Truck blind spots and wide turns — Minnesota Permit Test

Truck blind spots and wide turns on the Minnesota permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Cutting in too close in front of a commercial vehicle puts you where the driver cannot see you and cannot stop quickly.

A truck needs the length of a football field to stop, and you have just taken half of it.

If you move in quickly from either side, you’re likely to be in a blind spot, so the driver may not see you in time.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51

Commercial vehicle no zones are blind spots to the front, sides and rear of the vehicle.

The mirrors miss whole lanes, and a truck driver cannot look for what is not in them.

If you are following a commercial vehicle, stay out of its “no zones” illustrated in the image below. These zones are blind spots to the front, sides and rear of the vehicle.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51

Some truck drivers cannot see up to 20 feet in front of the cab and up to 200 feet behind the trailer.

Two hundred feet behind is more than ten car lengths, and that is where tailgating puts you.

Some truck drivers may not be able to see up to 20 feet in front of the cab, on either side of the trailer, and up to 200 feet to the rear.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51

Many commercial vehicles make wide right turns and may leave an open space to the right just before turning.

The gap they leave is not an invitation. It is the room the trailer is about to sweep through.

Many commercial vehicles make wide right turns and must sometimes leave an open space to the right just before turning.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51

Do not pass a commercial vehicle on the right if there is any chance it might turn right.

The trailer ends up where you are, and the driver never saw you go in there.

To avoid a collision, do not pass a commercial vehicle on the right side if there is a possibility that it might make a right turn.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51

Honking, driving aggressively or weaving through traffic around trucks and buses causes distraction and crashes rather than saving time.

A truck cannot speed up for you, so nothing you do beside it makes your trip shorter.

Honking, driving aggressively or weaving through traffic won’t make your trip faster but can cause dangerous distractions and crashes.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51

On the test

Why is cutting in front of a truck dangerous?

You land in a blind spot it cannot stop for. A truck needs the length of a football field to stop, and you have just taken half of it. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.51: “If you move in quickly from either side, you’re likely to be in a blind spot, so the driver may not see you in time.”

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 Minnesota Driver’s Manual, published by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-22.