Mirror adjustment — South Dakota Permit Test

Mirror adjustment on the South Dakota permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

The inside mirror is the primary mirror for viewing the rear; adjust it so it frames the rear window.

A rearview mirror aimed at the headliner hides the car closing fast behind you.

Adjust the rearview mirror so that it frames the rear window.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.25

To set the left side mirror, rest your head against the closed window and set the mirror to barely show the edge of the vehicle.

A side mirror full of your own car leaves a big blind spot where a passing car hides.

To set the left side mirror, the driver must rest his or her head against the closed window and set the mirror to barely show the edge of the vehicle.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.25

To set the right side mirror, lean right so your head is directly below the rearview mirror or above the center console, then adjust it to barely show the right edge of the vehicle.

The right side has the biggest blind spot, and a badly set mirror hides a car you merge into.

To set the right-side mirror, the driver should lean to the right so his or her head is directly below the rearview mirror or above the center console.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.25

Setting the side mirrors this way adds 12 to 16 degrees of extra viewing area to each side of the vehicle.

Each degree of extra view is room where a car in the next lane would otherwise hide.

The driver will not see the left and right sides of the vehicle when glancing in the outside mirrors; however, this adjustment adds 12 to 16 degrees of additional viewing area to each side of the vehicle.
South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.25

On the test

How should you adjust the inside rearview mirror?

So it frames the rear window. A rearview mirror aimed at the headliner hides the car closing fast behind you. South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.25: “Adjust the rearview mirror so that it frames the rear window.”

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.

All South Dakota permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against South Dakota Driver License Manual, published by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.