study goal, not the DMV's pass mark.
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Up to 20 questions from this topic, drawn fresh each run from 52 checked questions. Graded against our practice target of 80 percent, our study goal, not the state's pass mark. There's no signup and nothing to pay.
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Five sample questions, answers hidden until you tap
The kerb lane is blocked by a fallen branch, and the sidewalk is wide and empty. May you drive along the sidewalk to get past?
✓ Correct answer: No; driving on a sidewalk is prohibited, except to cross it at a driveway or entrance
Section 21663 reserves the sidewalk absolutely. The lawful detour around an obstruction is the road's own space or another street, never the pedestrians' strip. California Vehicle Code section 21663.
California Vehicle Code section 21663
Ahead, a rider is leading a nervous horse along the road edge, and the horse is shying at traffic. What does the code ask of you as you pass?
✓ Correct answer: Use caution, slow down, and stop if safety requires it
Section 21759 is one of the code's oldest duties, and animals have not changed: a frightened horse can move sideways faster than a driver can react. Room and patience are the whole rule. California Vehicle Code section 21759.
California Vehicle Code section 21759
What is a safe distance when passing on the left, in the code's terms?
✓ Correct answer: A distance that lets you pass and return without interfering with the vehicle passed; the code states the outcome, not a footage
Section 21750 does not fix a number for cars. Its test is interference: if the passed driver must brake or swerve because of your return, the pass was not completed lawfully. California Vehicle Code section 21750.
California Vehicle Code section 21750
A passenger vehicle towing a trailer on a four-lane highway wants to pass a slow van. Which lane may it pass in?
✓ Correct answer: The lane immediately to the left of the right-hand lane
Towing puts the combination into the heavy class for lane purposes as well as speed. Section 21655 allows that one passing lane on a wide highway and no more. California Vehicle Code sections 21655 and 22406.
California Vehicle Code sections 21655 and 22406
Report a wrong answer. Reports are checked against the cited source within two working days, and a right report is fixed in the open, with the date on this page.
Facts strip
- Pass mark
- 80%, as the DMV publishes it
- Our simulators grade on
- Miss allowances: 30 of 36 (adult), 38 of 46 (under 18)
- Questions on the real test
- The DMV publishes no current count
- Time limit
- None published by the DMV
- Application fee
- $46, covers 3 attempts in 12 months
- Retest wait, under 18
- 7 days. No published wait for adults
Facts checked against California DMV pages, 2026-11-03. Official information: California Department of Motor Vehicles, dmv.ca.gov.
Corrections note
No corrections yet. Last checked 2026-11-03, against the California Vehicle Code and DMV published facts.