A painted traffic island separates two paths through an intersection. May you drive across it to shorten your turn?
Correct answer: No, unless a police officer directs you over it.
Channelizing islands may be painted or raised. The manual prohibits driving or parking on either form unless a police officer directs otherwise.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 92 (physical PDF page 100) — Channelizing Islands. ↗
You find an otherwise legal parking space seven feet from a fire hydrant. May you park there?
Correct answer: No; parking within ten feet of the hydrant is prohibited.
Massachusetts prohibits parking within ten feet of a fire hydrant or fire lane. A short visit does not reduce that clearance.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Regulations continuation. ↗
You have a valid disability placard, but the accessible spaces are full. Can you park in the striped access aisle beside one?
Correct answer: No; the striped access aisle must remain clear.
The crosshatched area beside an accessible space is not an extra parking space, even for a vehicle displaying disability plates or a placard.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Regulations continuation. ↗
An open curbside space is on the opposite side of a two-way street. What is wrong with parking there facing against traffic?
Correct answer: Parking facing the wrong traffic direction is prohibited.
A parking space must be used in the lawful direction of travel. An empty space does not cancel the prohibition against facing the wrong way.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Regulations continuation. ↗
You stop in the travel lane beside a row of parked cars to wait for a passenger. What kind of prohibited parking is this?
Correct answer: Double parking.
Parking in a traffic lane alongside parked vehicles is double parking. Waiting for a passenger does not turn that travel lane into a parking space.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Regulations continuation. ↗
A street is marked RESIDENT PERMIT PARKING ONLY. You have neither a resident permit nor a special visitor placard. What should you do?
Correct answer: Find a space where you are permitted to park.
The manual requires the applicable permit or special visitor placard for these spaces. Being a visitor alone is not permission.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Permits. ↗
A meter has a posted two-hour limit during the current day and hours. What must you respect besides paying the fee?
Correct answer: The posted parking time limit.
Metered parking rules include posted days, hours and time limits. Paying a fee does not by itself authorize a longer stay than allowed.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Meters. ↗
Why should a driver resolve unpaid parking tickets before renewing a license or registration?
Correct answer: Unpaid tickets can prevent those renewals.
The RMV manual warns that unpaid parking tickets can stop license or vehicle-registration renewal. It does not say ordinary renewal fees erase them.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 111 (physical PDF page 119) — Parking Regulations continuation. ↗
What type of information does purple identify on the traffic signs described in the RMV manual?
Correct answer: Electronic toll collection.
Purple identifies electronic toll collection signs. Read the sign for the lane or payment requirement rather than treating the color as a general warning.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 83 (physical PDF page 91) — Traffic Signs: colors. ↗
A temporary sign uses a fluorescent pink background. Which purpose does that color identify?
Correct answer: Incident management.
Fluorescent pink identifies incident-management signs, distinct from orange construction warnings and fluorescent yellow-green school or pedestrian warnings.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 83 (physical PDF page 91) — Traffic Signs: colors. ↗
Blue highway signs can help you find gas, food or lodging. What other use for blue does the RMV manual list?
Correct answer: Evacuation routes.
The manual lists blue for motorist services and evacuation routes. Follow the actual symbol or wording; blue does not mean every sign points to a hotel.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 83 (physical PDF page 91) — Traffic Signs: colors. ↗
A brown guide sign directs you toward a destination. What kind of place does this color normally identify?
Correct answer: A recreational, historic or scenic site.
Brown identifies recreational, historic and scenic destinations. It is guidance to a place, not a special right-of-way rule.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 83 (physical PDF page 91) — Traffic Signs: colors. ↗
Road work fully closes your route and detour signs are posted. What is their purpose?
Correct answer: Guide you around the work and back to the original road.
Detour signs provide a bypass when work requires a road or directional-lane closure. Follow the posted route rather than entering the closed area.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 88 (physical PDF page 96) — Road Work continuation: detours. ↗
Cones form a taper away from a closed lane ahead. What should you do?
Correct answer: Merge carefully into the open adjacent lane when safe.
Drums, cones and tubular markers guide traffic away from a closed shoulder or lane. Their placement calls for a safe lane transition, not a shortcut through the work area.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 88 (physical PDF page 96) — Road Work continuation: drums, cones and tubular markers. ↗
A portable arrow board before a highway work area points traffic toward an open lane. What does it help you determine?
Correct answer: Which lane is open so you can merge safely.
Portable arrow boards warn of a shoulder or lane closure and show the open travel path. They do not remove the need to check traffic before merging.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 88 (physical PDF page 96) — Road Work continuation: portable arrow boards. ↗
A crossing guard wearing a reflective vest steps out with a STOP paddle as children approach. What should you do?
Correct answer: Stop and obey the crossing guard’s signal.
Be alert for crossing guards, children and handheld stop signs. The manual instructs drivers to obey the guard’s signals, not to wait for a child to be directly in front of the vehicle.
Source: Massachusetts Driver's Manual, revised April 2026, printed page 92 (physical PDF page 100) — Crossing Guards. ↗
