You recognize that the car ahead has stopped, but your foot has not yet applied the brake. What is happening during that interval?
Correct answer: Your car is still covering reaction distance.
Reaction distance is the travel between recognizing a problem and applying the brakes. Stopping space must allow for this travel as well as braking.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 15: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Stopping Distance ↗
Another driver has begun passing your car. How can you help the pass finish safely?
Correct answer: Keep a steady speed or ease off rather than accelerating.
When being passed, do not speed up. Maintaining a steady speed or slowing permits the other driver to complete the maneuver.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 17: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Passing - When being passed ↗
A tall van ahead blocks your view of traffic farther down the road. How should you adjust?
Correct answer: Leave more following space so you have more time to respond.
Increase following distance behind a large vehicle that blocks your view. You need extra room when developing trouble ahead is harder to see.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 19: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Maintaining a Space Cushion - increase following distance ↗
You sit in a car last driven by someone of a different height. When should you set the mirrors for your view?
Correct answer: Before you start driving.
Adjust mirrors before driving so they provide the intended rear and side views from your seating position. Mirror adjustment does not eliminate every blind spot.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 20: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Blind Spots ↗
An approaching motorcycle looks small in the distance. Why should you check its approach carefully before pulling out?
Correct answer: Its size can make its speed and distance hard to judge.
A motorcycle's small profile can cause a driver to misjudge its speed or distance. Look carefully and do not pull into an unsafe gap.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 20: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Sharing the Road - Motorcycles, Yield to motorcycles ↗
When changing lanes with a small trailer attached to your car, what extra clearance must you account for?
Correct answer: The full added length of the trailer behind the car.
A lane change must leave enough room for the entire combination. Clearing the other vehicle with the car alone does not mean the trailer is clear.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 21: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Sharing the Road - Light to Medium Trailers, when driving ↗
A shower has just started on a previously dry road. Why might the pavement be especially slippery?
Correct answer: Water can mix with oil already on the surface.
Early rain can mix with surface oil and create a slick road. Use caution without waiting for deep standing water.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 23: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Hazardous Conditions - Rain ↗
You want to select a complicated navigation route before leaving. What is the safest time to enter it?
Correct answer: While safely parked, before the car starts moving.
Set vehicle and device controls before driving. A task that takes your attention away from traffic belongs in a safe stopped location, not in a moving gap.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 24: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Dangerous Driving Behaviors - Distracted Driving ↗
A deer suddenly blocks your path and a collision cannot be avoided. Which response does the handbook recommend?
Correct answer: Brake firmly while holding your lane and maintaining control.
When an animal collision is unavoidable, avoid a sudden swerve into opposing traffic or roadside hazards. Brake and keep the vehicle under control.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 25: Section 3 - Safe Driving, Deer/Large Animal Hazards - unavoidable collision ↗
You are uncertain whether a suitable child safety seat is correctly installed in this car. What should you do before using it?
Correct answer: Check both manuals and get help from a qualified seat technician.
Use the car-seat and vehicle instructions and seek a child-seat inspection if uncertain. Correct installation depends on the actual restraint and vehicle, not appearance alone.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV 39 (April 27, 2026), printed p. 27: Section 4 - Child Safety Seats, safety-seat checks; corroborated by NHTSA Car Seats and Booster Seats, Car Seat Overview and Car Seat Inspection ↗
This sign faces you at a ramp entrance. What does it tell you about entering from your approach?
Correct answer: Entry from this direction is prohibited
Do Not Enter prohibits entering from the direction the sign faces. It is not permission to enter after stopping and does not merely restrict a particular vehicle size.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV39 (April 27, 2026), current-linked 40-page PDF; Section2 Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings; physical 9, printed 7; Regulatory signs: Do Not Enter - Wrong Way. Complete physical8-15 text and diagrams reviewed September13,2026. Road-sign recognition/meaning only; no signal or pavement-marking rule. Illustration: existing official FHWA 2009 panel, verified against the Virginia example; design provenance only, not an adoption claim. ↗
What special activity should this five-sided sign lead you to watch for?
Correct answer: Children near a school area or school crossing
The pentagon and walking figures identify a school-area or school-crossing warning. Read any supplementary plaque for the exact location or other information; the symbol alone does not supply a speed number.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV39 (April 27, 2026), current-linked 40-page PDF; Section2 Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings; physical 10, printed 8; Warning signs: School Zone/School Crossing; shape on physical9. Complete physical8-15 text and diagrams reviewed September13,2026. Road-sign recognition/meaning only; no signal or pavement-marking rule. Illustration: existing official FHWA 2009 panel, verified against the Virginia example; design provenance only, not an adoption claim. ↗
What does the measurement between the upward and downward arrows describe?
Correct answer: The clearance beneath an overhead obstruction
This is a low-clearance warning. The displayed measurement concerns overhead space; compare the actual vehicle's height with the actual sign, rather than treating this illustration's number as a universal clearance.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV39 (April 27, 2026), current-linked 40-page PDF; Section2 Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings; physical 10, printed 8; Warning signs: Low Clearance Sign. Complete physical8-15 text and diagrams reviewed September13,2026. Road-sign recognition/meaning only; no signal or pavement-marking rule. Illustration: existing official FHWA 2009 panel, verified against the Virginia example; design provenance only, not an adoption claim. ↗
Text-description practice: A yellow diamond shows a black T with your approach represented by its stem. What roadway layout is ahead?
Correct answer: Your road ends at a road running left and right
The T symbol shows the approaching road ending at another road, requiring a left or right route choice. This item identifies geometry, not the separate controls or right-of-way at every T intersection.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV39 (April 27, 2026), current-linked 40-page PDF; Section2 Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings; physical 11, printed 9; Warning signs: T Intersection. Complete physical8-15 text and diagrams reviewed September13,2026. Road-sign recognition/meaning only; no signal or pavement-marking rule. ↗
Text-description practice: A yellow or yellow-green diamond shows a single walking figure. A small arrow plaque beneath points toward a crossing. What does the assembly identify?
Correct answer: The location of a pedestrian crossing
The walking-figure warning alerts drivers to pedestrians, and the supplementary arrow can identify the actual crossing location. The plaque is not a vehicle-turn command.
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, DMV39 (April 27, 2026), current-linked 40-page PDF; Section2 Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings; physical 10, printed 8; Warning signs: Pedestrian Crossing. Complete physical8-15 text and diagrams reviewed September13,2026. Road-sign recognition/meaning only; no signal or pavement-marking rule. ↗
