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New York · April 2026 version

New York DMV practice questions

100 questions written from the New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), grouped into 7 topics. Each one opens its own page with the correct answer, the explanation and the handbook page it comes from. When you are ready, take a full practice test.

The notes on this page say what the New York questions in each topic actually ask and where people slip, with the manual page behind every number and a link to the part of our handbook summary that covers it. Read the note for a topic, work through its questions, and go to the page numbers when a rule needs the manual's own words.

Signs, signals and pavement markings 20 questions

Questions here start with a color, a light or a line. Regulation signs are white rectangles, warnings yellow diamonds, destinations green, services blue and work areas orange. A right turn on a steady red is allowed after a full stop, except in New York City, where red means no turn unless a sign allows one, and a school bus with students aboard never turns right on red. A left on red is legal only from a one-way street onto another one-way street. A red arrow allows no turn at all; a dark signal works like a STOP sign. Read the line on your side: broken lets you pass, solid only when necessary, double solid never.

Handbook pages 29, 30, 31, 32.

  1. Ahead of you is a yellow, diamond-shaped sign with black symbols. What kind of sign is it?
  2. On a highway you notice a blue sign with white symbols. What is it most likely telling you?
  3. You want to know how far it is to the next town and which way to go. Which color of sign is meant to give you that information?
  4. A white sign shows a right-turn arrow with a red circle and a slash drawn over it. What does the sign mean?
  5. You reach a STOP sign at an intersection where neither a stop line nor a crosswalk is painted on the road. Where must you stop?
  6. You are approaching a YIELD sign at an intersection. When must you come to a full stop there?
  7. You enter a work zone marked with orange signs, but no special work area speed limit is posted. What must you do?
  8. You approach an intersection where the traffic lights are not working, and no traffic officer is directing traffic. What does state law require?
  9. You are driving in New York City and stop at a steady red light. No sign about turning on red is posted. May you turn right?
  10. Outside New York City, you are stopped at a steady red light on a one-way road and want to turn left onto another one-way road. No sign or marking prohibits the turn. What may you do?
  11. A school bus with students on board is stopped at a steady red light outside New York City. No NO TURN ON RED sign is posted. May the bus driver turn right on the red light?
  12. You are stopped in a lane controlled by a red arrow pointing right. You want to turn right. What must you do?
  13. You are about to turn left on a green arrow when the arrow changes to yellow. What does the yellow arrow tell you?
  14. On a highway with lane-use control lights above the pavement, a steady yellow X lights up over the lane you are driving in. What should you do?
  15. The center of a two-way road is marked with double solid lines. You want to turn left into a driveway on the other side. What does the manual say?
  16. A solid white edge line marks where the travel lane ends and the shoulder begins. When may you drive across it?
  17. A solid line and a broken line run side by side between you and oncoming traffic. The broken line is on your side. What does this allow?
  18. A single solid line separates your lane from the lane next to it. When may you pass or change lanes across it?
  19. On a city street, a lane marked with a diamond symbol is reserved for buses and high-occupancy vehicles. Your car does not qualify. Where the solid line beside it becomes a broken line, when may you enter that lane?
  20. Your traffic light is green, but a traffic officer standing in the intersection signals you to stop. What must you do?

Right-of-way and intersections 12 questions

These questions set a scene and ask who waits. A driver already in the intersection finishes first, whatever your light says. Turning left, you yield to oncoming traffic going straight or turning right. When two drivers stop at right angles together, the one on the left waits for the one on the right. An emergency vehicle with lights and siren sends you to the right edge, stopped, even from the opposite lane; clear the intersection first if you are in one. The Move Over law makes you slow down for any stopped emergency or hazard vehicle and, on parkways and other controlled-access highways, leave the lane beside it. In a roundabout, whoever is already circling goes first.

Handbook pages 34, 35, 50.

  1. You have a green light and plan to go straight across. A car that entered the intersection before you is still completing its left turn across your path. What must you do?
  2. You want to turn left into a parking lot. There are no signs or signals controlling the turn, and an oncoming car is close. What must you do?
  3. You and another driver stop at STOP signs on crossing roads at the same moment. The other driver is on your left, and you both want to go straight. Who goes first?
  4. You are leaving a parking lot and want to turn left onto the street. To whom must you yield?
  5. While you wait at a red light, a pedestrian starts across the crosswalk ahead of you. Before the person reaches the other side, your light turns green. What must you do?
  6. On a two-way road, an ambulance with flashing lights and a siren is coming toward you in the opposite lane. What must you do?
  7. You are in the middle of an intersection when a fire truck with lights and siren comes up behind you. What should you do?
  8. On an ordinary two-lane local road, you come up on a tow truck stopped on the shoulder with its amber hazard lights flashing. What does the Move Over Law require of you here?
  9. On a multi-lane parkway, a private car with a flat tire is stopped on the shoulder. It has no emergency or hazard-vehicle lights. What does the Move Over Law ask of you?
  10. A private car behind you shows a flashing green light. The driver is a volunteer ambulance member. What is true about this vehicle?
  11. You reach the yield line of a roundabout and cars are already circling inside it. Who has the right-of-way?
  12. You are approaching a roundabout that has two entry lanes. When and how should you choose your lane?

Speed limits 6 questions

Speed questions here come down to a few numbers and one principle. Where no limit is posted, the ceiling is 55 mph statewide, but 25 mph in New York City unless a sign says otherwise. Expressways normally carry 55 mph, 65 where posted in some rural areas. A modern roundabout keeps every vehicle at 30 mph or less. The posted number is a ceiling, not a safe speed: an officer can ticket you at 50 mph on a fogged-in 55 mph expressway for a speed that is not reasonable. In a work zone the limit can drop to 25 mph, you slow down even when none is posted, and speeding fines double with no workers around.

Handbook pages 30, 47, 49, 50, 62.

  1. Under New York's general rule, what is the highest speed you may drive on a road where no speed limit sign is posted?
  2. You are driving on a street in New York City and see no speed limit sign. What speed limit applies?
  3. Fog has settled over an expressway with a posted limit of 55 mph. You keep driving at 50 mph. Can a police officer give you a speeding ticket?
  4. What speed limit do New York expressways normally have, and what higher limit may be posted in some rural areas?
  5. Modern roundabouts are built to hold the speed of every vehicle inside them to what level?
  6. You speed through a marked work zone at a time when no workers or work vehicles are there. What happens to the fine if you are ticketed?

Turns, lanes, passing and parking 16 questions

Signal at least 100 feet before a turn or lane change. A U-turn starts from the lane nearest the center line, needs 500 feet of clear view and is never legal on a limited access expressway. No passing on the left if you cannot be back before an oncoming car is within 200 feet, or within 100 feet of a two-way road's railroad crossing. Parking keeps 15 feet from a hydrant, 20 from a crosswalk at an intersection, 30 from a traffic light, STOP sign or YIELD sign, 20 from a fire station driveway or 75 across from it, and 50 from a railroad crossing. NO PARKING allows loading goods or people, NO STANDING only people, NO STOPPING neither.

Handbook pages 36, 37, 39, 43.

  1. You plan to change lanes on a multi-lane road. What is the minimum distance the law sets for signaling before the lane change?
  2. You are making a right turn onto a road with several lanes, and no signs tell you otherwise. Which lane should you turn into?
  3. You are on a one-way road and will turn left onto another one-way road that has two lanes. How should you make the turn?
  4. You have pulled into an intersection and are waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can turn left. How should your front wheels be pointed while you wait?
  5. You want to make a U-turn near the top of a hill. Other drivers can see your car only from about 300 feet away. May you make the U-turn there?
  6. You are on a limited access expressway, and a paved path in the median connects your side with the other side. May you use it to make a U-turn?
  7. Where a U-turn is allowed on a multi-lane road, from which position must you start it?
  8. You want to pass on the left on a two-way road. When you get back into the right lane, what is the minimum distance that must still separate you from any oncoming vehicle?
  9. On a two-way road, you are about 80 feet from a railroad crossing and a slow truck is in front of you. May you pass it on the left?
  10. On a two-lane, two-way road, the vehicle ahead of you slows down and signals to turn left. May you pass it on the right?
  11. You are passing a slow vehicle on a road with a 55 mph limit, and to finish quickly you would need to reach 62 mph. What does the manual say?
  12. You park on a hill next to a curb. Besides setting the parking brake and putting the transmission in Park, how should you turn your front wheels?
  13. You stop to pick someone up and want to wait at the curb 10 feet from a fire hydrant. Under state rules, when is that allowed?
  14. You want to park near an intersection controlled by a STOP sign. What is the closest you may legally park to the STOP sign?
  15. There is a fire station driveway on the opposite side of the street from where you want to park. What is the closest you may park to it?
  16. You need to stop briefly at the curb to unload a box of merchandise for a store. Which of these signs still allows that stop?

Sharing the road 26 questions

A school bus with flashing red lights stops traffic both ways, even across a divided highway: stay at least 20 feet back until the bus moves or its driver or an officer waves you on. Bicycle equipment is numbers: a bell or horn heard from 100 feet on any ride, and at night a headlight seen from 500 feet and a taillight from 300, one of the two visible from 200 feet to the side. Before a right turn on red, stop and look left, right, left and behind for a rider on your right. A motorcycle gets a full lane and can stop shorter than a car. A long-hood tractor can hide a car 20 feet ahead, and trucks swing left before turning right. Never sound the horn near a horse.

Handbook pages 39, 40, 69, 70, 73, 74, 76.

  1. You are on a divided highway. On the opposite side of the median, a school bus has stopped with its red lights flashing. What must you do?
  2. A school bus ahead of you has stopped with its red lights flashing. What minimum distance from the bus does the manual tell you to keep when you stop?
  3. You have stopped for a school bus with flashing red lights. The children have finished crossing, but the bus has not moved and its red lights are still on. When may you drive on?
  4. A school district's stop-arm camera records the same vehicle passing a stopped school bus with flashing red lights for the second time within 18 months. What penalty does the vehicle owner face?
  5. A bicycle is ridden at night on a New York road. From how far ahead must its headlight be visible?
  6. A bicycle ridden on a public highway in New York must have a horn or bell. From how far away must that horn or bell be heard?
  7. A bicycle crash causes a serious injury. Under New York's rules for bicyclists, within how many days must it be reported to the DMV?
  8. Which statement about the blind spots of large trucks is correct?
  9. You are about to pass a motorcycle that is riding near the right edge of a wide lane. How much room must you give it?
  10. Outside New York City, you want to turn right on a red light where turning is allowed. What should you do to avoid hitting a bicyclist coming up from your right rear?
  11. Your light is green. A pedestrian using a white cane starts across the street in front of you at an unmarked crosswalk. What must you do?
  12. You come up behind a Class B moped. Where on the road is it allowed to operate?
  13. A snowmobile rider needs to cross a state highway ahead of you. How does New York law require the crossing to be made?
  14. You are approaching a person riding a horse along the side of the road. Which of these actions is illegal?
  15. You are about to pass a bicyclist on a two-lane road. What does the manual tell you to do with your speed as you go by?
  16. On a steel deck bridge, the motorcyclist ahead of you moves to the center of the lane. What should you do?
  17. At an intersection you see a marked area painted across the lane ahead of where cars are required to stop. What is it, and how should you treat it?
  18. You stop behind a truck at a red light on an uphill street. Why should you leave extra space in front of your car?
  19. The truck ahead of you signals a right turn but first moves toward the left side of its lane. What is most likely happening?
  20. On a two-way highway, a tractor-trailer is coming toward you in the opposite lane. How does its size tend to fool drivers?
  21. A parent wants to carry a child on a bicycle in New York. Which of these children does the law forbid carrying as a passenger?
  22. In a single traffic lane, what is the most bicyclists that may ride side by side?
  23. A motorcycle ahead has had its turn signal blinking for several blocks without turning. What should you keep in mind?
  24. Why is following a motorcycle closely especially risky?
  25. The car in the lane next to yours has stopped at a crosswalk, but you cannot see anyone crossing. What should you do?
  26. You are about to get out of your car after parking along a street where bicyclists ride. What should you do before opening the door?

Alcohol and drugs 18 questions

Three BAC steps: above .05 is evidence of impairment, .08 or more of intoxication, .18 or more of aggravated DWI. First offenses in the penalty table: a DWAI is a traffic infraction with a 90-day suspension; a DWI brings $500 to $1,000 and at least six months revoked; an Agg-DWI, $1,000 to $2,500 and at least a year. One standard drink raises a 150-pound man about .02. Refusing a chemical test suspends the license at arraignment, and a DMV hearing can revoke it after an acquittal. Under 21, a BAC of .02 to .07 brings a six-month suspension, then a $100 fee and a $125 penalty. A DWI with a child under 16 aboard can be a felony.

Handbook pages 55, 56, 57, 58, 59.

  1. A chemical test shows that a driver has a BAC of .06 percent. Under New York law, what is that result legal evidence of?
  2. Starting at what blood alcohol content does New York treat a test result as evidence of aggravated driving while intoxicated (Agg-DWI)?
  3. A 150-pound man drinks one 12-ounce can of beer with 5% alcohol. By about how much does that one drink raise his BAC?
  4. You eat a full dinner before and during an evening of drinking. According to the New York manual, what does the food do?
  5. You are arrested on an alcohol-related driving charge and refuse to take the chemical test. When does your license get suspended for the refusal?
  6. After refusing a chemical test, a driver is found not guilty of the alcohol-related charge. A DMV hearing, however, confirms that the driver refused. What happens to the license?
  7. You refused a chemical test after an arrest and are now on trial for the alcohol-related charge. Can the prosecution mention that you refused?
  8. At a DMV hearing, a 19-year-old is found to have driven with a BAC of .03 percent. It is a first Zero Tolerance violation. What happens to the license?
  9. A driver under 21 has served a first Zero Tolerance suspension. What must the driver pay to be licensed again?
  10. An adult driver is convicted for the first time of driving while ability impaired by alcohol (DWAI). What license action does the penalty table list?
  11. Not counting surcharges and fees, what fine range does the penalty table give for a first DWI conviction?
  12. What minimum license action does the penalty table list for a first conviction of aggravated driving while intoxicated (Agg-DWI)?
  13. An 18-year-old driver already had one Zero Tolerance suspension and is now found to have committed a second Zero Tolerance violation. What happens to the license?
  14. A passenger in a regular car on a public road in New York is holding an open can of beer. What is the situation under the Open Container Law?
  15. A driver commits DWI while a 12-year-old is riding in the vehicle. Under Leandra's Law, what can the driver be charged with?
  16. A court convicts a driver of DWI in New York. For at least how long must the court order an ignition interlock on any vehicle the driver owns or operates?
  17. A driver under 21 shows a driver license as proof of age to buy beer illegally. What does state law require?
  18. A driver whose license is revoked is arrested for driving, and a test shows the driver is intoxicated. What is the maximum mandatory fine the driver faces?

Licensing, insurance and the law 2 questions

A driver licensed at 18 or older is on probation for six months, and a conviction for speeding, reckless driving, following too closely, a speed contest, DWAI or any two violations brings a 60-day suspension. A junior permit or license is suspended for 60 days after one violation worth three points or more, or two lesser ones. Phones trip people up: a junior or probationary driver gets a 120-day suspension for a first texting or hand-held phone conviction, and a revocation of at least a year for a repeat within six months of getting the license back, on top of fines of up to $200, $250 and $450 within 18 months.

Handbook pages 19, 52.

  1. A driver with a junior license is convicted for the first time of texting while driving. What happens to the license?
  2. A probationary driver gets the license back after a 120-day suspension for texting, then is convicted of texting again within six months. What happens?

How to study with this page

Take the topics in the order that worries you most, not the order on the page. For each one, answer the questions in your head before opening them, and read the explanation even when you were right: in New York the wrong options are usually true numbers borrowed from a neighboring rule, and knowing why they are wrong here is what keeps them from fooling you on test day.

Once every topic has had a pass, switch to the full practice test, which draws from all of them, and come back to whichever topic cost you points. Leave signs for a last run of their own before test day.

Take the New York practice test

Last updated: October 18, 2026