Rules of the Road, Right-of-Way, Passing, Turns, Roundabouts and Parking: What Right-of-Way Really Means, Passing on the Right and on the Left, the 100-Foot Rules, Intersection Priorities, Emergency Vehicles and the Move Over Law, School Buses and Their Penalties, Signaling, Turning Between One-Way and Two-Way Streets, Multiple and Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes, Roundabouts, Truck Aprons and J-Turns, Local Ordinances, Where You May Not Park, Disability Spaces, Hills and Parallel Parking

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

Source: Missouri Driver Guide (Department of Revenue, revised August 2026), Chapter 3 "Rules of the Road" (pages 22–27), Chapter 5 "Parking" (pages 35–36) and the Move Over law on the back cover (page 98).

Your highest duty

A motorist's highest duty is to drive carefully and prudently, at a speed and in a manner that keeps everyone safe, including pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers.

Right-of-way

Where vehicles or pedestrians are likely to meet and no sign or signal regulates them, rules say who must yield. The law never gives anyone the right-of-way; it only says who must give it up. Whatever the rule, you must do everything you can to avoid striking a pedestrian or another vehicle.

Passing

Passing is dangerous, and intersections, other vehicles inside them and two-lane roads make it worse. Give a pedestrian or cyclist the same care you give a motor vehicle when you pass; you may have to slow and wait for a safe gap. Speeding or passing in a construction or work zone on a state roadway carries a fine of at least $250 for a first offense and at least $300 for a second, on top of any other fine.

Passing on the right is allowed only when the vehicle ahead is making or about to make a left turn, on a city street with unobstructed pavement wide enough for two or more lines of vehicles in each direction, on a one-way street, or on a highway outside a city that is clearly marked for four or more lanes. Never pass by driving off the paved or main-traveled part of the road, that is, on the shoulder.

Passing on the left is never allowed when you are approaching the crest of a grade or a curve where your view is blocked far enough to be hazardous, when the view is obstructed within 100 feet of a bridge, viaduct or tunnel, within 100 feet of or at any intersection or railroad crossing, or where there is a solid yellow line.

Intersections

• Yield wherever necessary to avoid striking a pedestrian crossing legally.
• When crossing a sidewalk or entering or leaving a driveway, alley or parking lot, yield to pedestrians; driving on a sidewalk is illegal except to cross it.
• A driver turning left yields to oncoming vehicles going straight.
• At a four-way stop, the driver who arrives first goes first, after a complete stop.
• A driver entering from a driveway, alley or the roadside yields to vehicles already on the road.
• At an intersection with no stop sign or signal (roundabouts excepted), yield to the vehicle coming from the right.
• Approaching a roundabout, yield to traffic already in the circle and to pedestrians in the crosswalks, and wait for a gap.

Emergency vehicles

You must yield to police, fire, ambulance or other emergency vehicles using a siren or air horn and a red or blue flashing light. Pull to the right edge of the road, or as near the right as possible, whichever direction they come from; if you are already in an intersection, drive through it before pulling over. Stay stopped until the vehicle passes, follow any loudspeaker instructions, and remember emergency vehicles may travel one behind another.

When you approach a stationary emergency vehicle showing red or red and blue lights, move into a lane that is not next to it if the road has at least four lanes with two in your direction and the change is safe; otherwise slow to a speed safe for conditions and proceed with caution. Since a 2017 revision the same applies to stationary vehicles showing amber or amber and white lights. Violating the Move Over law (Section 304.022) is a Class A misdemeanor. The guide notes that since 1931, 31 troopers have died in the line of duty, eight of them struck by a vehicle whose driver was impaired or inattentive, and that driver inattention is the number-one contributing circumstance in Missouri crashes.

School buses

A bus about to stop flashes amber warning lights 500 feet before the stop; once stopped it shows alternating flashing red lights and extends the stop arm. Traffic in both directions must stop before reaching the bus on a two-lane road, whether two-way or one-way. You do not have to stop when you are going the opposite direction on a highway divided by a median that makes the two directions separate roads, when you are going the opposite direction on a highway of four or more lanes, or when the bus is stopped in a school loading zone where students are not allowed to cross the road. A bus may not load or unload on a four-or-more-lane highway in a way that makes students cross more than two lanes. After the bus unloads, watch for children along the road and remain stopped until the bus moves or the driver waves you on.

Failing to stop for a loading or unloading school bus costs five points, plus a court-ordered suspension of 90 days (or as the court sets) for a first offense, 90 days for a second within five years, and 180 days for a third or later offense within five years.

Signaling and turning

Signal before you stop, turn or change lanes, with your arm or your turn signals and brake lights, at least 100 feet before the move, and check that your signals work. For a turn, get into the proper lane and signal at least 100 feet ahead, look both ways, and where no signs or markings say otherwise turn from the lane nearest the direction you are going into the lane nearest the one you left, so you cross the fewest lanes. Complete the turn smoothly without crossing lane lines, then change lanes if you need to.

U-turns are made only when safe: never on a curve or near a hilltop where you cannot be seen, never where a "No U-Turn" sign is posted, and never at an intersection controlled by a traffic signal or a police officer. Some cities ban them altogether.

On a right turn, do not swing wide to the left first; the driver behind may think you are changing lanes or turning left and try to pass on your right, and swinging wide at the end puts you where drivers in the far lane do not expect you. On a left turn, do not cut the corner so sharply that you hit someone coming from the left, but leave room for oncoming vehicles to turn left in front of you.

• One-way onto two-way: start in the left lane and enter the two-way road to the right of its yellow line; on a four-lane road you may enter the right lane if it is free.
• Two-way onto one-way: start with your left wheels close to the yellow line and turn into whichever lane of the one-way street is free.
• Two-way onto two-way: start with your left wheels close to the yellow line and enter to the right of the center line; on a four-lane road you may enter the right lane if it is free.
• Multiple left-turn lanes: from the left-hand turn lane enter the left lane; from the right-hand turn lane enter the right lane.
• Two-way left-turn lane: the marked center lane is only for slowing or stopping before a left turn from the main road. It is not a travel lane (no more than 500 feet in it) and not for entering the road from a side street.

Roundabouts

A roundabout replaces signals or all-way stops with a circular center island and yield signs on every entry. It is statistically safer because speeds are lower and there are no left turns across opposing traffic, and it cuts pollution and fuel use. Traffic moves counterclockwise. Slow down as you approach, use the signs and markings to pick a lane at a multi-lane roundabout, look left, yield to vehicles already circulating, to bicyclists and to pedestrians in the crosswalk, and enter on a gap. Never turn left to enter.

Inside, stay to the right of the center island; circulating vehicles have the right-of-way; do not stop unless it is the only way to avoid a crash; do not change lanes; do not pass, especially large trucks, which may need more than one lane; and if you miss your exit keep circling to it. Exit slowly, signal right, watch for pedestrians and bicyclists, and do not accelerate until you are past the crosswalk. If an emergency vehicle approaches, do not enter; if you are already inside, exit immediately and pull right, never stopping in the circle. The truck apron, the paved ring inside the roundabout, is for the rear wheels of large trucks only, not cars, SUVs or pickups.

J-turns

On a four-lane highway a J-turn replaces a crossing: instead of crossing fast lanes to reach the other side, you turn right with traffic, merge into the far-left lane, then turn left toward your intended direction.

Local ordinances

Cities and counties may add their own rules, and you must obey any traffic sign or regulation whether it is municipal, county or state. Local powers include setting speed limits, one-way streets and stop signs, banning commercial vehicles from certain streets, controlling parking with meters, controlling turns, requiring turn signals, brake lights and horns, and banning sound-producing warning devices.

Parking

You are responsible for a parked vehicle not becoming a hazard: park far enough from any travel lane, where approaching drivers can see it, in a designated area if possible. On a one-way street you may normally park on either side. Always set the parking brake, leave a manual transmission in gear or an automatic in park, check traffic before opening the door, get out on the curb side and have passengers, especially children, do the same, watch for bicyclists near parked cars, never leave the keys, and lock up. On a hill turn the wheels sharply toward the side of the road so a rolling vehicle rolls away from traffic.

Do not park in an intersection, on a crosswalk or sidewalk, across a driveway, on the left side of a two-way street, beside a yellow-painted curb, on a bridge, at a fire hydrant, where you block traffic or create a hazard, or facing against traffic.

Disability parking spaces may be used only when the vehicle displays a disabled placard or plates and a person with a disability is in the vehicle or being dropped off or picked up. Using the placard or plates without that person aboard is illegal, so is parking in the striped access aisle, and the fine on conviction is $50 to $300.

Before leaving a parked vehicle on a hill: turn the wheels, turn off the motor and leave it in gear, set the parking brake, remove the keys, check the mirror for traffic, then lock up. Check traffic and signal before pulling out of any space.

Parallel parking: stop even with the vehicle ahead of the space, about 1½ feet to its left; turn the wheels sharply right and back slowly, keeping your front from blocking traffic; once clear of the front vehicle, turn the wheels sharply left and keep backing; then turn sharply right and pull forward toward the curb, ending near the center of the space.

Practise this with Missouri Driver License questions

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