Ohio DMV Permit Test: Speed, Passing, and Parking Concepts
Importance ★★★★☆ · 25% (estimate)
Overview
This chapter covers how fast you may drive, how to pass safely, and where you may not park. It has many numbers, so it helps to learn them as groups: speed limits, passing distances, and parking distances.
Ohio's basic rule is that you must drive at a speed that lets you stop within the assured clear distance ahead, never faster than is reasonable for traffic, road, and weather. Unless another limit is posted, the limit is 20 mph in a school zone during recess and while children are arriving or leaving, where school speed signs are posted, 15 mph in alleys within a city or village, 25 mph in most other parts of a city or village, 35 mph on state routes in a city or village outside business districts, 55 mph on highways outside cities and villages, and 70 mph on rural freeways.
When you pass on a two-lane road, you must be back in your own lane before you come within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle. Do not drive on the left side within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing, or near a hill crest or curve where you cannot see. Pass on the right only when the vehicle ahead is turning left or the road has room for two or more lanes your way, and never by driving off the roadway. When someone passes you, keep right and do not speed up.
Parking rules protect firefighters, pedestrians, and drivers' view. Do not park within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, within 30 feet of a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic signal, or within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing. Do not park on a sidewalk, crosswalk, bridge, or bicycle lane. Next to a curb, park within 12 inches of it.
Key concepts
Assured clear distance ahead
Drive no faster than will let you stop within the distance you can clearly see ahead, and never faster than is reasonable for traffic, road surface, and conditions.
Memory tipIf you can't stop in what you can see, you're too fast.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.21 · as of 2026
Default speed limits
Unless posted: school zone at recess or when children arrive or leave (signs posted) 20 mph; city or village alley 15 mph; most city or village streets 25 mph; state route in a city or village outside a business district 35 mph; highway outside cities and villages 55 mph; rural freeway 70 mph.
Memory tip20 school, 25 town, 55 country, 70 rural freeway.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.21 · as of 2026
Passing on the left
Return to your lane before coming within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle. Do not drive on the left side within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing, or near a hill crest or curve where your view is blocked.
Memory tip200 feet from oncoming cars; 100 feet from intersections and tracks.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.29 and 4511.30 · as of 2026
Passing on the right
Allowed only when the vehicle ahead is making or about to make a left turn, or the road has room for two or more lanes going your way. Never drive off the roadway to pass.
Memory tipNever use the shoulder to pass.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.28 · as of 2026
Being passed
Keep to the right and do not increase your speed until the other vehicle has completely passed.
Memory tipBeing passed: hold your speed, keep right.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.27 · as of 2026
No-parking distances
Do not park within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, 30 feet of a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic signal, or 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.
Memory tip10 hydrant, 20 crosswalk, 30 sign or signal, 50 railroad.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.68 · as of 2026
Parking at a curb
Park with your right-hand wheels parallel to and not more than 12 inches from the right-hand curb.
Memory tipWithin 12 inches of the curb.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4511.69 · as of 2026
Often tested
- School zone during recess and while children arrive or leave, where school speed signs are posted: 20 mph.
- Most city and village streets: 25 mph. Highways outside cities and villages: 55 mph.
- Return from passing before coming within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle.
- No driving on the left within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing.
- No parking within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.
- No parking within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.
Easy to confuse: No-parking distances
| Do not park within | Of |
|---|---|
| 10 feet | A fire hydrant |
| 20 feet | A crosswalk at an intersection |
| 30 feet | A stop sign, yield sign, or traffic signal |
| 50 feet | The nearest rail of a railroad crossing |
3 sample questions
Verified practice questions from this unit.
Question 1. Unless a different limit is posted, what is the speed limit in an Ohio school zone during recess or while children are arriving or leaving, where school speed signs are posted?
- ① 15 mph
- ② 20 mph
- ③ 25 mph
- ④ 35 mph
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ② 20 mph
Key point: School zone: 20 mph
Ohio law sets 20 mph in school zones during school recess and while children are going to or leaving school at opening and closing hours, where school speed limit signs are posted.
Wrong choices
- 15 mph: 15 mph is the limit for alleys within a city or village.
- 25 mph: 25 mph is the usual limit in other parts of a city or village.
- 35 mph: 35 mph is the limit on state routes in a city or village outside business districts.
Question 2. Unless a different limit is posted, what is the speed limit on a residential street in an Ohio city or village?
- ① 20 mph
- ② 25 mph
- ③ 35 mph
- ④ 45 mph
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ② 25 mph
Key point: City or village streets: 25 mph
Ohio law sets 25 mph for most parts of a city or village (a municipal corporation), including residential streets, unless a different limit is posted.
Wrong choices
- 20 mph: 20 mph is the school zone limit during recess and while children arrive or leave.
- 35 mph: 35 mph is for state routes in a city or village outside business districts.
- 45 mph: 45 mph is not a default limit for residential streets.
Question 3. How close to a fire hydrant may you park?
- ① No closer than 5 feet
- ② No closer than 10 feet
- ③ No closer than 20 feet
- ④ No closer than 30 feet
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ② No closer than 10 feet
Key point: Fire hydrant: no parking within 10 feet
Ohio law says you may not park within 10 feet of a fire hydrant. Firefighters need room to reach and connect to it.
Wrong choices
- No closer than 5 feet: 5 feet is closer than the law allows.
- No closer than 20 feet: 20 feet is the distance from a crosswalk at an intersection.
- No closer than 30 feet: 30 feet is the distance from a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic signal.
AI-written · Verified · Written by AI. Only units that passed a separate AI check (re-reading facts and numbers) are published. Tell us if you find a mistake.