Backing safely — Delaware Permit Test

Backing safely on the Delaware permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Before backing, check behind your vehicle before you get in, because children or small objects cannot be seen from the driver's seat.

A child sitting behind the bumper is out of sight from the seat and from every mirror.

Check behind your vehicle before you get in.

Delaware Driver Manual, p.119

To back up, put your right arm on the back of the seat and turn around to look directly through the rear window; do not depend on your mirrors.

Mirrors show the sides of the car, not the post or child right behind it.

Place your right arm on the back of the seat and turn around so that you can look directly through the rear window.

Delaware Driver Manual, p.119

Back slowly; your vehicle is much harder to steer while you are backing.

A car backing fast swings its front end into the car parked beside it.

Back slowly, your vehicle is much harder to steer while you are backing.

Delaware Driver Manual, p.119

Try to do as little backing as possible; in a shopping center, look for a space you can drive through so you can drive forward when you leave.

Backing out between two vans means pulling into a lane you cannot see.

In a shopping center, try to find a parking space you can drive through, so you can drive forward when you leave.

Delaware Driver Manual, p.119

On the test

When should you first check behind your vehicle before backing?

Before you get into the car. A child sitting behind the bumper is out of sight from the seat and from every mirror. Delaware Driver Manual, p.119: “Check behind your vehicle before you get in.”

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 Delaware Driver Manual, published by the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.