California DMV cheat sheet

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Most-missed California DMV rules

These are the numbers and rules that trip up new drivers most often on the real California knowledge test. Every fact below comes from our free California DMV practice test question bank, fact-checked against the California Driver's Handbook and Vehicle Code.

Speed limits

• Residential or business district with no posted sign: 25 mph.
• School zone while children are present: 25 mph unless posted lower.
• Alley: 15 mph.
• Blind intersection with no signs or signals: 15 mph.
• Uncontrolled railroad crossing where you cannot see 400 feet both ways within the last 100 feet: 15 mph.
• Default California freeway speed: 65 mph, some stretches post 70 mph.
• Vehicles towing a trailer, and trucks, on a freeway: 55 mph maximum.
• Passing a streetcar or trolley loading passengers at a safety zone: no more than 10 mph.
• On a two-lane highway, if 5 or more vehicles stack up behind you because you are driving slowly, you must pull into a turnout or otherwise let them pass at the first safe opportunity.
• Basic Speed Law: never drive faster than is safe for current conditions, even at the posted limit.

Right of way

• Four-way stop, two vehicles arrive together: yield to the vehicle on your right.
• Uncontrolled intersection, two vehicles arrive from different roads at the same time: the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
• School bus flashing red lights on a two-way road with no divider: stop, no matter which direction you are traveling. Flashing yellow means slow down and prepare to stop.
• Pedestrian crossing at an intersection with no painted crosswalk: still yield, every intersection is a legal crosswalk.
• Blind pedestrian with a white cane: stop and yield absolutely until they have crossed safely. Never honk.
• Person in a wheelchair in the crosswalk: remain stopped behind the line until they have safely finished crossing.
• Entering a roundabout: yield to traffic already circulating, then enter counterclockwise when there is a gap.
• Narrow mountain road where only one vehicle can pass: the downhill vehicle backs up to yield to the uphill vehicle.
• Uncontrolled T-intersection: the vehicle on the dead-end road yields to all traffic on the through road.
• Waiting to turn left: yield to all oncoming traffic close enough to be a hazard, and to pedestrians, before turning.
• Turning right where there is a bike lane: yield to bicycles, then merge into the bike lane within the last 200 feet before turning.
• A green light is not absolute: yield to vehicles or pedestrians still lawfully in the intersection from the previous cycle.
• A car is stopped at a crosswalk in the next lane: do not pass, someone may be crossing where you cannot see.
• Green light with a light-rail train approaching: never cross or turn in front of an approaching train, even on green.

Alcohol & DUI

• Drivers 21 and older: illegal to drive at a BAC of 0.08% or higher.
• Drivers under 21: illegal at a BAC of just 0.01% or higher (zero tolerance).
• Implied consent: holding a license means you have agreed in advance to a chemical BAC test after a lawful DUI arrest. Refusing brings a mandatory license suspension, added on top of any DUI penalties.
• An opened container of alcohol must be carried in the trunk.
• A driver under 21 may not carry alcohol in the vehicle, except statutory exceptions such as being accompanied by a parent or guardian, or under lawful work instructions.
• DUI covers every impairing substance, not just alcohol: legally purchased cannabis and prescription or over-the-counter drugs count too.
• Passengers may not drink alcohol in an ordinary moving vehicle, with statutory exceptions for bus, taxi, limousine, and housecar passengers.

Signals & lane changes

• Before turning, signal continuously during at least the last 100 feet.
• On a freeway, signal a lane change at least 5 seconds before changing lanes.
• Turning right on red: allowed after a complete stop and yielding, unless a sign prohibits it.
• Turning left on red: legal only from a one-way street onto another one-way street, after a complete stop.
• A flashing red light at an intersection is treated like a stop sign.
• A steady red arrow means no turn in that direction until the signal changes, including no turn on red.
• A flashing yellow arrow for a left turn means you may turn after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
• A completely dark traffic signal is treated as a four-way stop.
• Broken yellow center line: passing is allowed when the oncoming lane is clear and it is safe.
• Solid double yellow lines ban passing, but you may cross them to turn left into or out of a driveway or private road, or to make a permitted U-turn.
• Two sets of double yellow lines spaced 2 or more feet apart form a barrier: do not drive over it or turn across it.
• Broken white lines between same-direction lanes mean you may change lanes when safe. Solid white means stay in your lane.
• HOV (carpool) lanes typically require at least 2 occupants, or as posted.
• A green arrow with a red round light means you may go in the arrow's direction, protected from oncoming traffic.

Parking distances

• No closer than 15 feet from a fire hydrant.
• No closer than 7.5 feet from a railroad track.
• Parallel parking: both front and rear wheels within 18 inches of the curb, facing the same direction as traffic.
• Parking uphill next to a curb: turn your front wheels away from the curb. Downhill with a curb: turn them toward the curb. No curb at all: always toward the edge of the road.
• Red curb: no stopping or parking. White curb: stop only long enough to load or unload passengers. Blue curb: disabled placard or plate holders only. Green curb: time-limited parking as posted.
• Parking on a freeway is permitted only for emergencies, breakdowns, or police direction.
• On a two-way street, park only on the right curb, in the direction of traffic; the left curb is only for one-way streets where allowed.
• Blocking a driveway is illegal; your car can be towed at your expense.
• Before leaving a parked car: stop the engine, lock the ignition and remove the key, and set the parking brake.

Following & stopping

• Normal conditions: keep a 3-second following distance, more in bad weather.
• Dim your high beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle, and within 300 feet when following another vehicle.
• Following a motorcycle: allow a longer following distance, motorcycles stop faster and can fall.
• Passing a bicyclist when you cannot change lanes: leave at least 3 feet.
• Following fire apparatus responding to a call: no closer than 300 feet.

Licenses & paperwork

• After selling your vehicle, notify the DMV within 5 days (file the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability).
• After moving within California, report your new address to the DMV within 10 days.
• File an SR-1 report with the DMV when a collision involves over $1,000 in damage, an injury, or a death.
• California's minimum liability insurance since January 1, 2025 is 30/60/15 ($30,000 injury per person, $60,000 per crash, $15,000 property damage).
• Under 18: no phone use at all while driving, even hands-free, except calling 911.
• 18 and older: hands-free only, phone mounted, single tap or swipe to operate.
• A child under 2 must ride rear-facing, unless the child has reached 40 pounds or 40 inches.
• Children under 8 must ride in the back seat in an approved car seat or booster, aside from statutory exceptions.
• The driver is cited when a passenger under 16 is unbelted.
• Provisional license holders under 18: for the first 12 months you may drive alone but not between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., and may not carry passengers under 20, unless accompanied by a licensed adult 25 or older or covered by an exception. On an instruction permit, you may never drive alone.
• Driving while your license is suspended is a criminal offense, not just administrative.
• Under the point system, an adult risks suspension at 4 points in 12 months (or 6 in 24, or 8 in 36).
• Leaving a child age 6 or younger alone in a car, without anyone 12 or older supervising, is illegal where there is significant risk (Kaitlyn's Law).

Emergencies

• An ambulance or emergency vehicle approaches from behind with sirens on: pull to the right edge and stop. Never stop in an intersection, clear it first.
• Car stalls on railroad tracks with a train coming: get out immediately and run diagonally toward the oncoming train, away from the tracks.
• Police officer signals you to pull over: signal right, pull to the right edge safely, hands on the wheel.
• Accelerator sticks: shift to neutral, brake and pull off, turn the engine off only after stopping.
• Car breaks down on the freeway: get fully off the traffic lanes and turn on hazards; if you cannot exit safely, stay belted inside and call for help.
• Move Over law: passing a stopped emergency or roadside-assistance vehicle with flashing lights, move to a farther lane if safe, or slow down noticeably if you cannot.

Signs

California road signs at a glance

Sign shape and color carry meaning before you even read the words. A red octagon always means stop. A red-bordered triangle pointing down means yield. Yellow diamonds warn of a hazard ahead, like a curve or merging traffic. Orange diamonds mark construction or work zones. A yellow pentagon marks a school area or crossing. White signs with black text are regulatory, like posted speed limits, the legal maximum in ideal conditions.

For every sign image used in our practice test, with the exact meaning and explanation, see the full California road sign glossary.

Keep studying

This cheat sheet is a summary, not a substitute for practice. Test yourself with the free California DMV practice test, which explains the reasoning behind every answer and includes real sign images.

After you pass

A brand-new license means carriers rate you as a new driver. Before accepting the first number you see, ask about good student discounts and carriers that are friendlier to newly licensed adults. That conversation is free: request a quote.