During ordinary parking, with no officer direction or emergency exception, how close may you park to a fire hydrant?
Correct answer: Not within 15 feet.
Standing or parking within 15 feet of a hydrant is prohibited under the ordinary rule. Remaining inside the car does not turn prohibited standing into permitted parking.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(a) and (m); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
Outside Baltimore City, what is the ordinary restriction on standing or parking near a crosswalk at an intersection?
Correct answer: Do not stand or park within 20 feet of the crosswalk.
This provision sets a 20-foot restriction and explicitly does not apply in Baltimore City. Local signs and other parking restrictions may also matter; do not turn the exception into a statewide permission.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(n); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
You are choosing an ordinary parking spot on the approach to a stop sign at the side of the roadway. What clearance does the state rule require?
Correct answer: Do not stand or park within 30 feet on that approach.
The 30-foot approach restriction applies to roadside flashing signals, stop signs, yield signs and traffic control signals. It helps keep the control visible and the approach usable.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(o); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
How close to the nearest rail at a railroad grade crossing may you park under Maryland’s ordinary rule?
Correct answer: Not within 50 feet.
Parking within 50 feet of the nearest rail is prohibited. The absence of an approaching train does not make the crossing or its restricted area a parking place.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(t); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
A parking space is unavailable, so you plan to leave your car beside a vehicle already parked at the curb. Is that ordinary double parking allowed?
Correct answer: No; double parking beside the curbside vehicle is prohibited.
Maryland prohibits standing or parking on the roadway side of a vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb. Hazard lights do not create a general exemption.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(r); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
You want to stop on an entrance ramp of a highway with multiple lanes in your direction simply to check directions. No emergency or traffic-control exception applies. Is that a permitted stopping place?
Correct answer: No; the ordinary rule prohibits stopping, standing or parking on that ramp.
The prohibition includes entrance and exit ramps of highways with two or more lanes in the same direction. A convenience stop to check directions does not meet the scenario’s excluded exceptions.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(a) and (k); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
May you briefly park in front of a curb ramp designed for people with disabilities if you stay in the car?
Correct answer: No; stopping, standing or parking in front of that ramp is prohibited.
The accessible curb ramp must remain clear. The prohibition does not depend on whether a person needing it is already visible.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1003(dd); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
In an ordinary parallel-parking location on a two-way roadway, how should the car be positioned?
Correct answer: Parallel to the right edge, with the right wheels within 12 inches of it.
The ordinary two-way-road rule requires parallel parking on the right with the right wheels within 12 inches of the curb or edge, subject to authorized exceptions.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1004(a); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
Local rules do not say otherwise, and parking is allowed on both sides of a one-way roadway. Which position follows the state rule?
Correct answer: Park parallel, facing with traffic, within 12 inches of either curb.
On a one-way roadway, the ordinary rule allows either side while facing the lawful traffic direction. The wheels nearest that curb or edge must be within 12 inches.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1004(b); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
A private lot has an empty space, but you have neither express nor implied permission to use it. May you park there merely because the space is empty?
Correct answer: No; the required permission from the owner, tenant or agent is missing.
Parking on another person’s private property requires express or implied permission. An empty space alone does not establish that permission.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1004(e)(1); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
Outside a business or residential district, you want to make a nonemergency stop and can practicably place the car off the roadway. Where should you stop?
Correct answer: Off the roadway rather than leave the car standing in a travel lane.
For the highway situation described, the rule prohibits stopping or parking on the roadway when it is practicable to stop off it. Involuntary disabling emergencies have a separate exception.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1001(a); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
Outside a business or residential district, no disabling-emergency exception applies. From how far away in each direction must a stopped vehicle be clearly visible under this rule?
Correct answer: 200 feet.
The ordinary rural-highway stopping provision requires clear visibility from 200 feet in each direction. A vehicle unavoidably disabled in the roadway is treated separately.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1001(c)–(d); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
You park a conventional keyed car and will leave it unattended. No statutory exception applies. What should you do before leaving?
Correct answer: Stop the engine, lock the ignition, remove the key and set the brake effectively.
Those are the ordinary unattended-vehicle requirements. The statute has limited exceptions for specified officers and certain brief remote-start or private-property situations; this scenario excludes them.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1101(a) and (c); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
In addition to securing the vehicle, what must you do with the front wheels before leaving it unattended on a grade?
Correct answer: Turn them toward the curb or side of the highway.
Maryland separately requires the front wheels to be turned to the curb or highway side on a grade. Setting the brake does not remove that additional wheel-position duty.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1101(b); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
You miss an exit on a controlled-access highway. May you back up along its shoulder to reach the ramp?
Correct answer: No; backing is prohibited on its roadway and shoulder.
The prohibition covers both the roadway and shoulder of a controlled-access highway. Missing an exit does not provide a backing exception.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1102(b); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
Before backing a vehicle in a place where backing is otherwise allowed, what must be true?
Correct answer: The movement can be made safely without interfering with other traffic.
Backing is permitted only when it can be done safely and without interfering with other traffic. Reverse lights are a warning, not a right of way.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1102(a); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
A load and a front-seat passenger prevent you from seeing to the side and moving the steering wheel freely. May you drive that way?
Correct answer: No; rearrange the situation so your view and vehicle control are not obstructed.
The statute prohibits loads or passenger positions that obstruct the driver’s forward/side view or interfere with control. A weight limit or passenger lookout does not cure those problems.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1104(a)–(b); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
You drive a modern passenger car covered by Maryland’s belt law and have no medical exemption. Must you wear your seat belt?
Correct answer: Yes; the driver must be restrained.
A driver operating a covered motor vehicle must be restrained. The presence of air bags and the type of ordinary trip do not remove this requirement.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §22-412.3(a)–(b); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
An adult sits in the rear seat of a modern passenger car covered by the belt law, without an exemption. What is required?
Correct answer: The adult must wear a seat belt.
Maryland requires rear-seat passengers age 16 or older to be belted in covered vehicles. The statute’s enforcement procedure does not make rear-seat belt use optional.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §22-412.3(c)(3); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
A seven-year-old child is 4 feet 6 inches tall and has no medical exemption. In a passenger car, what restraint does Maryland require?
Correct answer: An appropriate child safety seat, including a suitable booster, used according to instructions.
A child under eight must use a child safety seat unless at least 4 feet 9 inches tall, subject to the specified exceptions. The seven-year-old in this scenario is below that height.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §22-412.2(d)(1); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
A child is 18 months old and has not reached the child seat manufacturer’s rear-facing height or weight limit. Which direction is required?
Correct answer: Rear-facing in a compliant child safety seat.
For a child under two, Maryland requires a rear-facing compliant child seat until the manufacturer’s weight or height limit is reached. This scenario remains below that limit.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §22-412.2(d)(2); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
You own a suitable child safety seat but have installed it contrary to its manufacturer’s directions. Does merely owning the seat satisfy the rule?
Correct answer: No; the seat must be installed and used according to the manufacturer’s directions.
The law makes installation and use according to instructions part of compliance. A suitable seat cannot protect as intended if it is used incorrectly.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §22-412.2(b); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
May two children share a single seat belt or child safety seat?
Correct answer: No; each child needs a separate, appropriate restraint.
Maryland expressly prohibits using a child seat or seat belt to restrain more than one person at a time. Each child needs the appropriate separate restraint.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §22-412.2(g); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
An ordinary driver wears audio earphones in both ears while driving on a public highway. No special equipment or medical exception applies. Is that allowed?
Correct answer: No; the ordinary both-ear audio-earphone use is prohibited.
The statute prohibits the described use of audio earphones in both ears. It includes specific exceptions, such as hearing aids and certain safety equipment, which are not part of this scenario.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1120(c)–(e); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
An adult with a full license holds a phone to continue a nonemergency conversation while the car is moving. Does the hands-free rule permit this ongoing handheld use?
Correct answer: No; the narrow hand-use exceptions do not permit holding it throughout the conversation.
For the ordinary driver described, hands may be used only for the specified actions such as starting or ending a call or turning the phone on or off. Continuing an ordinary call while holding the phone is not one of those exceptions.
Source: Maryland Code, Transportation §21-1124.2(b) and (d); Maryland General Assembly current statute text, reviewed September 15, 2026. ↗
