Tennessee basic rules — Tennessee Permit Test

Tennessee basic rules on the Tennessee permit test — 2 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

In the United States, right-hand traffic is the rule: you drive on the right side of the road and go right around traffic circles, roundabouts and town squares.

Every driver coming into a circle expects cars to flow one way. Going the other way puts you head-on with them.

This means we drive on the right side of the road, and turn right when going around traffic circles, roundabouts or town squares.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.45

Drivers of manual transmission cars must not coast with the clutch pressed down.

With the clutch down, the wheels are cut off from the engine. The car rolls freely and is harder to slow and steer.

Also, drivers of manual transmission vehicles must not coast with the clutch depressed.

Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.45

On the test

Which way do you go around a traffic circle or town square in Tennessee?

To the right. Every driver coming into a circle expects cars to flow one way. Going the other way puts you head-on with them. Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.45: “This means we drive on the right side of the road, and turn right when going around traffic circles, roundabouts or town squares.”

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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  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

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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.