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Oklahoma driving lesson · Keeping Your License Valid

Vehicle inspection before your driving test

A 3-minute lesson from the Oklahoma 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
Keeping Your License Valid
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
12

All vehicles must be equipped as Chapter 12 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes requires, and officers may inspect a vehicle and its equipment (47 O.S. §13-102). Before your driving test, the examiner checks your car against a checklist; if it fails, you don't test that day.

Items officers inspect (must be in good working order):

  • Lights: headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals, parking lights, plate lights, reflectors
  • Rearview mirror
  • Third brake light, if federal law requires one on your vehicle
  • Exhaust system
  • Windshield and glass
  • Tires
  • Seat belts (vehicles after 1965)
Handbook p. 12 ↗

Know the rule

Windshield and glass must be free of major cracks, chips or obstructions in the driver's line of sight, especially within the wiper area. Star breaks or impact points you can feel by touch will not pass.

Handbook p. 12 ↗

Driving-test checklist:

  • License plate: must be valid
  • Lights: working brake lights/turn signals, including third brake light (cars since 1986, trucks since 1994)
  • No lens covered in any way by tape of any kind, colored or clear
  • Windshield: no multiple cracks or other damage
  • Brakes and seat belts: in proper working order
  • Front door handles: operate from inside and outside with normal effort
  • Mirrors: left outside AND either center inside or right outside
Handbook p. 12 ↗
2/32 inch

Minimum tire tread depth; no ply or cord exposed, no bulges or bumps (use the penny test)

Handbook p. 12 ↗
200 feet

Distance from which your horn must be audible

Handbook p. 12 ↗

Know the rule

Windshield tint must meet Title 47: no tint is permitted more than 5 inches from the windshield or below the AS-1 line located on the windshield.

Handbook p. 12 ↗

Know the rule

You must also have a current insurance verification form, and it cannot exclude the driver.

Handbook p. 12 ↗

Put it into practice

Your 1998 pickup's third brake light is out and a taillight lens is patched with clear tape. It fails twice: trucks since 1994 need a working third brake light, and no lens may be covered by tape of any kind. Fix both before test day.

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.

What is the minimum tire tread depth on the checklist your car must pass before your driving test?
  1. 2/32 inch
  2. 4/32 inch
  3. 3/32 inch
  4. 1/32 inch

Answer: 2/32 inch

Tires must have at least 2/32-inch tread depth with no cord or ply exposed.

Handbook p. 12 ↗
From what distance must your horn be audible to pass inspection?
  1. 100 feet
  2. 200 feet
  3. 50 feet
  4. 500 feet

Answer: 200 feet

The horn must be audible at 200 feet.

Handbook p. 12 ↗
Window tint may extend as far down the windshield as you like, as long as it's above the dashboard.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

Tint may not extend more than 5 inches from the top of the windshield or below the AS-1 line.

Handbook p. 12 ↗
Which of these must work properly for your car to pass the checklist before your driving test?
  1. Front door handles, inside and outside
  2. The air conditioning
  3. The rear window defroster
  4. The cruise control

Answer: Front door handles, inside and outside

Front door handles must operate from both inside and outside with normal effort.

Handbook p. 12 ↗
Which mirror combination satisfies Oklahoma's inspection requirement?
  1. A center inside mirror only
  2. A left outside mirror plus a center or right mirror
  3. A right outside mirror plus a center mirror
  4. A left outside mirror only

Answer: A left outside mirror plus a center or right mirror

You must have a left outside mirror AND either a center inside or right outside mirror.

Handbook p. 12 ↗
What must be true of your insurance verification form for the driving test?
  1. It must list only the owner
  2. It only needs to show the VIN number
  3. It must be notarized
  4. It cannot exclude the driver taking the test

Answer: It cannot exclude the driver taking the test

The current insurance verification form cannot exclude the person taking the test as a covered driver.

Handbook p. 12 ↗
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