Parking on roadway — Iowa Permit Test
Parking on roadway on the Iowa permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
When you park at a curb, park within 18 inches of the curb or closer.
A car parked far from the curb sticks out into the lane where other cars can hit it.
If there is a curb, park within 18 inches of the curb or closer.
If you must park on a roadway, park your vehicle as far away from traffic as possible.
The closer a parked car is to moving traffic, the more likely someone hits it or you.
If you must park on a roadway, park your vehicle as far away from traffic as possible.
Check traffic before you open your car door.
A door swung open into the street can be hit by a passing car or knock a bike rider down.
Check traffic before you open the door.
Get out of the vehicle on the curb side if necessary.
Stepping out on the curb side keeps you away from the cars passing in the street.
Get out of the vehicle on the curb side if necessary.
On the test
When you park next to a curb, what is the farthest your car may be from it?
18 inches. A car parked far from the curb sticks out into the lane where other cars can hit it. Iowa Driver's License Manual, p.21: “If there is a curb, park within 18 inches of the curb or closer.”
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
- One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
- Free to start: a 10-question test and the first section of cards. No sign-up and no account.
- Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
- Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
- Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Iowa Driver's License Manual, published by the Iowa Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/IA.pdf (Iowa Driver's License Manual, edition M1170 07/23/2026, Iowa Department of Transportation, retrieved 2026-09-14; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/IA.pages.txt (the plain pdftotext fixture every citation here was cut from and verified against; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- https://iowadot.gov/drivers-licenses-ids/driver-education/manuals-practice-tests/drivers-manual
- https://iowadot.gov/drivers-licenses-ids/driver-education/online-permit-test-skip-trip (read 2026-10-04; states no count or mark)
- https://iowadot.gov/drivers-licenses-ids/get-or-renew-drivers-licenses-ids-permits/under-18-permit-license-or-id/instruction-permit-under-age-18 (read 2026-10-04; states no count or mark)
- https://iowadot.gov/drivers-licenses-ids/driver-education/manuals-practice-tests/take-practice-test (read 2026-10-04; its 25 questions and 80% describe the practice test and are not used)
- https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/761.604.pdf (IAC 10/1/25; 761-604.9(1): "will declare the minimum passing score for each test")
- docs/plans/iowa-exam-shape.md (every official source checked for the exam's shape, and what each gave)