Driving Responsibility, Defensive Driving and Sharing the Road: the Problem Driver Pointer System, Losing Your License, Teen Suspensions, Surrendering a License, Hearings and the Non-Resident Violator Compact, the Point System and Advisory Letters, Restricted Licenses, Medical Reports, Financial Responsibility, Reporting Crashes, Scanning and Space Cushions, Road Rage, Stop-Turn-Speed Up, ABS Do's and Don'ts, Animals, Fitness to Drive, Maintenance, Pedestrians, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Trucks and the No-Zone, School Bus Danger Zones, Slow Vehicles and Horses, Work Zones, Trains, 15-Passenger Vans and RVs
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Tennessee driver license knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual (TDOSHS, July 2022 information), Section B chapter 8 "Driving Responsibility" (pages 85–90) and Section C chapters 1–3 (pages 93–115).
Losing your license
The Problem Driver Pointer System checks the National Driver Register before any license is issued; an unresolved problem in another state blocks a Tennessee license until that state clears it. A license may be suspended or revoked for DUI or refusing a test, unlawful use or alteration of a license, disabilities that interfere with driving, leaving an injury or fatal crash, perjury, a felony with a vehicle, evading arrest, vehicular homicide, two reckless driving convictions in 12 months, drag racing, habitual violations, an unpaid crash judgment, under-21 alcohol possession, child support noncompliance, driving off without paying for fuel, failing to show insurance at a crash or violation, or possessing five grams of methamphetamine in a vehicle. Drivers under 18 also lose privileges for any drug or alcohol conviction, dropping out (10 consecutive or 15 total unexcused absences in a semester), failing to pass three subjects per grading period, or weapons at school. A suspended or revoked license must be surrendered within 20 days or a $75 fine follows. The department gives written notice and a hearing before acting, except on final convictions. Under the Non-Resident Violator Compact, ignoring a citation here or in any member state suspends your privilege until the court reports it settled. Report a new address within 10 days.
Points and restricted licenses
Each violation or crash carries points. Adults with 12 or more points in 12 months get a proposed suspension notice, and an advisory letter at 6 to 11; juveniles under 18 face suspension at 6 or more and get a letter at 1 to 5. Examples: speeding 1 to 5 mph over is 1 point, 6 to 15 over 3, 16 to 25 over 4, 26 to 35 over 5, 36 to 45 over 6, and 46 or more over 8, with higher values in construction zones; reckless driving 6, reckless endangerment 8, following too closely 3, improper passing 4, failing to yield 4, failing to yield to an emergency vehicle or move over 6, passing a stopped school bus 8, failing to stop at a railroad crossing 6, leaving a crash scene 5, fleeing an officer 8, under-18 cell phone use 6, and contributing to a crash with property damage 3, injury 4 or death 8. A Defensive Driving Course can avoid or shorten a suspension once in five years. After a suspension, pay reinstatement fees and file proof of insurance (SR-22 for adults). Driving while suspended extends the suspension and can bring prosecution. Restricted licenses for work, school, worship, treatment or interlock appointments may be granted by a judge after DUI (not with a prior DUI within 10 years, aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular homicide or assault), by the Driver Improvement Section for frequent violations, by a judge for implied consent, drag racing or gas drive-off suspensions, to juveniles for school and work, and with a court order for unpaid citations. A driver whose ability is questioned must submit a medical report within 30 days or be suspended, and drivers with seizures, cardiac syncope or diabetic blackouts must be lapse-free for six months; a re-examination may also be ordered.
Financial responsibility and crashes
Liability insurance covers what you do to others, collision covers your car, and uninsured motorist covers what uninsured drivers do to you. You must show proof (a declaration page, binder, insurance card, department certificate or self-insurer proof) when charged with any violation or in any crash, or be suspended and blocked from renewing tags. When a claim is filed after a crash, show you were insured, obtain notarized releases or post a bond, or lose driving and registration privileges. A crash is any collision with a vehicle, person or object; notify police immediately for any crash with death, injury or damage over $50, and file an Owner/Driver Report with the department within 20 days for any crash with injury or damage over $400 to any one person's property, or face suspension. Stop at once, turn off the ignition, help people out of a burning car, call 911, stay at the scene, move drivable vehicles off the interstate when no one is seriously hurt, never move an injured person without training unless fire threatens, and exchange names, addresses, license and plate numbers, insurance information and witness details; report a hit unattended vehicle or animal to police if the owner cannot be found. If you are not needed at a crash, keep driving; if you witnessed it, pull safely off, use the flashers and tell the officer.
Defensive driving
Aim high in steering, get the big picture, keep your eyes moving, leave yourself an out and make sure they see you. Defensive driving means constant awareness, planning ahead, anticipating others' mistakes and never confusing other drivers; courtesy and concentration are the foundations. Ninety percent of driving information comes through the eyes: scan 10 to 15 seconds (about a block) ahead, to the sides for signs and people, for clues like exhaust, brake lights and turned wheels, carefully in rural areas, left-right-left at intersections, and behind about every 10 seconds and before lane changes, backing, quick stops and long hills. Keep a space cushion on all sides: ahead with the two-second rule (3 to 4 seconds on interstates, behind trucks and in bad weather), behind by holding a steady speed, signaling early and moving right or slowing gently for a tailgater (never braking suddenly), and to the sides by staying out of blind spots, keeping slightly right when meeting traffic, splitting the difference between hazards while favoring the more dangerous side, and taking hazards one at a time. Allow a four-second gap to merge or change lanes, one lane at a time; cross intersections only with room to clear; pass one vehicle at a time, needing about ten seconds at 55 mph, and return only when both headlights show in the mirror; and give room to drivers passing, merging or being forced into your lane. Aggressive behaviors cause about 66 percent of traffic deaths. Avoid road rage by giving driving full attention, obeying the law, controlling emotions, never joining a confrontation, not tailgating, giving angry drivers space, staying polite, and driving to a police station or public place if followed, noting the plate.
Avoiding collisions and animals
Most crashes happen in clear weather. Your three options are stop, turn or speed up. With ABS, press the brake as hard as you can and hold it, even as it pushes back; without ABS, brake hard short of lockup and release if the wheels lock. You can usually turn quicker than you can stop: with hands at 9 and 3, swing the wheel toward the escape path, steer back as you clear the hazard, then straighten; with ABS you may brake and turn together, without it let up on the brake before turning, since braking loads the front tires for a quicker turn. Speeding up may save you from a side or rear hit when there is room ahead. Never drive an ABS car more aggressively, and practice stomp-and-steer in an empty lot. Deer crashes peak in the fall: watch signs, use high beams when possible, scan for eye reflections at dusk and dawn near woods and water, expect more than one, slow and tap the brakes and horn if you have time, and if a hit is unavoidable do not swerve, since leaving the road is riskier; flashing headlights can freeze a deer. Report large-animal crashes.
Fitness and maintenance
Crashes are caused, mostly by drivers, through excessive speed, lack of concentration and improper evasive action. Be in shape to drive: good side, night and distance vision, checked every year or two; corrective lenses whenever the license shows restriction 01, with a spare pair and no dark lenses at night; hearing aids or extra visual attention if hearing is impaired; and health, since a cold or a sore neck can matter. Epilepsy allows driving under a doctor's care after six months seizure free; insulin users must avoid driving when a reaction is possible; heart conditions warrant a doctor's advice. Calm down when angry, plan extra time if impatient, and never drive sleepy: sleep normally, eat lightly, avoid drowsy medicines, stop every hour, and avoid late-night driving. Alcohol or drugs in any amount raise crash risk. Maintain brakes, lights, windshield and wipers (with non-freezing washer fluid), heater and defroster, tires with at least 2/32 inch of tread by the penny test and the pressure from the door-jamb sticker (never the number on the tire itself), the spare, the battery, steering (never turn the key to lock while moving), suspension, exhaust (a sleepy feeling may mean a leak), engine and coolant (check only when cool), and keep the tank at least half full for trips, loose objects secured, and the horn for warnings only.
Pedestrians and bicycles
Pedestrians, especially the young, elderly, disabled and intoxicated, are the most frequent victims. Yield to anyone in a crosswalk on your half of the road or approaching closely enough to be in danger, stop and stay stopped in a school zone with flashers on, yield the instant someone steps off the curb, never block a crosswalk, watch to your right when turning right, yield on sidewalks at driveways and lots, never honk or rev at a pedestrian, always yield to blind pedestrians, and watch for children near schools, bus stops, parks and vendor trucks. Every intersection has a crosswalk whether marked or not. As a pedestrian, use sidewalks (walking in the road beside one is illegal), otherwise walk on the left facing traffic in single file, cross at corners looking left-right-left, keep walking on a flashing DON'T WALK, never cross on red or yellow, wear bright or reflective clothing at night with a flashlight, stay out of trucks' No-Zones and wide right turns, and never step into traffic too close to stop. Bicyclists have the rights and duties of drivers, ride on the right with traffic as far right as practical while avoiding hazards, and may take the full lane when passing, when the lane is marked for bikes only (drivers may never turn, pass or park in it), when the road has hazards, or when the lane is too narrow to share. Expect sudden swerves for trash, potholes, dogs and opening doors; wait for a bicyclist to clear before turning left or right and merge with bike traffic before a right turn; pass slowly with at least 3 feet, never between a bike and oncoming traffic, tapping the horn gently if the rider may not know you are there; and dim high beams for oncoming bikes. Bicycles at night need a white lamp visible 500 feet ahead and a red reflector or lamp visible 500 feet behind; riders signal with the left arm (straight for left, bent up for right, bent down for stop) or the right arm straight for right, and a red or orange pennant on a bike means a hearing-impaired rider. Children on bikes are unpredictable, so drive carefully in residential areas.
Motorcycles, trucks and buses
Two-thirds of car-motorcycle collisions are caused by the driver who turned in front of the motorcycle. A narrow profile is easy to miss and its distance and speed hard to judge; riders move within the lane for potholes, wind and visibility and are entitled to the full lane, so never share it. Pass as you would a car without the air blast, signal left turns and watch for oncoming bikes, keep at least two seconds, check blind spots before lane changes, wait until a rider's intention at an intersection is clear, expect trouble on wet roads, crosswinds, railroad crossings and grated bridges, dim your lights, and remember the single headlight blends into other lights at night. A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh 80,000 pounds and exceed 70 feet, and car occupants suffer 78 percent of deaths in truck crashes. At 55 mph a car stops in about 240 feet and a truck in 450 or more. The No-Zone blind spots run about 20 feet in front, up to 200 feet behind, and wide on both sides; if you cannot see the driver's mirror, the driver cannot see you. Do not cut in front, drive directly behind, linger alongside, or cut in and slow down; pull back in only when the whole front of the truck shows in your mirror (a headlight blink means you are clear); expect trucks to lose speed uphill and gain it downhill; stay left in your lane when stopped behind one on a hill and leave room for rollback; avoid the right lane near weigh stations; dim your lights; keep right when meeting a truck because turbulence pushes vehicles apart; slow slightly and stay to the far side when a truck passes; move away from truck spray in rain; keep clear of hazmat trucks that stop at crossings; never stop in a runaway truck ramp; never pass a truck with smoking wheels; beware the right-turn squeeze; and never cross behind a truck backing into a dock.
Buses, slow vehicles, work zones and trains
School buses are nearly 2,000 times safer than the family car, but most children killed are 5-to-7-year-old pedestrians hit outside the bus, often by drivers passing illegally; the danger zone is 10 feet around the bus, children take five giant steps away or in front, and drivers must stop far enough back to leave that space. Slow-moving vehicles run 5 to 20 mph (farm machinery under 25) with the orange triangle, may be wider than a lane, may turn into unmarked entrances and may swing left before a right turn; keep back until safe to pass and be sure the operator sees you, and expect a red lamp visible 500 feet at night. Horse-drawn vehicles have full road rights, and you must approach horses slowly and quietly without honking or revving. Work zones, marked in orange with workers in yellow-green, kill nearly two people a day nationally; at 60 mph you cover 88 feet a second and reach a zone 1,500 feet away in 17 seconds. Slow to the posted limit (fines up to $500 with workers present), merge early (a last-chance merger can be ticketed), concentrate, keep your ears open without earphones, turn on headlights, follow flaggers, do not change lanes in the zone, expect mobile zones and obey signs until End Road Work, keep off barriers and equipment, never tailgate, use extreme caution at night, and plan for delays. Trains always have the right-of-way: a loaded train weighs about 12 million pounds, takes a full mile to stop at 55 mph, and a train collision is 30 times deadlier than a car crash. Over half of crashes happen at crossings with lights, bells or gates, usually within 25 miles of home, from impatience with a wait of 30 seconds to 2 minutes or from negligence. Slow early, expect a train on any track at any time, never race one, never drive around a lowered gate, stop within 50 feet and no closer than 15 at signaled crossings when they activate, never stop on the tracks, keep going if the lights start while you are on them and never back up, watch for a second train, and do not pass vehicles stopped at a crossing on a multilane road unless signals are clearly inactive. If you stall on the tracks, get everyone out, call the number on the blue Emergency Notification System sign with the DOT crossing number (or 911), and run toward the train at a 45-degree angle to avoid debris. 15-passenger vans need belts for everyone, tire checks every trip (rear underinflation causes tread separation), passengers seated forward, no roof cargo or towing, and a trained, rested driver; nearly 70 percent of fatal van crashes in Tennessee involved other vehicles. RVs handle like trucks: use mirrors, expect longer stops, keep weight low and even, and belt everyone.
Practise this with Tennessee Driver License questions
More of this guide
Class D, PD, M, H and commercial licenses and the For-Hire endorsement, who needs a Tennessee license within 30 days, penalties for driving without or while suspended, temporary licenses and IDs, REAL ID, organ donation and voting, the documents and two proofs of residency, fees, 8-year licenses, late renewal fees, the 10-day address rule, the learner permit at 15 with its 10 p.m. curfew, the Intermediate Restricted license at 16 with 50 hours, 11 p.m. curfew and one passenger, the Unrestricted license at 17, GDL penalties, the teen cell phone ban, the 20/40 vision standard, the four-part knowledge test, road test vehicle rules, retest waiting periods and the hands-free law.
The 10-to-12-inch seating distance, mirror settings, head restraints, starting, 9 and 3 hand position, push-pull and hand-over-hand steering, backing at 12 o'clock, stopping within 18 inches of the curb, carbon monoxide, video screens, front-seat and back-seat belt rules, under-17 and 4-through-8 passengers, the $50 fine and Class C misdemeanor, rear-facing under one year or 20 pounds, forward-facing to age 3, boosters to 4 feet 9 inches, belts to bones, why belts work, air bags and children 12 and under, pickup beds and the law on children left unattended.
The nine sign colors plus fluorescent yellow-green and pink, octagon, triangle, round, crossbuck, diamond and rectangle shapes, gates and flashing lights, keep right, no passing pennants, school zone flashers, red circle and slash, hitchhiking, turn and curve advisory speeds, reverse turns under 600 feet, work area signs, flaggers and channeling devices, the slow-moving vehicle emblem, exit-only panels, service and handicap signs, emergency reference markers every 1,000 feet, every signal color and arrow, the three-second yellow, right on red, flashing yellow arrows, dead signals as all-way stops, pedestrian and lane control signals, and yellow and white line rules, with pictures of the signs.
Headlights 30 minutes after sunset, at 200 feet and whenever wipers run, dimming at 500 feet, parking and fog light rules, coasting, littering fines, slow-moving vehicles and the five-car rule, funeral processions, the Basic Speed Rule, the 55 and 70 mph limits, the 55 mph left-lane and 45 mph right-lane interstate minimums, school zone reckless driving, the $250 to $500 work zone fine, ABS, the two- and four-second rules, perception and reaction time, the 418-foot stop at 70 mph, complete stops and rolling stops, railroad crossings at 15 to 50 feet, vehicles that must stop at every crossing, the school bus stop law and its $250 to $1,000 fine, police stops, left-right-left, and every right-of-way rule including the Move Over law.
Signaling 50 feet ahead and hand signals, turning do's and don'ts, left turns between one-way and two-way streets, the only left turn on red, multiple turn lanes, right turns and truck squeezes, roundabouts at 15 to 25 mph, where U-turns are illegal including 500-foot sight lines, white on your right and yellow on your left, divided highway crossovers, the 300-foot center turn lane rule, reversible, reserved and HOV lanes, changing lanes, passing on the left within 100 feet of a no-passing zone, when passing on the right is legal, passing bicycles at 3 feet and trucks, backing, the full no-parking list, hill and parallel parking, entering and exiting interstates, lane added versus merge, HOV hours and the $50 fine, diamond and cloverleaf interchanges, interstate hypnosis and breakdowns.
Headlights that show 200 feet, never outrunning your lights, glare recovery, parking lights at night, rain and the first minutes of slick pavement, ice on bridges, hydroplaning and tripled stopping distance, skids and off-pavement recovery, fog and smoke on low beams, flood depths that float a car, wind, getting unstuck, tornadoes, the three winter errors, ABS, how the liver clears one drink an hour, BAC and the .08 limit, crash risk at .10, .15 and .17, judgment, vision, reaction and alertness, everyday drugs, implied consent and the 12-month refusal, the No Refusal law, DUI penalties for first through fourth offenses, interlocks, vehicle seizure, the drunk-driver litter vest, child endangerment, under-21 and juvenile alcohol laws and the .02 rule.