Basic road laws — Montana Permit Test
Basic road laws on the Montana permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
In Montana, signal 100 feet before turning in town.
A late signal gives the car behind no time to slow, so it is still at speed when you brake to turn.
Use a proper turn signal 100 feet before turning in town, 300 feet before turning on rural roads.
On rural roads in Montana, signal 300 feet before turning.
Traffic on open roads moves fast, so drivers behind need more road to see your signal and slow down.
Use a proper turn signal 100 feet before turning in town, 300 feet before turning on rural roads.
On a road with three or more lanes going the same way, stay in the right lane except to pass.
A slow car drifting in the left lanes forces faster cars to weave around it on both sides.
Stay in the right lane, except to pass on a road with three or more lanes traveling in the same direction.
On a road with three or more lanes going the same way, use the center travel lane when a lot of traffic is entering.
Cars merging onto the road need the right lane free, or they run out of ramp with nowhere to go.
If there is a lot of traffic entering, use the center travel lane.
If you reach a turn in the wrong lane or forgot to signal, go on, get into the proper lane, go to the next intersection, signal, and then turn there.
A last-second swerve across lanes to make a turn cuts off drivers who had no warning.
If you approached a turn in the wrong lane or forgot to signal, you should proceed, get into the proper lane, go to the next intersection, signal, and then turn.
Unless told to do so, never drive on the shoulder of the road.
Drivers and walkers stop on the shoulder because they believe no moving car will come along it.
Unless told to do so, never drive on the shoulder of the road.
On the test
In town, how far before a turn must you signal?
100 feet. A late signal gives the car behind no time to slow, so it is still at speed when you brake to turn. Montana Driver Manual, p.37: “Use a proper turn signal 100 feet before turning in town, 300 feet before turning on rural roads.”
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 Montana Driver Manual, published by the Montana Department of Justice, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MT.pdf (Montana Driver Manual, Revised April 2024, Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division, retrieved 2026-09-14 and re-checked 2026-10-04; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MT.pages.txt (scripts/mt-text.sh: pdftotext -layout except printed pp.24-26, which are plain; the fixture every citation here was cut from and verified against; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MT-exam.html (Administrative Rules of Montana 23.3.121, Road Signs and Road Rules, as reproduced by the Legal Information Institute, read 2026-10-04; states the seven-miss pass mark; sha256 pinned under examSource)
- https://mvdmt.gov/forms-driver-license/ (read 2026-10-04; links the manual)