Distractions inside the vehicle — Massachusetts Permit Test

Distractions inside the vehicle on the Massachusetts permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Nothing inside your vehicle, on the dashboard, on the windshield, or hanging from the mirror may block your view of the road or your mirrors.

A hanging ornament covers exactly the piece of road a motorcycle arrives from. It is a small object in front of a large blind spot.

Nothing inside your vehicle, on your dashboard, on your windshield, or hanging from your rear view mirror can block your view of the road in front of you or through your mirrors.

Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.38

It is illegal to wear a radio headset or headphones while driving, though a driver 18 or older may use one earplug with a cell phone.

Two covered ears take away the siren behind you. The single earplug is allowed because one ear is still listening to the road.

If you are 18 or older, you can use one earplug for use with a cell phone.

Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.39

A television installed in a vehicle must be behind the front seat and not visible to the driver.

A screen the driver can see is a screen the driver will look at. Putting it out of sight is the only rule that holds.

Any television installed in a vehicle must be behind the front seat and not visible to the driver.

Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.39

Children under 12 years old are not allowed to ride in the beds of pickup trucks, and never at speeds over five mph.

There is nothing in a truck bed to hold a child in. A gentle stop can put them over the tailgate.

Children under 12 years old are not allowed to ride in the beds of pickup trucks (there are very limited exceptions, and never at speeds more than five mph).

Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.39

Avoid loud noise levels inside your vehicle so you can hear emergency vehicle sirens.

The siren is the only warning you get, and it arrives before the lights do at an intersection.

Avoid loud noise levels in your vehicle so you can hear emergency vehicle sirens.

Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.39

On the test

What may not block a driver's view of the road?

Anything on the dashboard, windshield, or hanging from the mirror. A hanging ornament covers exactly the piece of road a motorcycle arrives from. It is a small object in front of a large blind spot. Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.38: “Nothing inside your vehicle, on your dashboard, on your windshield, or hanging from your rear view mirror can block your view of the road in front of you or through your mirrors.”

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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  • 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.

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Where these come from

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