Traffic Laws and Rules of the Road
What candidates must know
California law sets minimums, but the basic speed law governs every speed question: never drive faster than is safe for current conditions, even below a posted limit. Know the standard posted limits (25 in business and residential districts and school zones, 15 in blind intersections and alleys, 55 on two-lane undivided highways, 65/70 on freeways where posted) and know that they are ceilings, not targets. Right-of-way is yielded, never taken: at an uncontrolled intersection the first vehicle to arrive goes first; if two arrive together, the vehicle on the right goes. Left turns yield to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians. At a four-way stop, first to stop, first to go. Signal at least 100 feet before a turn in normal traffic and 200 feet at freeway speeds.
Traps
Questions love gray areas: a school bus with flashing red lights on a divided highway does not require traffic on the opposite side to stop if a physical median separates them, but a painted line does not count. A pedestrian in a crosswalk at any corner has priority whether or not the crosswalk is marked. Minors under 18 cannot use a phone at all, even hands-free; adults 18+ may use hands-free devices but may not text. Provisional licensees face passenger and nighttime restrictions in their first year.
Rule of thumb
Ask three questions for every scenario: Who must yield? What is the safest speed for conditions? Which signal, lane, or spacing rule applies? The posted limit answers only the second question.