Leaving a parked vehicle — Texas Permit Test

Leaving a parked vehicle on the Texas permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

When leaving a vehicle a driver turns the motor off, sets the parking brake, and removes the key.

A car left running can be driven away by anybody, or roll on its own. All three steps are one habit.

vehicle, turn the motor off, set the parking brake and remove the key

Texas Driver Handbook, p.42

A driver must look behind for oncoming traffic before opening the car door.

A door swung into a lane takes a cyclist off their bike. The look costs a second.

Be sure to look behind you for any oncoming traffic before opening your car door

Texas Driver Handbook, p.42

An unattended vehicle standing on a grade must have the front wheels turned to the curb or side of the road.

If the brake lets go, the wheels decide where the car goes. Pointed at the curb it stops in a few feet.

removing the key from the ignition, and setting the brake; and when standing on any grade, without turning the front wheels to the curb or side of the road

Texas Driver Handbook, p.43

The requirement to turn off the engine and remove the key does not apply to a driver using a remote starter, but the key must be in or physically present in the vehicle before it can be driven.

A remote-started car cannot be driven away without the key. That is the whole reason the exception is safe.

vehicle can be operated, the key must be placed in the ignition or must be physically present in the vehicle

Texas Driver Handbook, p.43

It is illegal to coast on a downgrade with the gears or transmission in neutral.

Out of gear the engine cannot help slow the car, and the brakes take the whole hill. That is how they fade away.

It is illegal to coast on a downgrade with the gears or transmission in neutral

Texas Driver Handbook, p.44

Leaving a parking space, a driver checks all mirrors, looks back before and while backing, and signals that they are leaving.

Children play between parked cars and are below the line of the rear window. Looking back while moving is the part people skip.

Look back before and while you’re backing up. Be sure to use your signal to notify other drivers you are leaving your current parking spot

Texas Driver Handbook, p.44

On the test

What must a Texas driver do when leaving their vehicle?

Turn off the motor, set the brake, take the key. A car left running can be driven away by anybody, or roll on its own. All three steps are one habit. Texas Driver Handbook, p.42: “vehicle, turn the motor off, set the parking brake and remove the key”

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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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Texas Driver Handbook, published by the Texas Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.