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Missouri driving lesson · The Driver Exam

The driving test: vehicle and skills

A 3-minute lesson from the Missouri course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
The Driver Exam
Checkpoint questions
5
Source pages
21, 22, 23

After you pass the written, vision and road sign tests, you take the driving test with an MSHP examiner. Use a vehicle you know well. The examiner checks it first and won't give the test if it isn't properly equipped or seems dangerous.

Your test vehicle must have:

  • Current license plate(s) and a valid inspection sticker
  • Seat belts in proper working order
  • Working doors for the driver and the examiner
  • A clean, safe seat for the examiner
  • Two sets of brakes (parking and foot brake) in good working order
  • A horn in good working order
  • Proof of financial responsibility
Handbook p. 21 ↗

Know the rule

Only you and the examiner may be in the vehicle. Avoid unnecessary conversation; the examiner's job is to test, not to teach. Obey all Missouri traffic laws.

Handbook p. 21 ↗

Know the rule

You'll be asked to find and use controls (accelerator, brakes, turn signals, wipers) without searching, then start the car, release the parking brake, check that the way is clear, signal and drive smoothly.

Handbook p. 21 ↗

You'll be asked to:

  • Start and stop the vehicle
  • Park parallel to the curb
  • Back up
  • Make at least two right and two left turns
  • Park on a hill
  • Enter and leave intersections
  • Understand and obey traffic signs and signals
Handbook p. 22 ↗

Parallel parking on the test

Parallel parking on the test
ItemStandard
Space size25 feet long, seven feet wide
Distance from curbNo more than 18 inches
Time limitPark within two minutes
PositionNear the center of the space
Handbook p. 22 ↗

Know the rule

Backing is graded on looking over your right shoulder through the rear glass, backing straight without weaving, staying in the proper lane, and backing at the right speed.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

Know the rule

Hill parking is graded on control, parking no more than 18 inches from the curb, leaving the vehicle in park or the correct gear, turning the front wheels correctly, setting the parking brake, and checking traffic and signaling.

Handbook p. 22 ↗

Throughout the test, the examiner also watches:

  • Your distance from the vehicle in front of you
  • Your speed
  • Driving in the proper lane and obeying lane markings
  • Your awareness of the traffic around you
  • Yielding the right-of-way when necessary
Handbook p. 23 ↗

Put it into practice

At the parallel parking stop you pull even with the front marker, back in smoothly and finish 12 inches from the curb in about a minute and a half. That meets the 18-inch and two-minute standards.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

During the parallel parking portion of the driving test, how close to the curb must you park?
  1. No more than 18 inches
  2. No more than 12 inches
  3. No more than 24 inches
  4. No more than 36 inches

Answer: No more than 18 inches

You are tested on parking no more than 18 inches from the curb.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
How much time are you given to complete the parallel parking maneuver on the driving test?
  1. One minute
  2. Two minutes
  3. Five minutes
  4. There is no time limit

Answer: Two minutes

The driving test evaluates your ability to park the vehicle within two minutes.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
During the driving test, you must make at least how many right and left turns?
  1. One right, one left
  2. Two right, two left
  3. Three right, three left
  4. No specific number is required

Answer: Two right, two left

You will be asked to make at least two right and two left turns during the driving test.

Handbook p. 22 ↗
During the driving skills test, only you and the examiner may be in the vehicle; no other passengers are allowed.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

No one else may ride in the vehicle during the driving test besides you and the examiner.

Handbook p. 21 ↗
The examiner's job during the driving test is to teach you how to drive better if you make a mistake.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

The examiner's job is to test, not to teach, during the driving test.

Handbook p. 21 ↗
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