Sharing road with bicycles — Tennessee Permit Test

Sharing road with bicycles on the Tennessee permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

The most common car-bicycle collisions happen when drivers turn left in front of an oncoming bicycle or turn right across a bicycle's path.

Drivers watch for cars and misjudge how fast a bike is coming. Knowing the two classic turns tells you when to look twice.

The most common causes of collisions are drivers turning left in front of an oncoming bicycle or turning right, across the path of the bicycle.
Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.105

If you are turning right and a bicyclist is approaching on your right, let the bicyclist go through the intersection first.

A bike on your right is in your blind spot as you turn. Turning first can cut the rider off or knock them down.

If your vehicle is turning right and a bicyclist is approaching on the right, let the bicyclist go through the intersection first before making a right turn.
Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.105

If you are turning left and a bicyclist is entering the intersection from the opposite direction, wait for the bicyclist to pass before you turn.

Oncoming bikes are easy to overlook and their speed is easy to misjudge. Turning in front of one is a leading cause of bike crashes.

When your vehicle is turning left and there is a bicyclist entering the intersection from the opposite direction, you should wait for the bicyclist to pass before making the turn.
Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.105

At night, do not use high beams when you see an oncoming bicycle rider.

High beams can blind a rider, who may wobble or ride off the road. A bike has much less room for error than a car.

At night, do not use high beams when you see an oncoming bicycle rider.
Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.105

A bicyclist may signal a right turn by extending the right arm straight out, as well as by the bent-left-arm signal.

A rider pointing with the right arm is turning right. Mistaking it for a wave can lead you to pass into the turn.

Extend your right arm out straight with all fingers extended or use your index finger to point right.
Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.105

On the test

What are the most common causes of car-bicycle collisions?

Drivers turning across a bicycle's path. Drivers watch for cars and misjudge how fast a bike is coming. Knowing the two classic turns tells you when to look twice. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.105: “The most common causes of collisions are drivers turning left in front of an oncoming bicycle or turning right, across the path of the bicycle.”

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.