Turning — Virginia Permit Test
Turning on the Virginia permit test — 7 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
To turn right you should be in the lane furthest to the right, and you should turn into the lane closest to the curb unless markings tell you otherwise.
Swinging wide on a right turn takes you into the lane beside you, where somebody is already driving.
Turn into the lane closest to the curb unless pavement markings lead you otherwise
To turn left you should be in the furthest left lane and turn into the leftmost lane of the road you are joining, unless markings or several turn lanes tell you otherwise.
Ending up in the far lane crosses in front of anyone turning beside you.
To make a left turn you should be in the furthest left lane possible, turning into the leftmost lane on the intersecting road
While waiting to turn left, keep your front wheels pointed straight ahead until you actually make the turn.
If someone hits you from behind with the wheels turned, your car is pushed into oncoming traffic.
Keep your front wheels pointed straight ahead until you are actually going to make the left turn. This prevents you from being pushed into oncoming traffic if another vehicle crashes into you from behind.
When two vehicles facing each other are both signaling to turn left, both should turn in front of each other so that their passenger sides pass beside each other.
Passing in front keeps both drivers looking at the traffic they are crossing.
When two vehicles are approaching each other and signaling to turn left, both vehicles should turn in front of each other so that the passenger sides of the vehicles are beside each other.
In business districts, cities and towns, a U-turn is allowed only at an intersection, and you may never make one on a highway.
A U-turn stops you dead across every lane, and on a highway nobody is expecting that.
In business districts, cities and towns, U-turns are allowed only at intersections. Never make a U-turn on a highway.
Where a no left turn sign is posted, a U-turn is also illegal, because Virginia treats a U-turn as two left turns.
The sign bans the movement, and a U-turn contains it twice over.
In Virginia, U-turns are considered as two left turns and are illegal if this sign is posted.
When making a U-turn, signal left, stop, yield to traffic coming at you, and then move into the outside or right hand lane going the other way.
Cutting into the near lane leaves you sitting across the path of everyone coming.
When the way is clear, proceed into the outside or right hand lane traveling in the opposite direction.
On the test
Which lane should you turn into when making a right turn?
The lane closest to the curb. Swinging wide on a right turn takes you into the lane beside you, where somebody is already driving. Virginia Driver's Manual, p.18: “Turn into the lane closest to the curb unless pavement markings lead you otherwise”
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.
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- 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.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Virginia Driver's Manual, published by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.