Getting Familiar With Your Vehicle and the Safety Belt Laws: Seat, Mirror and Head Restraint Adjustments, Starting, Steering at 9 and 3, Push-Pull and Hand-Over-Hand, Backing, Moving Forward and Stopping, Carbon Monoxide, Video Devices, Who Must Buckle Up, Child Restraint Rules by Age, Fines, Why Belts Work, Belts to Bones, Air Bags and Children, Pickup Beds and Children Left in Vehicles
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 1 "Getting Familiar With Your Vehicle" (pages 27–30) and chapter 2 "Tennessee Safety Belt Laws" (pages 31–34).
Getting ready to drive
Walk around the vehicle first for children, pets and obstructions, and check windows, lights, tires and leaks. Inside, lock the doors and learn every control: horn, signals, four-way flashers, headlights and dimmer, wipers and washer, parking brake, climate controls and gearshift. Sit upright, never reclined; keep the pedals within easy reach with your heel on the floor; place the top of the wheel no higher than your shoulders; and keep your body 10 to 12 inches from the wheel, since an air bag strikes the chest at that distance but the chin or face any closer. Set the head restraint level with the back of the head to prevent whiplash. Adjust the mirrors after the seat: the inside mirror frames the rear window; for the left mirror rest your head against the window and set it so you barely see the car's side; for the right mirror lean toward the console and do the same. Test them by watching a passing car move from the inside mirror into the outside mirror. Mirrors never remove every blind spot, so always turn your head before turning or changing lanes.
Belts, starting and steering
Wear the lap belt low across the hips and the shoulder belt across the shoulder, and make every passenger buckle up. Start with your foot on the brake in Park (or Neutral with the clutch down and the parking brake on for a manual), turn the key to check the warning lights, and turn on low beams at night or in bad weather; in daylight a vehicle with headlights on is visible at twice the distance. Automatic transmissions use R to back and D to go, with low gears for steep descents, slow driving on ice and emergency slowing if the brakes fail. With a manual, hold the clutch fully down when starting, shifting and below 10 mph while stopping, never ride the clutch, never coast in neutral (it is illegal) and downshift on steep hills. Never turn the ignition to lock while moving, or the steering wheel interlock will lock the wheel. Drive with both hands at 9 and 3 o'clock, a firm but relaxed grip and slightly bent elbows; this keeps your arms out of the air bag's path. Look where you want to go, since your hands follow your eyes. Push-pull steering keeps both hands on the wheel, each on its own side, moving up and down, and is recommended for everyday driving; hand-over-hand crosses the hands at the top of the wheel for quicker movement but leaves one hand on the wheel at times, so keep speed low. Never let the wheel slip through your fingers, and counter-steer to straighten after a turn. Cross wrists if needed, never arms.
Backing, moving and stopping
Backing goes wrong when drivers move too fast, steer too much or turn the wheel the wrong way. Hold the wheel at 12 o'clock with the left hand, turn to look through the rear window with your right arm over the seat, creep at idle speed, turn the wheel right to go right, and keep looking back until stopped. Moving forward, check ahead, to the sides and behind, signal if leaving a curb, press the gas gently and look at least one block ahead. Stopping smoothly prevents rear-end collisions, the most common crash in Tennessee: check mirrors, signal if moving to the curb, pivot to the brake and press steadily without stomping. At a stop sign or signal, stop before the crosswalk or marked stop line, or at the point nearest the cross street where you can see traffic. Stopping at a curb, come within 18 inches of it. Carbon monoxide is tasteless, odorless and invisible: have the exhaust checked, never run the engine in a closed garage, do not use the heater or air conditioner in a parked car with the windows closed, and close the fresh-air vent in congested traffic. State law prohibits a video screen visible to the driver while moving, though navigation, vehicle information and camera displays are allowed.
Who must buckle up
Officers may stop and ticket drivers solely for belt or child-restraint violations. Belts are required for the driver and every front seat passenger whenever the vehicle moves. In the back seat they are required for passengers under 17, for passengers 4 through 17 when the driver holds a learner permit or intermediate license, and for children 4 through 8 shorter than 4 feet 9 inches, who must ride in a booster seat in the back seat if the vehicle has one. The driver is responsible for children under 16 and can be fined $50; a present parent or guardian who is not driving bears the responsibility instead. Failing to use a car seat or booster for a child under 9 or under 4 feet 9 inches is a Class C misdemeanor with a required class on transporting children. Medically prescribed modified restraints need a copy of the prescription in the vehicle.
Child restraint rules
Tennessee was the first state to pass a child passenger protection law. A child under one year or under 20 pounds rides in a rear-facing seat; children one through three and over 20 pounds ride forward-facing in a child seat; children four through eight under 4 feet 9 inches ride in a belt-positioning booster with the seat belt. Seats must meet federal standards and follow the manufacturer's and the vehicle's instructions, and belong in the rear seat when possible. A child is big enough for the adult belt when they can sit with their back against the seat and knees bent over the edge; the lap belt then lies low on the hips and the shoulder belt between neck and shoulder, never behind the back or under the arm. Belts to bones: the pelvis and collarbone should bear the load; if the belt rides the stomach or the face, return to a booster.
Why belts work
Belts and child seats prevent injury five ways: preventing ejection (one in eight ejected occupants dies, and ejected occupants are four times likelier to be killed), shifting forces to the strongest bones (lap belt low over the pelvis, shoulder belt across the chest, and for pregnant women the lap belt below the abdomen), spreading forces over the body, keeping the driver in the driving posture, and protecting the head and spine. Lap and shoulder belts cut the risk of fatal injury to front-seat car occupants by 45 percent. Belts do not trap you: they release in under a second, and only half of one percent of crashes end in fire or submersion; in a side impact everything unbelted slides toward the crash point, not away from it.
Air bags, pickup beds and children left in vehicles
Air bags plus belts are the best protection; keep 10 to 12 inches between chest and air bag, tilt an adjustable wheel level, and always wear both belts. Air bags are a severe risk to children 12 and under, who belong in the back seat; if a child must ride in front, slide the seat fully back, and rear-facing seats should never face a passenger air bag. It is illegal for a child under 6 to ride in a pickup bed, and for children 6 to 12 on state or interstate highways (cities may extend it), except in a parade at 20 mph or less or during agricultural work. It is an offense to knowingly leave a child under 7 unattended in a vehicle on public property or a shopping center, trailer park or apartment complex without a supervisor at least 13 when conditions endanger the child, the engine is running, or the keys are inside: a Class B misdemeanor with a $200 fine, then $500. On a 73-degree day an SUV reaches 100 degrees in 10 minutes; heat exhaustion starts above 90 degrees and heat stroke above 105. Never leave a child even for a quick errand, check for sleeping babies, keep keys away from children, and call 911 for any child or animal left in a car.
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 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.
The Problem Driver Pointer System, every reason a license is revoked or suspended, teen dropout and school progress rules, surrendering a license within 20 days, hearings and the Non-Resident Violator Compact, the 12-point and 6-point thresholds and advisory letters, point values by offense, the once-in-five-years defensive driving option, SR-22, restricted licenses, medical reports, financial responsibility, crash notification over $50 and the 20-day report over $400, what to do at a crash, scanning 10 to 15 seconds ahead, space cushions and four-second gaps, road rage, stop-turn-speed up, ABS do's and don'ts, deer, fitness to drive, maintenance, pedestrians, bicycles and the 3-foot law, motorcycles, trucks and the No-Zone, school bus danger zones, slow vehicles and horses, work zones, trains and the Emergency Notification System, 15-passenger vans and RVs.