Traffic Laws and Regulations: Police Stops, Speed, Lane Changes, School Buses, Turns, Roundabouts, Signaling, Right-of-Way, Railroads, Other Laws, Insurance Fraud and Theft: The Golden Rule at Traffic Stops, Dark Signals as Four-Way Stops, the General Speed Law, Maximum and Minimum Limits, Drag Racing, Divided Highways, Never Changing Lanes at an Intersection, Stopping 30 Feet From a School Bus and When You Need Not, the 100-Foot Turn Rule, Two Left Turns, the 500-Foot Turnaround Rule, 200 Feet in the Center Lane, Roundabouts at 15 to 20 mph and Their Signals, Who Yields, Stopping 15 to 50 Feet From the Rails, Track Facts, Truck Beds, Headphones, Funerals, the 11 p.m. Curfew, Bicycle Laws, Insurance Fraud, Staged Crashes and Park Smart

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

Source: Louisiana Class D & E Driver's Guide (OMV, R08/25 edition), Chapter 6 "Traffic Laws and Regulations" (pages 86–99).

Police stops, control and speed

You must obey all traffic laws and every lawful order of a police officer. At a stop, follow the golden rule, cooperate with reasonable requests, stay calm and pull over safely, have your license, registration and proof of insurance ready, stay in the vehicle unless told otherwise, keep your hands visible, ask a non-uniformed officer in an unmarked car for identification, ask for details if the reason seems vague, ask to move to a lit or populated spot if the location feels unsafe, and send complaints to the officer's supervisor. Obey signs, signals and markings, and when a signal is not working the intersection becomes an all-way (four-way) stop. Negligently failing to keep proper control of your vehicle is unlawful. Crash severity rises disproportionately with speed: a frontal impact at 35 mph is a third more violent than at 30, and at 75 mph you have little chance of surviving; at night or in bad weather high speed overdrives your headlights. Limits are set for ideal conditions, so you can be cited for driving too fast for conditions even below the limit, such as 55 mph in a snowstorm; check the speedometer often, especially when leaving a fast multi-lane road for a slower one. The general speed law forbids any speed greater than is reasonable for the area, road, traffic, light and weather. Never exceed the posted maximum, never go below the posted minimum, and even within the limit never impede traffic; reduced limits apply near schools and playgrounds and at school crossings when children are present, and on residential and business streets; minimums are posted on interstates. Racing, speed contests and exhibitions are unlawful; drag racing is two or more vehicles accelerating side by side to outdo each other. On a divided highway never cross the median or barrier except at an approved crossover, and never cross the continuous center line of a multi-lane highway except to turn.

Lane changes

Never change lanes until sure it is safe: check the rearview and side mirrors, look over your shoulder at the blind spot, watch for other drivers moving into the same lane, and signal. Someone may be passing you; if you cannot see at least a quarter mile ahead, do not pass. Delay or adjust a change rather than hurrying, even if you will miss an exit; take the next one. With a car in your blind spot, speed up or slow down until there is room, and in heavy traffic wait if adjusting speed would endanger anyone. Never force your way in, and let a faster car pass rather than pulling in front of it. Changing lanes while approaching or driving through an intersection is dangerous and illegal.

School buses

Stop at least 30 feet from a school bus loading or unloading children; every state bans passing such a bus. Drivers turn on the flashing yellow lights at least 100 feet and no more than 500 feet before the stop, and the red lights and stop signs come on as the bus stops; wait for the bus to move and scan before driving, whether meeting or following it. You need not stop when the bus is in a loading zone completely off the road where pedestrians may not cross, when the bus is stopped in the opposite lanes across a ditch, grassy median, concrete barrier or other obstacle, or on the opposite side of a four- or five-lane road separated by a dedicated two-way left-turn lane. Drivers must stop on a four-lane road without a barrier, and a road with one lane each way plus a center turn lane is not divided, so you must stop. Following a bus, lengthen your distance and expect stops; never pass a bus with red lights flashing on either side; buses are most likely on the road during a three-hour period each morning and afternoon.

Intersections and turns

Intersections are among the most dangerous places, and many collisions come from drivers who do not signal or know the right-of-way; slow down, be ready to stop, and remember the right-of-way never guarantees safety. To turn, prepare well in advance, scan for vehicles and pedestrians, signal first and then move into the proper lane, by law at least 100 feet before the turn, slow down and finish in the proper lane. Right turn: do not swing left first, turn from the right-most lane or from lanes marked for right turns, signal and position 100 feet ahead, slow and finish in the proper lane. Left turn: prepare in advance, signal 100 feet ahead, keep the wheels straight while waiting so a rear-end hit does not push you into traffic, brake before the turn, use the proper lanes and avoid cutting the corner in front of someone from the left. When two drivers meet with both signaling left, each turns to the left of the center of the intersection, keeping the wheels straight while waiting. Where a lane is marked left-turn only, you may turn left only from it, and more than one lane may be so marked. Never turn around on a hill or curve where you cannot be seen from 500 feet in either direction. A shared center left-turn lane, marked by a solid yellow center line that bars passing and broken yellow lines showing left turns from either direction, may not be traveled for more than 200 feet; do not enter too soon, watch for vehicles from entrances and side streets, use it only to turn left, and check ahead, mirrors, signal and the left blind spot before steering smoothly in and choosing a gap.

Roundabouts and traffic circles

Traffic circles vehicles counterclockwise around a raised island with entering traffic yielding to circulating traffic; entering means negotiating a sharp curve, so slow to about 15 to 20 mph, then follow signs and markings to your exit, and in a multi-lane circle choose your lane before entering and never change lanes or pass. Slow at the warning sign; yield to traffic in the circle and, when arriving together, to the vehicle on your right, and to pedestrians and bicyclists; enter to the right but steer left (counterclockwise); and signal your intentions: turning right, signal right on approach until you exit; going straight, no signal on approach; turning left, signal left on approach and after three-quarters of the way around signal right to exit. Do not drive alongside trucks and buses in a circle; a sign warns to keep away from large vehicles.

Signaling and right-of-way

Signal every turn, lane change, slowdown and stop, with signal lights or the left arm: a turn signal must run continuously for at least 100 feet before the turn, more at higher speeds or in heavy traffic; use the left signal when pulling out of a curbside parallel space or moving left to pass; and it is illegal to flash a signal on one side of a parked or disabled vehicle or as a sign for another vehicle to pass you. Arm straight out means left, bent up means right, bent down means slowing or stopping. Right-of-way rules say who must yield and give no one the right-of-way; never insist on it, and let others have it when they ignore the rules. At a yield sign slow to a reasonable speed, stop if needed and go only without interfering; a left turner yields to oncoming traffic including bicyclists; yield to emergency vehicles with sirens and flashing lights by pulling to the right edge clear of intersections and stopping until they pass, watching for more, in both directions; to pedestrians legally crossing at marked or unmarked crosswalks; to guide-dog users and white-cane users; at uncontrolled intersections to vehicles already in the intersection; at T intersections to vehicles on the through road; when an unpaved road meets a paved one; when returning to the road from parking; when entering from a driveway, alley or roadside; at controlled and four-way stop intersections (a failed signal makes a four-way stop) the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right when two arrive together; and at roundabouts to the circulating lanes.

Railroad grade crossings

Under R.S. 32:171 you must stop within 50 feet but no less than 15 feet of the nearest rail when a signal flashes and a train approaches, a gate is lowered, a train sounds a warning and is an immediate hazard, or a train is close enough to be a hazard, and not proceed until safe. The law forbids stopping on the tracks; never get trapped, do not enter a crossing in a line of traffic unless you can clear it, and if pinned or stalled in a train's path get out and move toward the approaching train, away from the tracks. Advance signs tell you to look, listen and slow. Vehicles carrying passengers for hire, school buses, trucks and vehicles carrying explosives or flammable liquids must stop at crossings; do not pass them unless it is legal and safe with a clear view. Pavement markings of a large X and two Rs mark a no-passing zone; the crossbuck stands at every public crossing, with a plaque for multiple tracks; flashing lights mean stop because a train is coming, and always look both ways even when lights are dark since they may have failed; never shift gears on the crossing, shifting a manual beforehand; stop when the lights start flashing and before the gates lower, stay until they rise, and never drive through or around a gate. Expect a train on any track at any time, since freight trains keep no fixed schedule, take extra care in low visibility or where trees, hills and buildings hide the tracks, and avoid phones and headphones near tracks. Every crossing has an Emergency Notification System sign with a phone number and DOT number for emergencies or device failures. Track facts: you cannot judge a train's distance and speed; tracks, trestles, bridges and yards are private property; a train can appear on any track at any time; and trains have the right-of-way 100 percent of the time, over emergency vehicles, cars, police and pedestrians. A train outweighs a car as a car outweighs a soda can; in 2016 there were 2,049 vehicle-train crashes killing 255 people, and a 100-car freight at 55 mph needs more than a mile, 18 football fields, to stop.

Other laws

Backing is not permitted on the shoulder or roadway of a controlled-access highway, nor anywhere it cannot be done safely. More than three people may not occupy the front seat, and no load or passengers may obstruct your view or control. No one under 12 may ride in an open truck bed, and no one of any age may ride in one on an interstate. Non-transparent material on the windshield or front side windows is illegal unless prescribed by a physician. Riding in a moving house trailer is not allowed. All drivers yield to a funeral procession, whose vehicles drive with headlights on and emergency flashers going. Following an emergency vehicle closer than 500 feet is unlawful, as is following it into and parking on its block, and never cross an unprotected fire hose without the fire department's consent. Headphones in both ears are prohibited (one ear is allowed; hearing aids excepted). It is illegal to lend, alter or obtain a license falsely, to hold more than one, to refuse to surrender it on demand or to permit its unlawful use. Fuel theft brings a fine, loss of license and possible jail. Low-beam headlights are required whenever wipers are needed. Drivers under 17 may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless with a licensed parent, guardian, adult at least 21 or sibling at least 18. Bicyclists have the same rights and rules as motorists: ride on an attached seat, carry no more than the bicycle is built for, keep at least one hand on the bars, never cling to a vehicle, ride as near the right as is safe with caution when passing, ride no more than two abreast except on bicycle-only roads, wear an approved helmet under age 12, and carry a child under 40 pounds or 40 inches only in an approved restraining seat.

Insurance fraud, staged crashes and theft

The five common insurance frauds are fictional theft, repair shop rip-offs that inflate estimates to cover the deductible, uncompleted repairs, deceptive claims for damage already claimed, and staged collisions. To avoid repair fraud, use reputable shops with ASE-certified mechanics, get recommendations from your insurer or family, choose a clean, well-equipped shop that uses a written damage report rather than a mere estimate, and get a written warranty. To avoid staged crashes, do not tailgate; after a crash call police and get the report's item number, exchange information using current licenses, photograph the damage and the number of occupants in each vehicle, avoid bystanders asking about lawyers or doctors, arrange your own tow rather than accepting a truck that appears, have a repair shop chosen before letting a tow take the car, and report to your insurer promptly; report fraud to the Department of Insurance. To park smart, lock doors, close windows, park in lit areas, keep valuables in the trunk and use immobilizers and deterrents; never leave keys in the ignition while warming up, fueling, running into a store or dropping children off, never leave visible possessions, never hide a key on the car, and never hide a firearm in it.

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