roadwise.Open study app

North Carolina driving lesson · Basic Driving Skills & Rules

Backing & parking

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

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Basic Driving Skills & Rules
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
30

Backing and parking are low-speed moves, but they cause crashes because you can't see well and other traffic doesn't expect you. NC also sets exact distances for where you may not park.

Rules for backing:

  • 1. Before getting in, check behind the vehicle for small objects or children
  • 2. Steer with your left hand and look over your right shoulder through the back window
  • 3. Don't rely on mirrors alone or looking through the side window
  • 4. Back very slowly, not more than 10 mph
Handbook p. 30 ↗
10 mph

Maximum speed when backing

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

Always park on the right side of the road, except on one-way streets.

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Know the rule

Before pulling out of a parallel space, check traffic and signal left, unless you're parked on the left side of a one-way street. If a car ahead is pulling out, slow down and be ready to stop.

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Parking distances

Parking distances
Do not park withinOf
15 feetA fire hydrant or fire station entrance
25 feetThe curb line of an intersecting street
15 feetIntersecting right-of-way lines (no curb)
One block (in city limits)A fire or fire truck
400 feet (outside the city)A fire or fire truck
Handbook p. 30 ↗

Never park:

  • At an intersection or in front of a driveway
  • On a crosswalk, sidewalk or bridge
  • On the paved or main-travel part of a highway
  • On the roadway side of another vehicle (double parking)
  • Where there are "no-parking" signs
  • Anywhere in an interstate right of way, except designated areas or emergencies
  • In a handicap space without a handicap plate or disability placard
Handbook p. 30 ↗
200 feet

Parking on a shoulder is legal only if approaching drivers can see you this far from both directions

Handbook p. 30 ↗

Put it into practice

You're parking outside city limits near a house fire with trucks on scene. You must stay at least 400 feet away. Inside city limits the rule would be one block.

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.

How close to a fire hydrant may you legally park?
  1. No closer than 5 feet
  2. No closer than 25 feet
  3. No closer than 15 feet
  4. No closer than 50 feet

Answer: No closer than 15 feet

You may not park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or entrance to a fire station.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
How close to the curb line of an intersecting street (where there is a curb) may you park?
  1. No closer than 15 feet
  2. No closer than 10 feet
  3. No closer than 50 feet
  4. No closer than 25 feet

Answer: No closer than 25 feet

You may not park within 25 feet of the curb line of an intersecting street.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
If there is no curb, how close to the intersecting right-of-way lines may you park?
  1. No closer than 15 feet
  2. No closer than 25 feet
  3. No closer than 5 feet
  4. No closer than 100 feet

Answer: No closer than 15 feet

Where there is no curb, you may not park within 15 feet of the intersecting right-of-way lines.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
To park legally on a highway shoulder, your vehicle must be visible to approaching drivers from both directions for at least how far?
  1. 50 feet
  2. 200 feet
  3. 500 feet
  4. 100 feet

Answer: 200 feet

Parking on the shoulder is against the law unless the vehicle can be seen from both directions for at least 200 feet.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
How close to a fire or fire truck may you park outside city limits?
  1. Not within one block
  2. Not within 100 feet
  3. Not within 500 feet
  4. Not within 400 feet

Answer: Not within 400 feet

Outside city limits, you may not park within 400 feet of a fire or fire truck.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
What is the maximum speed the handbook recommends when backing a vehicle?
  1. 5 mph
  2. 15 mph
  3. 10 mph
  4. 20 mph

Answer: 10 mph

Back very slowly, not more than 10 mph, because a vehicle is harder to control and stop when backing.

Handbook p. 30 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Basic Driving Skills & Rules

All North Carolina lessons