The PA Driver's Manual: your permit test study guide

What's in the PA permit test study guide, chapter by chapter?

• Chapter 1, Learner's Permit Information: applying, permit and junior license rules, and the knowledge and road tests.
• Chapter 2, Signs, Signals and Pavement Markings, with review questions.
• Chapter 3, Learning to Drive: space, speed, headlights, turns, parking, school buses and emergencies, with review questions.
• Chapter 4, Driving Record Information: points and suspensions, with review questions.
• Chapter 5, Laws and Related Issues: seat belts, child restraints, texting and more. Chapter 6 is references and an index.

Numbers worth memorizing

• Following distance: 4 seconds on dry pavement.
• School zones: 15 mph when the lights flash.
• Signal 100 feet before a turn under 35 mph, 300 feet at 35 mph or more.
• Low beams within 500 feet of an oncoming car and 300 feet behind one.
• School buses: stop at least 10 feet away.
• No parking within 15 feet of a hydrant, 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection or 30 feet of a stop sign.
• BAC: .02 under 21, .08 at 21 and older.

Languages and formats

Besides English, PennDOT has PDFs in Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Burmese, Khmer, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandingo, Nepali, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese. There's also an audio version and an online version split by chapter. PennDOT's page doesn't mention printed copies.

Rules of the road beyond the test

Chapters 3 and 5 are where Pennsylvania's driving laws and rules live, from the move over law to the child restraint law. The English PDF online is the April 2021 edition (PUB 95 4-21), so check PennDOT's site for any law changes since then.

Other PennDOT manuals

Riders study the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Operator's Manual (PUB 147). Truck and bus drivers use the Pennsylvania Commercial Driver's Manual (PUB 223). Neither replaces PUB 95 for the car permit test.