Starting and accelerating — Connecticut Permit Test

Starting and accelerating on the Connecticut permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Make sure the parking brake is on before you start the vehicle.

A car that starts in gear can move before you are ready for it. The brake is what holds it while you find out.

Make sure the parking brake is on before you start the vehicle.

Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.14

A manual transmission must not be in gear when the vehicle is started, and an automatic must have the selector in park.

Starting in gear lurches the car forward into whatever is in front of it, which is usually a wall or another car.

For a vehicle that has an automatic transmission, you must put the shift selector in “park.”

Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.14

Accelerate gradually and smoothly.

A smooth start keeps the tires gripping. Sudden power breaks that grip before the car has any speed to spare.

Accelerate gradually and smoothly.

Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.14

Starting too fast can spin the drive wheels, especially on a slippery surface, and make the vehicle slide.

Spinning wheels are not gripping. The car goes where its weight takes it rather than where the wheel points.

Trying to start too fast can cause the drive wheels to spin, particularly on slippery surfaces, and cause the vehicle to slide.

Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.14

On the test

What should be on before a vehicle is started?

The parking brake. A car that starts in gear can move before you are ready for it. The brake is what holds it while you find out. Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.14: “Make sure the parking brake is on before you start the vehicle.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Connecticut Driver's Manual, published by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.