General Driving Knowledge — California
California DMV practice test: 617 free practice questions (38 official sample questions · Official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. General Driving Knowledge: 92 questions.
Questions that do not fit a single topic: lane use, turning, signalling and other rules of the road.
This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.
| Topic / Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Topic | General Driving Knowledge |
| License test | California Car learner's permit test (Class C) |
| Topic questions | 92 (15% of 617 total) |
| Review status | This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines. |
Official handbook
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Questions (92)
1. Any driver who willfully flees or attempts to evade law enforcement, during which a person is seriously injured, is subject to:
- Imprisonment in a state prison for up to seven years. ✓
- A fine of less than $1,000.
- Attending an anger-management class.
Answer: A. Imprisonment in a state prison for up to seven years.
Fleeing or trying to evade law enforcement and seriously injuring someone during that pursuit can bring imprisonment in a state prison for up to seven years. The handbook separates fleeing from the penalty for hurting someone while doing it. Simply fleeing or attempting to evade officers is a misdemeanor with up to a year in county jail. But when the person is convicted of causing serious bodily injury during a law enforcement pursuit, the handbook says the punishment can be imprisonment in a state prison for up to seven years, or a county jail term of a year or less. The serious injury is what raises the exposure to state prison time.
2. In which lane should you end your turn when making a right turn?
- Any lane free of traffic.
- The lane closest to the left edge of the road.
- The lane closest to the right edge of the road. ✓
Answer: C. The lane closest to the right edge of the road.
End a right turn in the lane closest to the right edge of the road. The handbook's right-turn instructions say to begin and end the turn in the lane nearest the right edge of the road, and it warns against swinging wide into another lane of traffic. That single lane is where the turn both starts and finishes, so the car stays tight to the curb side throughout. The handbook also reminds you to watch for pedestrians, motorcycles, and bicycles between your vehicle and the curb, which is the space a wide swing would cross.
3. When is it required for you to obey directions from a crossing guard?
- At all times. ✓
- During school hours only.
- Only when children are present in front of a school.
Answer: A. At all times.
You must obey a crossing guard's directions at all times. The handbook, when listing what to watch for near schools, tells drivers to look for school safety patrols or crossing guards and says to obey their directions at all times. That instruction is not tied to a clock or to whether children happen to be in the street, so the duty to follow the guard's signals and hand directions applies whenever you meet one directing traffic.
4. Where should you begin a left turn from a one-way street onto a one-way street?
- The lane closest to the center of the street.
- The far-left lane. ✓
- You can turn from any lane.
Answer: B. The far-left lane.
Start a left turn from a one-way street onto another one-way street from the far-left lane. The handbook's turn-by-turn list treats this as its own case: when both streets are one-way, the turn begins in the far-left lane. That is the lane at the left edge of your direction of travel. The same passage adds that bicyclists are allowed to use the left turn lane for their own left turns, so expect them there. If your direction has three or more lanes, the handbook also allows you to finish the turn in any open lane.
5. What is one of the most common causes of traffic collisions?
- Paying attention to your surroundings.
- Better traffic flow.
- Driver distractions. ✓
Answer: C. Driver distractions.
One of the most common causes of traffic collisions is driver distractions. The handbook lists the most common causes of collisions, and driver distractions heads that list. It also warns you to avoid distractions while driving and names examples like looking at a phone, navigation system, children, or pets, changing music or volume, and applying makeup or shaving. Since distracted driving appears on the handbook's own list of frequent collision causes, it is the correct choice here.
6. You are under 18 years of age and have had your license for eight months. You may drive:
- At any time.
- Between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. ✓
- Between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Answer: B. Between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.
You may drive between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. The handbook says a provisional driver under 18 may not drive in the late-night period from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the first 12 months after getting the license. Eight months in, that restriction still applies. Outside that nighttime window, the provisional license does not impose the hour limit described here, so driving from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. fits the rule. The answer is the time range that is not barred.
7. You are required to notify DMV by filing a Report of Traffic Accident Occuring in California (SR-1) form if:
- You allowed a licensed driver from another state to drive your vehicle.
- You were involved in a collision with more than $1,000 in damages. ✓
- You failed to pay your registration fees.
Answer: B. You were involved in a collision with more than $1,000 in damages.
You must file an SR-1 when you were involved in a collision with more than $1,000 in damages. The handbook says you must report a collision to DMV when it caused more than $1,000 in damage to property, or when anyone was injured or killed. Each driver involved files the SR-1, and it applies whether or not you caused the crash and even on private property. The passages also say law enforcement will not file it for you. That makes the collision-damage threshold the reporting trigger described in the question, not the other situations listed.
8. You must notify the DMV with 5 days, if you:
- Paint your vehicle a different color.
- Sell or transfer ownership of your vehicle. ✓
- Receive a traffic violation.
Answer: B. Sell or transfer ownership of your vehicle.
You must tell the DMV within five days when you sell or transfer ownership of your vehicle. The handbook says that after you sell a vehicle, you have five days to notify the DMV by filing a Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability. That form tells the state the car is no longer yours. The same section gives a different deadline for the buyer, who has 10 days to move ownership into their own name. So the five-day notice belongs to the seller, not the person buying.
9. Which of the following is illegal while driving?
- Wearing a headset or ear plugs that covers both ears. ✓
- Wearing a headset or ear plugs that covers one ear.
- Using cruise control on residential streets.
Answer: A. Wearing a headset or ear plugs that covers both ears.
Wearing a headset or ear plugs that covers both ears is illegal while driving. The handbook's section on health and driving says hearing matters because you need to hear horns, sirens, motorcycles, and screeching tires that warn you of hazards. Right after that, it states plainly that wearing a headset or earplugs in both ears while driving is illegal. So the rule is about blocking both ears at once, which is the choice that matches the handbook's wording.
10. Which lane must you be in before making a left turn from a one-way street?
- The lane nearest the left curb. ✓
- The lane nearest the center of the street.
- The lane nearest the right curb.
Answer: A. The lane nearest the left curb.
You must be in the lane nearest the left curb, which is the far-left lane, before making a left turn from a one-way street. The handbook says to begin a left turn from a one-way street in the far-left lane. On a one-way street, that far-left lane is the one next to the left curb. This rule appears for a left turn from a one-way street onto a two-way street and also onto a one-way street, so the starting lane is the same in both cases.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Not yet verified
Updated: · 38 official sample questions · Official driver handbook