Texas DMV Permit Test · Class C Knowledge Test
Texas DMV Permit Test: Safe Driving and Sharing the Road Concepts
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Overview
This chapter is about staying safe when conditions are hard and when you share the road with others. It covers lights at night and in bad weather, what to do in a skid, and the special rules for school buses, trains, stopped emergency vehicles, work zones, and bicycles.
Turn your headlights on from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise, and any time you cannot clearly see people or vehicles 1,000 feet ahead. Dim your high beams within 500 feet of an oncoming car and within 300 feet of a car you are following. In fog, use low beams. If your car skids, ease off the gas and steer where you want to go.
Stop for a school bus that is showing flashing red lights, whether it is ahead of you or coming toward you. The only exception is when the bus is on the other roadway of a divided highway. At a railroad crossing with flashing lights, stop between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail. If your car stalls on the tracks with a train coming, get everyone out and away first.
Texas has a Move Over or Slow Down law. When you pass a stopped police car, fire truck, ambulance, tow truck, or similar vehicle with flashing lights, change out of its lane if you can. If you cannot, slow to 20 mph below the limit, or to 5 mph when the limit is 25 mph or less. In work zones where signs say so, fines double when workers are present.
Key concepts
When headlights are required
Headlights must be on from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. They must also be on whenever rain, fog, or other conditions keep you from clearly seeing people or vehicles 1,000 feet ahead.
Memory tip30 minutes on each side of the dark, and 1,000 feet of clear view.
Source: Texas Transportation Code · as of 2026
Dimming high beams
Switch to low beams within 500 feet of a vehicle coming toward you, and within 300 feet of a vehicle you are following.
Memory tipOncoming is the bigger number (500), because both cars close the gap.
Source: Texas Transportation Code · as of 2026
Stopping for a school bus
When a school bus shows flashing red lights, stop and wait until it moves on, its lights turn off, or the driver signals you to go. You do not need to stop if the bus is on the other roadway of a divided highway. A first offense for illegally passing carries a fine of $500 to $1,250.
Memory tipA painted center line does not divide a highway. Only a median or barrier does.
Source: Texas Transportation Code · as of 2026
Railroad crossings
When signal lights are flashing at a railroad crossing, stop between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail. If your car stalls on the tracks and a train is coming, get everyone out and away from the tracks right away.
Memory tip15 to 50 feet is the stop zone. People first, car never.
Source: Texas Transportation Code · as of 2026
Move Over or Slow Down
When you approach a stopped police, fire, ambulance, tow, or similar vehicle with flashing lights, leave the lane next to it if you safely can. If not, slow to 20 mph below the posted limit, or to 5 mph if the limit is 25 mph or less.
Memory tipMinus 20 is the rule. At 25 mph or below, crawl at 5.
Source: Texas Transportation Code · as of 2026
Skids
If your car starts to skid, take your foot off the gas gently and steer in the direction you want the car to go. Avoid slamming on the brakes.
Memory tipLook and steer where you want to go, not at what you fear hitting.
Trucks and bicycles
Large trucks have big blind spots. If you cannot see the driver in the truck's mirror, the driver cannot see you. A bicyclist may move away from the right edge of the lane, for example to get ready for a left turn.
Memory tipNo mirror face, no safe place.
Often tested
- School bus questions usually turn on one detail: is the highway divided by a median or not?
- Do not swap the dimming distances: 500 feet for oncoming cars, 300 feet for cars ahead of you.
- Move Over math: posted 60 mph means 40 mph when you cannot change lanes; posted 25 mph means 5 mph.
- In fog, the answer is low beams. High beams bounce back and make it harder to see.
- At a stalled-on-tracks question, getting people out comes before trying to restart the car.
Easy to confuse: Distances for lights and crossings
| Situation | Distance |
|---|---|
| Headlights needed if you cannot see clearly ahead | 1,000 feet |
| Dim high beams for an oncoming car | 500 feet |
| Dim high beams for a car you follow | 300 feet |
| Stop zone at a railroad crossing | 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail |
3 sample questions
Verified practice questions from this unit.
Question 1. In Texas, during what hours must your headlights be on?
- ① From 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise
- ② From sunset until sunrise only
- ③ Only when street lights are not working
- ④ From 1 hour after sunset until 1 hour before sunrise
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ① From 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise
Key point: Headlights on from 30 min after sunset to 30 min before sunrise
Texas law defines nighttime as 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. Your headlights and other required lights must be on during that time.
Wrong choices
- From sunset until sunrise only: Sunset to sunrise is close, but the legal time starts 30 minutes after sunset and ends 30 minutes before sunrise.
- From 1 hour after sunset until 1 hour before sunrise: One hour is too long a gap; the rule uses 30 minutes.
- Only when street lights are not working: Street lights do not replace your headlights at night.
Question 2. You are using high beams on a dark road. Another car is coming toward you. Within what distance must you switch to low beams?
- ① 500 feet
- ② 300 feet
- ③ 1,000 feet
- ④ 100 feet
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Answer: ① 500 feet
Key point: Dim high beams within 500 feet of oncoming vehicles
Texas law requires you to switch to low beams when an oncoming vehicle is within 500 feet, so you do not blind the other driver.
Wrong choices
- 300 feet: 300 feet is the rule for a vehicle you are following, not one coming toward you.
- 1,000 feet: 1,000 feet is the visibility distance for when lights must be on, not the dimming rule.
- 100 feet: 100 feet is much too close; the other driver would already be blinded.
Question 3. On a two-lane road with no median, a school bus stops ahead in the OPPOSITE lane with red lights flashing. What must you do?
- ① Stop, then go when you see no children nearby
- ② Pass carefully at 10 mph or less
- ③ Stop and wait until the bus moves, its lights go off, or the driver signals you to go
- ④ Keep going slowly, since the bus is in the other lane
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ③ Stop and wait until the bus moves, its lights go off, or the driver signals you to go
Key point: Undivided road: stop for a school bus from either direction
In Texas, when a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing (or stop arm out), drivers coming from either direction must stop. Stay stopped until the bus moves again, the lights go off, or the bus driver signals you to go.
Wrong choices
- Keep going slowly, since the bus is in the other lane: On an undivided road, drivers in the opposite lane must stop too.
- Stop, then go when you see no children nearby: You may not decide on your own that it is safe; wait for the bus to move, the lights to stop, or the driver's signal.
- Pass carefully at 10 mph or less: Passing at any speed is against the law while the red lights are flashing.