Right-of-Way, Speed, Space, Turning, Passing, Parking and Signaling: Checks Before Driving, Who You Yield To, the Four-Second Rule, Residential, School Zone and Outlying Limits, Merging, Seeing 10 to 15 Seconds Ahead, Intersections, No Coasting, Mirrors Every 6 to 8 Seconds, Tailgaters, Left Turns With the Wheels Straight, U-Turns, Multiple Turn Lanes, the Y-Turn, Passing and Blind Spots, Backing at a Walk, Hill and Parallel Parking, the Horn, Low and High Beams, Turn and Hand Signals

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

Source: Wisconsin Motorists' Handbook (WisDOT DMV, BDS126, 2026 edition), Section 3 "The Basics" (pages 9–21).

Before you drive

Have your valid license, proof of insurance and registration; check that the car is in good working order; fasten your seat belt and make sure every passenger does; and adjust the seat and mirrors so you can see out of every window.

Right-of-way

Where there are no signs or signals, right-of-way rules say who goes first and who waits, and every situation differs; do not assume the vehicle on the right always goes. You must always yield to avoid hitting a pedestrian, bicyclist or vehicle. Yield to pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers still in the intersection; to the bicyclist or driver who reached a four-way stop first, and when two arrive together to the one on the right; to vehicles from the right at an uncontrolled intersection; to traffic already in a roundabout; to cross traffic at an uncontrolled T-intersection; to a pedestrian with a guide dog or white cane even outside the intersection, stopping at least ten feet away until the person is off the road; to a vehicle passing you on either side; to approaching vehicles when you make a left turn or U-turn; and to emergency vehicles using lights and/or sirens.

Speed

Drive at a speed at which you can always stop safely, and keep a four-second following distance: pick a fixed object ahead, start counting "one thousand one" as the vehicle ahead passes it, and if you reach it before "one thousand four" you are too close; add a second for each adverse condition such as heavy traffic, rain, snow or ice. The posted limit is the fastest you may go, even to pass. If you are slower than most traffic, use the far-right lane of a multi-lane road. Racing and reckless driving are illegal. Unless posted, the limit in a residential area is 25 mph, in a school zone with children present 15 mph, and in outlying parts of cities and villages with no posted limit 35 mph. You may need to go slower for visibility and road conditions, and both too fast and too slow can cause crashes and tickets.

Keep pace with other traffic; passing invites crashes. Merge at the speed traffic is moving without forcing anyone to change speed or direction. A highway entrance ramp leads to an acceleration lane where you speed up to match the flow, and it is your responsibility to find a safe gap; the exit ramp's deceleration lane is where you gradually slow. The faster you go, the more distance turning, slowing and stopping take, so slow for curves and hills, when rain, snow or hail begins (and avoid icy roads), in parking lots, malls and downtowns, near schools, playgrounds and homes, and in heavy traffic.

Intersections, stopping and seeing ahead

Intersections include cross streets, driveways, parking-lot entrances and railroad crossings. Look left and right before entering, make sure no one is in the intersection and that your path across is clear, and creep forward if your view is blocked by trees, buildings or parked cars. Because some drivers ignore signs and signals, search left, right and left again even when you have the right-of-way.

Stay alert so you can slow early and stop gradually; a sudden stop can cost control or get you rear-ended. Do not coast in neutral; stay in gear. You need to see 10 to 15 seconds ahead; if you cannot, slow down. Check all mirrors as you drive, and at a railroad crossing never assume no train is coming: stop, look both ways, listen, and make sure there is room for your car beyond the tracks. Do not stare at drivers who have been pulled over or other roadside activity.

Space around you

Give space on every side, extra to large vehicles so you can see around them and they can see you, and move ahead or drop back rather than ride beside another vehicle. Add seconds in front on slippery roads, when the driver behind wants to pass, when following trucks, buses, vans, motorcycles or bicycles, when carrying a heavy load or trailer, when someone tailgates you, near emergency vehicles, at railroad crossings and when stopped on a hill. Check the rearview mirror every six to eight seconds; if someone is tailgating, slowly reduce your speed so they go around. Keep a steady speed and signal early to help the driver behind, stop out of traffic for passengers, keep right when slow, and pull over so others can pass. When crossing a multi-lane road, make sure you can get all the way across, and do not start until it is safe.

Turning

Check mirrors, surroundings and the blind spot, stay in your lane, signal, and yield; last-second changes cause crashes. Do not change lanes or cross the center line while turning, and leave extra room for trucks and buses, which may cross it. For a left turn, stay close to the center line, watch for pedestrians on the left, wait about halfway into the intersection, leave room for oncoming traffic to turn in front of you, and keep the wheels straight while waiting so a rear-end hit does not push you into oncoming traffic. A U-turn is one smooth U-shaped motion into the opposite direction; check for signs prohibiting it, and you may make one on any rural two-lane highway if it is safe and does not interfere with traffic. With multiple turn lanes, turn from the left-most lane into the left-most lane and from the middle lane into the middle lane; a right turn off a four-lane road must start from the lane nearest the right curb. The Y-turn, for narrow residential streets and required on the skills test: signal right, check traffic and pull far right, stop; signal left, check the blind spot, turn left to the opposite curb, stop; look over your right shoulder and back up enough to go forward, stop; check both ways and proceed in your lane.

Passing and changing lanes

You may use a paved shoulder to go around a vehicle only if it is stopped or turning left. The left-most lane of a multi-lane road is for passing slower vehicles; passing on the right risks not being seen. If someone is passing you, stay in your lane and slow down. Before changing lanes make sure the road is clear, signal, move one lane at a time and look over the shoulder on the side you are moving to, since those blind spots do not show in mirrors. Pass only one vehicle at a time, on the left, without exceeding the speed limit, do not linger in the passing lane, and pass only when there is room ahead of the vehicle; other drivers need not move for you. It is safe to return when you see both headlights of the passed vehicle in your rearview mirror.

Backing

Back as little as possible, no faster than a slow walk, without relying only on mirrors or the camera: turn your body and look over your right shoulder through the rear window, use a helper outside the car when you can, and scan both ways before rejoining traffic. If you miss an exit or turn, never back up; go to the next exit and come back.

Parking

A parked car must not be a hazard: park well clear of the travel lane, normally at the far right, never at a yellow curb or a fire hydrant or where a No Parking sign applies, at very low speed, then put the car in Park (or in gear with a manual) and set the parking brake. On a hill: uphill with a curb, wheels all the way left; uphill without a curb, wheels right; downhill, wheels right; set the brake. For parallel parking, find a space 3 to 6 feet longer than your car; signal and stop even with the car ahead about 2 feet away; turn the wheel fully toward the curb side and back slowly; straighten once your front door passes that car's rear bumper and keep backing straight; when your bumper clears it, turn sharply the other way and back until parallel; then straighten, ending about a foot from the curb and at least 2 feet from the cars ahead and behind.

Communicating

Let others know where you are and what you plan with headlights, brakes, turn signals, hazard lights and space. Do not drive when very worried, excited, afraid, angry or depressed. The horn prevents crashes: a light tap gets attention, a hard push warns of an imminent collision. Low beams must be on when you cannot see a vehicle or person 500 feet (about a block) away and from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and are recommended whenever the wipers are on or in rain, snow or fog; know how to work them manually even if they are automatic. High beams show about twice as far; switch back when a vehicle approaches, and if an oncoming driver leaves them on, look toward the right edge of the road; use them when no one is coming or in unfamiliar places and construction areas. Parking lights are only for parked, idling vehicles. Signal before every turn and lane change, about three seconds (100 feet) before a turn at an intersection, or once you cross the intersection when turning just after it. Hand signals: arm straight out for a left turn, elbow bent with the hand up for a right turn, hand pointing down for slowing or stopping.

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