An 18-month-old child is within the rear-facing height and weight limits of the car seat. How must the child ride?
Correct answer: Rear-facing in a suitable seat with an internal harness.
For a child under two who remains within the seat limits, Minnesota requires a rear-facing child restraint with an internal harness. Follow the seat and vehicle instructions.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 4a(a)(1); Rear-facing child restraint; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A three-year-old has outgrown the rear-facing seat limit but still fits a forward-facing harness seat. Which restraint is required?
Correct answer: A forward-facing child seat with an internal harness.
A child age two or older who exceeds the rear-facing limit moves to a properly fitted forward-facing harness restraint until its height or weight limit is reached.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 4a(a)(2); Forward-facing harness; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A six-year-old has outgrown the forward-facing harness seat and fits an appropriate booster. What should the driver use?
Correct answer: The booster together with the vehicle safety belt.
For a child at least four who has outgrown the forward-facing restraint, the next category is a booster secured with the safety belt. Follow the manufacturer’s limits and fit instructions.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 4a(a)(3); Booster transition; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A nine-year-old still fits a booster, but without it the belt crosses the abdomen and neck. Is age alone enough to stop using the booster?
Correct answer: No; the belt must fit correctly, so retain the appropriate booster.
A birthday does not remove the correct-fit requirement. The lap belt belongs over the thighs and lower hips, the shoulder belt across the chest, and the child must sit back with knees bending at the seat edge. Use the more protective applicable category.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 4a(a)(4) and (6); Belt fit after the ninth birthday; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
Whose instructions must you follow when securing a child restraint in the vehicle?
Correct answer: Both the vehicle manufacturer’s and the restraint manufacturer’s.
The law defines proper restraint by reference to both manufacturers’ instructions. A seat that fits the child still needs to be installed and used correctly in that vehicle.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 3a(d); Installing a child restraint; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A child’s age and size make more than one Minnesota restraint category applicable. Which category should you choose?
Correct answer: The more protective applicable category.
Minnesota expressly requires the more protective category when a child can fall within multiple categories because of age or weight. Do not advance a child solely for convenience.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 4a(a)(6); Overlapping restraint categories; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
You rent an ordinary passenger car for a family trip. Does renting it exempt you from the child-restraint requirements?
Correct answer: No; rented, leased and borrowed cars are not covered by that exemption.
The statutory exemption for certain vehicles for hire specifically excludes rented, leased and borrowed motor vehicles. Arrange appropriate restraints for the children before driving.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.685, subdivision 6(a)(3); Children in a rented car; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A 30-year-old driver holds a phone while using its speakerphone for an ordinary call. Is that hands-free use?
Correct answer: No; holding the device is prohibited while driving or in traffic.
The adult hands-free call exception does not permit holding the device in either hand. A speakerphone setting alone does not satisfy the requirement.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.475, subdivision 2(a)(1) and 3(a)(1); Holding a speakerphone; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
While moving with traffic, may you type a new destination into a mounted phone’s navigation app?
Correct answer: No; the navigation exception does not allow typing in traffic.
Navigation use is permitted only within the stated conditions, including no typing while moving or part of traffic and no holding the device. Set the route before driving or stop safely outside traffic.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.475, subdivision 3(a)(2); Typing a navigation destination; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
An adult driver uses a mounted phone for directions entered before the trip, without holding it or typing. Does the navigation exception allow this?
Correct answer: Yes, provided its use stays within those conditions.
The statute allows viewing or operating navigation without holding the device or typing in traffic. Keep attention on the road; this is not permission for unrelated phone use.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.475, subdivision 3(a)(2); Prepared navigation guidance; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
Music is playing through the car from your phone. May you scroll through a playlist on the phone while driving?
Correct answer: No; the audio exception does not permit scrolling or typing.
Listening to audio is allowed within the exception, but the driver may not hold the device, scroll or type while moving or part of traffic. Prepare the selection before driving.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.475, subdivision 3(a)(3); Scrolling for music; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
Your phone is mounted and no hands are needed to start a video call. May you participate while driving?
Correct answer: No; video calling is excluded from the hands-free exception.
Hands-free operation is not a general permission for every phone activity. Minnesota specifically excludes video calling, live-streaming, nonnavigation video, gaming and reading messages from that exception.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.475, subdivision 3(b); Mounted video call; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
You pull into a parking space, stop lawfully and do not obstruct traffic. How does this differ from waiting at a red light?
Correct answer: The parked vehicle is outside the traffic situation covered by this phone rule.
A vehicle is outside this rule’s in-motion-or-traffic category when lawfully stopped where vehicles do not ordinarily travel and not obstructing traffic. A traffic light or queue does not meet that definition.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.475, subdivision 1(d); Stopping outside traffic to use a phone; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
Warning signals require your ordinary passenger car to stop at a railroad crossing. What minimum distance from the nearest track does Minnesota law specify?
Correct answer: At least 10 feet.
Section 169.26 requires an ordinary vehicle to stop no less than 10 feet from the nearest track when the listed train-warning conditions apply. Special vehicles have additional rules; do not substitute another state’s ordinary-car minimum.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.26, subdivision 1(a), ordinary-vehicle crossing requirements; Ordinary-car rail stopping clearance; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
Before entering a railroad crossing in your car, how much clearance beyond the farthest track must traffic allow for the rear of your vehicle?
Correct answer: At least 10 feet, with no stop needed while crossing.
The road must be clear enough to cross without stopping until the vehicle’s rear is at least 10 feet past the farthest track. Do not enter merely because there is space for the front of the car.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 169.26, subdivision 1(a), ordinary-vehicle crossing requirements; Space beyond a railroad crossing; official Revisor text checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A cold medicine sold without a prescription warns that it can cause drowsiness. What should guide your decision to drive?
Correct answer: Its possible effects on driving, not whether a prescription is required.
Over-the-counter medicines can impair alertness and responses. Read warnings and follow appropriate medical advice; legal availability does not establish fitness to drive.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Over-the-counter medicine; printed page 91, physical PDF page 94; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A medicine has not noticeably impaired you when taken alone. What can happen if you combine it with alcohol?
Correct answer: The combination can have a strong impairing effect.
Legal medicines that do not noticeably impair someone alone can have powerful intoxicating effects with alcohol. Do not assume the effects simply cancel or remain unchanged.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Alcohol and medication together; printed page 91, physical PDF page 94; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
After drinking, a driver feels unusually confident about driving fast. Why is that confidence unreliable?
Correct answer: Alcohol can impair judgment about the driver’s own ability.
Alcohol can make a person underestimate impairment and take risks such as speeding or misjudging stopping distance. Feeling confident is not evidence of safe driving ability.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Judging your own impairment; printed page 91, physical PDF page 94; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
How can alcohol affect a driver’s view of hazards toward the sides?
Correct answer: It can reduce peripheral vision.
Alcohol can reduce the range of eye movement and peripheral vision. That makes it harder to detect hazards outside the area directly ahead.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Alcohol and side vision; printed page 91, physical PDF page 94; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A pedestrian suddenly steps into the roadway. How does alcohol typically affect the driver’s response?
Correct answer: It slows the driver’s reaction.
Alcohol slows reactions to pedestrians, signals, other vehicles and unexpected events. Safe driving requires more than being able to turn the wheel or press a pedal.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Alcohol and reaction time; printed page 92, physical PDF page 95; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
Why is switching from a standard serving of spirits to a standard serving of beer not a reliable way to avoid impairment?
Correct answer: Standard servings can contain similar amounts of alcohol.
A typical 12-ounce beer, 5-ounce wine and standard mixed drink can contain similar alcohol amounts. Actual strength and serving size vary, so a beverage label is not a safe-driving calculation.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Alcohol in different beverages; printed page 92, physical PDF page 95; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
The same number of drinks affected you less on a previous evening. Does that establish how fit you are to drive tonight?
Correct answer: No; factors such as food intake and tiredness can change the effects.
Alcohol’s effects vary between people and between occasions. Food intake, mood and sleepiness are among the factors identified in the manual; do not use a past drink count as proof of fitness to drive.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Different effects on different occasions; printed page 92, physical PDF page 95; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
An adult noncommercial driver is impaired by alcohol but is below 0.08 percent. Does the number alone rule out a DWI arrest?
Correct answer: No; alcohol impairment can still support a DWI arrest.
The 0.08 percent per-se threshold is not permission to drive impaired at a lower concentration. The manual describes DWI arrest below that threshold when alcohol-related driving errors establish impairment.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Impairment below the per-se threshold; printed page 93, physical PDF page 96; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
An opened cannabis package must be carried in an ordinary private car on a highway. Is the glove compartment the allowed storage location?
Correct answer: No; use the trunk or the permitted nonoccupant area if there is no trunk.
The manual permits storage in the trunk or, without a trunk, an area not normally occupied by the driver or passengers. It specifically excludes the utility and glove compartments.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Opened cannabis package in a private car; printed page 96, physical PDF page 99; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
A passenger in your ordinary private car wants to drink beer while you drive on a public highway. Is that allowed because the passenger is not driving?
Correct answer: No; the open-container rule also applies to the passenger.
In an ordinary private vehicle on a public street or highway, do not allow a passenger to drink alcohol or keep an open alcoholic-beverage container in the passenger area. Being a passenger does not create an exemption.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual, June 2026; Passenger drinking in an ordinary car; printed page 96, physical PDF page 99; checked September 21, 2026. ↗
