High water and flooding — Tennessee Permit Test

High water and flooding on the Tennessee permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Most cars can be swept away in 18 to 24 inches of moving water.

Water that looks only knee deep can lift a car and push it off the road. A heavy car floats like a boat.

In fact, most cars can be swept away in 18 to 24 inches of moving water.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.76

As little as 6 to 12 inches of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle.

Shallow water on the road can push your tires sideways and take away your steering before the car ever floats.

As little as six to twelve inches of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle and two feet of water will carry most cars downstream.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.77

Stay out of a flooded road: the water may be much deeper than it looks because the road bed may be washed out.

The road under the water may be gone. A car can drive in and drop straight into a deep hole.

The water may be much deeper than it appears as the road beds may be washed out.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.76

A driver who knowingly ignores clearly visible flood warning signs or barricades and drives into a flooded road can be charged with reckless driving.

Barricades are put up because people have died there. Driving around them risks your life and the lives of rescuers.

If a driver knowingly ignores clearly visible and adequate flood warning signs or barricades and drives into a road area that is actually flooded, the driver can be charged with reckless driving.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.77

A driver who ignores flood barricades can also be made to pay back the cost of their rescue.

A water rescue takes boats, crews and hours of work. If you caused it by ignoring a barricade, the bill can be yours.

The driver can also be responsible for the restitution of funds for the cost of your rescue.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.77

If your vehicle stalls in floodwater, leave it immediately and seek higher ground.

Rising water can sweep a stalled car away with you inside. A car can be replaced; you cannot.

If your vehicle stalls, leave it immediately and seek higher ground.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.77

On the test

Most cars can be swept away in how much moving water?

18 to 24 inches. Water that looks only knee deep can lift a car and push it off the road. A heavy car floats like a boat. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.76: “In fact, most cars can be swept away in 18 to 24 inches of moving water.”

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.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, published by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-03.