Maryland Learner's Permit Practice Test

201 Maryland permit laws, one at a time: read the rule and why it exists, then answer a question on it straight away. Practice tests match the real 25-question exam.

The exam

The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration knowledge test is 25 questions, and 22 correct is a pass. Everything on it comes out of Maryland Driver's Manual.

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 Maryland tests

37 concepts, 201 separate rules. Each one is a page of its own.

Questions from the Maryland test

A learner's permit holder must be accompanied by a supervising driver who is...

at least 21 years old, licensed for at least 3 years, and seated beside the driver. A supervising driver is there to catch what a beginner misses, which takes both experience and a clear view of the road — so age, years licensed, and the front passenger seat all matter.

Unless otherwise posted, what is the speed limit on highways in a business district?

30 mph. Business districts mix parked cars, pedestrians stepping out and vehicles pulling in; 30 is what leaves room to stop for something that appears suddenly.

The posted speed limit tells you...

the maximum allowed in ideal conditions — slow when they are poor. The number on the sign assumes dry road, clear air and light traffic. In rain or fog the safe speed is lower, and driving the limit anyway is still driving too fast.

For which occupants is a seat belt violation a primary offense, allowing police to stop the vehicle for that reason alone?

The driver, all front-seat passengers, and every passenger under 16. These are the belts an officer can see from outside the car, and the ones the law puts squarely on the driver — so no other reason is needed to pull it over.

At what blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a driver 21 or older under the influence (DUI) per se?

0.08%. 0.08 is the point at which impairment is presumed in law — no further proof of bad driving is needed for the charge.

What happens if a driver refuses a chemical breath test for the first time?

An automatic license suspension of 270 days. Driving is a license, not a right, and the test is a condition of holding it — so refusing costs the license regardless of the criminal case.

Even a single drink can impair...

judgment, coordination, vision and reaction time. A driver who feels fine can already be worse at the job, which is why the legal limit is not the point at which alcohol starts to matter.

Using a handheld cell phone while driving in Maryland is...

illegal for all drivers and a primary offense. Holding a phone takes a hand off the wheel and attention off the road, which is why police can stop you for it on its own.

When a school vehicle stops with flashing red lights, you must stop at least how far from it?

20 feet. The distance is set from the front and the rear alike, because a child stepping out at either end of the bus is hidden from you until they are already in the road.

Two vehicles arrive at an uncontrolled intersection at the same time. Who yields?

The driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. Someone has to yield, so the law picks a rule everyone knows in advance rather than leaving it to guesswork.

Under the Move Over law, when approaching a stopped emergency or service vehicle with warning lights, you must...

move to a lane not next to it, or slow to a safe speed. Someone working at the roadside has nowhere to go if you clip them, so the law asks for a whole lane where one is available.

A steady yellow traffic light means...

the light is about to turn red — stop if you safely can. Yellow is time to clear the intersection or stop, not time to accelerate — most intersection crashes start with someone deciding to beat it.

When may you turn right on a steady red light?

After stopping and yielding, unless a sign forbids it. The stop is what makes the turn safe — it is a turn from a red light, not a right to ignore it.

A flashing red traffic light means...

the same as a stop sign — stop, then go when it is safe. A flashing red is the same instruction as a stop sign, so an intersection can be signed or signaled without changing what the driver has to do.

What does this sign mean?

stop completely at the line, crosswalk, or intersection. A rolling stop hides what a full stop reveals: cross traffic and pedestrians you cannot properly see while still moving.

What does the marking on this sign mean?

the movement shown is prohibited. A red circle and slash is understood without reading, which matters when you have a second to take it in.

A double solid yellow center line means...

no passing either way, though you may cross to turn left. Two solid lines mean neither direction may pass, though turning across them into a driveway or side road is still allowed.

A shared center left-turn lane may be used...

only to begin or complete a left turn or U-turn. A shared turn lane works only if everyone uses it briefly; driving along it turns it into a head-on lane.

Passing is prohibited when you are within what distance of an intersection or railroad crossing?

100 feet. Within 100 feet of an intersection or crossing, a vehicle can emerge into the lane you are borrowing.

You must signal continuously for at least how far before making a turn?

100 feet. Signaling over a set distance rather than at the last moment means the driver behind learns what you are doing before you start slowing for it.

Under good conditions, what is the minimum recommended following distance?

3 to 4 seconds. Three seconds is roughly the time to notice, decide and brake; anything less and you are relying on the car ahead not stopping hard.

Headlights must be turned on from sunset to sunrise and whenever visibility is less than...

1,000 feet. A thousand feet is the point where you can no longer make out people and vehicles ahead — so it is the moment headlights stop being optional.

When railroad signals are flashing or gates are lowered, stop within what range of the nearest rail?

Between 15 and 50 feet. Fifteen to fifty feet keeps you clear of the train's overhang while still close enough to see the track both ways.

Parking is prohibited within what distance of a fire hydrant?

15 feet. Fifteen feet is the room a crew needs to get a hose onto the hydrant without moving your car first.

When passing a bicyclist, you must leave at least how much clearance?

3 feet. A cyclist can wobble a foot or more to avoid a pothole or a drain, and three feet is the room to survive that.

If you cannot see a large truck's side mirrors, what does that mean?

The driver cannot see you — you are in a blind spot. Mirrors are how a truck driver sees; if they are not in your view, you are not in theirs.

Where do crosswalks legally exist?

At most intersections, whether or not lines are painted. An unmarked crossing is still a crossing, so someone on foot at a plain intersection has the same right to cross as one at a painted crosswalk.

Reduced speed limits in highway work zones are enforceable...

at all times, whether or not workers are present. Work zone limits protect a road layout that has changed, so they hold whether or not anyone is standing in it.

If you are involved in a crash, you must...

stop, help the injured, and exchange details. The injured need help before anyone needs blame, and the details are what let the rest be settled without the police.

Accumulating 12 or more points within 2 years results in...

license revocation. Twelve points in two years is a driver whose record shows the risk is not going to stop on its own.

While driving, wearing headphones or earplugs is...

prohibited in or over both ears. Both ears covered removes the sirens, horns and engine noise that warn you about what you cannot see.

If your brakes fail while driving, you should...

downshift, apply the parking brake, find an escape route. The service brakes are hydraulic and have just failed; engine braking and the parking brake are separate systems the failure has not touched, which is why they are what you reach for.

When driving in rain, snow, or ice, you should...

slow down, brake gently and early, and leave more room. Wet and icy roads lengthen everything — stopping, steering, reacting — so speed and following distance both have to come down.

When entering a roundabout, you must yield to...

traffic already circulating, coming from your left. Traffic already in the roundabout has nowhere to go if you enter, which is why the yield falls on the driver joining.

Which statement about vehicle equipment in Maryland is true?

All lights and signals must work — defects are citable. Lights and signals are how a car tells other drivers what it is about to do; broken ones make it silent.

What does this sign mean?

Do not drive into this roadway. A one-way street or an exit ramp carries traffic straight at you, so the sign is placed where entering would be head-on.

What does this sign mean?

A stop sign is ahead. A hidden stop sign is the one people run, so the warning arrives while there is still distance to slow.

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Maryland Driver's Manual, published by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-08-29.