NYC Traffic and Parking Regulations
What this domain tests
This domain is the rulebook: signs, markings, stopping rules, and the enforcement consequences that follow. Expect questions that give a location and a sign and ask whether a vehicle is legally stopped, standing, or parked.
The three stopping levels
No stopping bars any stop except to obey a signal or an officer. No standing allows a stop only to pick up or drop off passengers. No parking allows stopping to load or unload passengers or merchandise but not waiting. Loading zones and bus stops further restrict who may use the curb.
Distances and conditions worth memorizing
- No parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant on the same side of the street.
- No parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.
- No parking within 30 feet of a stop sign.
- No blocking sidewalks, driveways, or crosswalks; no double parking.
- Alternate-side parking follows posted days and hours and is suspended on announced holidays and during declared weather emergencies.
- The citywide default speed limit is 25 mph, and right turns on red are allowed after a full stop unless a sign prohibits them.
Worked example
A car sits 12 feet from a hydrant, with a meter receipt on the dash, in a legal meter space. The receipt and the meter are irrelevant: the 15-foot hydrant rule controls, and the vehicle is in violation.
Traps
Believing "no standing" permits waiting. Assuming alternate-side rules always apply. Parking "partially" on a sidewalk. Forgetting that a sign posted at the location outranks a general rule.