Special Speed Limits, School Buses, Railroad Crossings, Other Road Rules, and Your Driving Record

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the California Class C knowledge test. The facts follow the official handbook; the wording is ours.

Source: California Driver's Handbook (DL 600), California Department of Motor Vehicles, 2025 edition, section 7 "Laws and Rules of the Road", last part (pp. 50–56).

Heavy traffic, bad weather and towing

Drive slower in heavy traffic or bad weather, but do not block the normal flow by going too slowly; driving faster or slower than the limit can earn a citation. When someone behind wants to go faster, move right; if you choose to drive slower than traffic, use the right lane. When towing a vehicle or trailer, or driving a truck with three or more axles, use the far-right lane or a lane marked for slow vehicles; with no marked lanes and four or more lanes in your direction, use only the two right-hand lanes.

Around children and school buses

The limit is 25 mph within 500 feet of a school while children are outside or crossing, and some school zones post 15 mph. Watch for bicyclists, pedestrians, crossing guards and safety patrols (obey them) and stopped buses. A school bus flashing yellow lights is about to stop: slow down and prepare to stop. When it flashes red (top, front and back), you must stop from either direction and stay stopped until the children are across and the lights stop. Failing to stop can cost up to $1,000 and a one-year suspension. You need not stop when the bus is on the other side of a divided or multilane highway with two or more lanes in each direction. All vehicles must stop for school buses.

Blind intersections, alleys and railroad crossings

A blind intersection has no stop sign at any corner; if your view is blocked, edge forward slowly until you can see. Its limit is 15 mph. An alley is a road no wider than 25 feet serving the rear or side of buildings; you may drive on or cross a sidewalk to enter or leave a driveway or alley, and the alley limit is 15 mph.

The limit is 15 mph within 100 feet of a railroad crossing when you cannot see the tracks for 400 feet in both directions; you may go faster where gates, a warning signal or a flagman control the crossing. At the crossing: flashing red lights mean stop and wait, and do not cross until they stop flashing even if the gate rises; when a device or person warns of a train, stop at least 15 feet from the nearest track; never go under a lowering gate or around a lowered one (if the gates are down and no train appears, call the posted railroad emergency number or 911); stop, look and listen, and do not cross if you see a train or hear a horn or bell; check every track, both ways; expect a train on any track at any time; never stop on the tracks, and do not start across without room to clear them; and watch for buses, school buses and placarded trucks that must stop before crossing.

In a business or residential district the limit is 25 mph unless posted otherwise.

Other rules

• No smoking with a minor in the vehicle.
• Dumping or abandoning an animal on a highway: up to $1,000, six months in jail, or both.
• No driving a vehicle so overloaded that you cannot control it or see ahead and to the sides, and no unsecured load that is a hazard.
• Nothing may extend beyond the fenders on the left, or more than 6 inches beyond the fenders on the right. Cargo sticking out more than 4 feet behind the rear bumper needs a 12-inch red or fluorescent orange flag, and two red lights at night.
• No passengers in a pickup or truck bed unless it has secure seats and seat belts; no animals in a truck bed unless properly secured.
• No video monitor visible to the driver unless it shows only vehicle information, navigation, a media player or the radio.
• No throwing a cigarette, cigar or anything burning from the vehicle.
• No signs or objects on the front windshield or side rear windows that block your view, and nothing hanging from the mirror. Allowed: a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the passenger-side windshield or rear window, a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the driver's side window, a 5-inch square at the top center of the windshield for a toll device, and the side windows behind the driver.
• A funeral procession, led by a traffic officer with marked vehicles and headlights on, has the right-of-way; interrupting it is a ticket.
• The license plate must be legible and never altered.
• Evading law enforcement with a vehicle is a misdemeanor with up to a year in county jail; causing serious injury during a pursuit brings up to seven years in state prison; manslaughter while evading brings 4 to 10 years. If an unlicensed person is caught driving your car, it may be impounded for 30 days.
• Reckless driving or a speed contest that injures someone means jail, a fine, or both.

Points on your record

A citation is signed as a promise to appear in court; failing to appear (FTA) can bring a suspension until you do, and goes on your record. Every moving-violation conviction, including those from other states and juvenile court, goes on the record and stays 36 months or longer. An adult's license may be suspended at 4 points in 12 months, 6 points in 24 months, or 8 points in 36 months. For a one-point violation a judge may offer traffic violator school, once in any 18-month period: the citation stays on the record but is not reported to your insurer.

Too many points makes you a negligent driver: DMV may put you on probation or suspend or revoke the privilege, with written notice and the right to a hearing. DMV revokes the privilege for a hit-and-run or reckless driving with injury, and courts can suspend it too. After a suspension or revocation you apply for a replacement license and must show proof of financial responsibility (an SR 22 or SR 1P).

Provisional (minor) licenses: in the first 12 months, one at-fault collision or conviction brings a warning; two (or one of each) means 30 days of driving only with a licensed adult 25 or older; three means a six-month suspension and one year of probation, with further suspensions for more offenses on probation. A conviction for alcohol or a controlled substance at 15 to 20 brings a one-year suspension or a delay in eligibility. Turning 18 does not end existing restrictions, suspensions or probation.

Administrative hearings: request one within 10 days of being served or 14 days from the mailing date or lose the right. You may present evidence and witnesses, testify or be represented at your own expense, review the evidence and cross-examine, though DMV's case rests on written documents, so subpoena anyone you want to question. Court action is independent of DMV action. You may report an unsafe driver with a Request for Driver Reexamination (DS 699). Most of your record is public except physical or mental conditions, address and Social Security number.

Practise this with California Driver License questions

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