Texas DMV Permit Test Speed, Lanes, Passing, and Parking Summary

When no other limit is posted, Texas law sets the speed limit at 30 mph on a street in an urban district (other than an alley).

Wrong choices

• 25 mph: 25 mph is used in some states, but the Texas unposted city limit is 30 mph.
• 35 mph: 35 mph is higher than the 30 mph Texas limit.
• 40 mph: 40 mph is far above the unposted limit for city streets.

Texas has a basic speed rule: you may not drive faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions. In rain, fog, or heavy traffic, the safe speed may be well below the posted limit.

Wrong choices

• 60 mph, because that is the posted speed limit: The posted limit is the top speed in good conditions, not a safe speed in rain and fog.
• Any speed, as long as your headlights are on: Using headlights does not make an unsafe speed legal.
• 10 mph over the limit if traffic is moving faster: Driving over the limit is never allowed, even if others are speeding.

Texas law says you may not stand or park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, except for a moment to pick up or drop off a passenger. Firefighters need room to reach it.

Wrong choices

• No closer than 10 feet: 10 feet is too close; the law requires 15 feet.
• No closer than 20 feet: 20 feet is the distance from a crosswalk at an intersection, not from a hydrant.
• No closer than 5 feet: 5 feet would block the hydrant.

Use the seconds rule: when the car ahead passes a fixed point such as a sign, count "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two..." until you reach it. If you get there before your count is done, you are too close. Add more time in rain, at night, or behind large trucks.

Wrong choices

• Count the car lengths between you and the car ahead: Guessing car lengths is hard to do correctly at speed. Counting seconds works at any speed.
• Look at your speedometer and divide by ten: Dividing your speed by ten is not how following distance is measured.
• Check how fast the car ahead is pulling away: Watching the other car pull away does not tell you whether your gap is safe.

Texas law sets the speed limit in an alley in an urban district at 15 mph unless a different limit is posted.

Wrong choices

• 10 mph: 10 mph is lower than the Texas alley limit.
• 20 mph: 20 mph is higher than the Texas alley limit.
• 25 mph: 25 mph is much too fast for a narrow alley and is not the legal limit.

You may not stand or park within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection. Parked cars there would hide pedestrians from drivers.

Wrong choices

• No closer than 15 feet: 15 feet is the distance from a fire hydrant.
• No closer than 30 feet: 30 feet is the distance before a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic signal.
• No closer than 10 feet: 10 feet is closer than the law allows.

On a two-way road, Texas law says to park parallel to the curb with your right-hand wheels within 18 inches of the curb or edge of the road.

Wrong choices

• Within 24 inches: 24 inches is farther from the curb than allowed.
• Within 12 inches: 12 inches is fine in practice, but the legal limit is 18 inches.
• Within 36 inches: 36 inches would leave your car sticking out into traffic.

Texas law says you pass on the left at a safe distance and may not move back to the right until you are safely clear of the car you passed. A good check is to see the whole car in your inside rearview mirror.

Wrong choices

• As soon as your front bumper is past its front bumper: Being just past the other car's bumper is too close; you could cut it off.
• Right after you turn on your right signal: Turning on a signal does not make the move safe.
• When the other driver flashes the headlights at you: Another driver's flashing lights are not a legal signal that it is safe.

Texas law sets 70 mph as the speed limit on a U.S. or state numbered highway (including farm-to-market and ranch-to-market roads) outside an urban district, unless another limit is posted.

Wrong choices

• 65 mph: 65 mph is lower than the Texas default for numbered highways.
• 60 mph: 60 mph is the default for roads outside town that are NOT numbered highways.
• 75 mph: 75 mph and higher limits apply only where they are posted.

Texas law says you may not stand or park within 30 feet on the approach to a stop sign, yield sign, flashing signal, or traffic signal at the side of the road. A parked car could hide the sign from other drivers.

Wrong choices

• No closer than 20 feet: 20 feet is the rule for a crosswalk at an intersection.
• No closer than 50 feet: 50 feet is the rule for a railroad crossing.
• No closer than 15 feet: 15 feet is the rule for a fire hydrant.