New Hampshire · Handbook chapter 8 · 4 min read

Chapter 8: Turns, intersections and parking

Toll roads and E-ZPass, turning and U-turns, two-point and three-point turns, intersections, multi-lane roundabouts, school buses and New Hampshire's parking rules and distances.

Why this chapter matters

Turns, roundabouts and parking are where many low-speed crashes happen, and the parking distances in this chapter are classic test questions.

Toll roads

You can pay tolls in cash or with E-ZPass. In cash lanes, stop fully at staffed booths. In E-ZPass lanes, keep to the posted speed but do not stop. In any toll lane, never back up or reverse, and never get out of the car.

Turning

• Before turning, search for traffic controls, pedestrians and vehicles, signal, and get into the lane closest to where you are going.
• Right turns: from the right-most part of the lane, without swinging wide to the left.
• Left turns: from the left-most part of the lane, yielding to oncoming traffic.
• With multiple turn lanes, pick your lane and stay in it through the turn.
• Do not pull out in front of a car just because its turn signal is on: the driver may turn later or may have forgotten to cancel it.

Reversing direction

• Missed an exit on a divided highway? Go to the next exit. Never stop, back up or turn around.
• U-turns are dangerous and not legal everywhere. Check for signs first, pull to the right shoulder, wait for a clear road, then turn into the nearest lane going the other way.
• A two-point turn uses a driveway, street or alley.
• A three-point turn is only for a two-lane road too narrow for a U-turn.

Intersections

• Never count on others obeying signs and signals.
• After stopping, look left, right, then left again.
• When the light turns green, do not rush in: make sure the intersection is clear first.

Multi-lane roundabouts

• Choose your lane before entering, using signs and pavement markings.
• Yield to traffic in both lanes of the roundabout, and enter at a safe gap.
• Keep your lane until you exit; do not change lanes or pass inside. Large trucks may need both lanes.
• If an emergency vehicle is coming, do not enter. If you are already inside, never stop: drive out, pull to the right and let it pass.

School buses

Stop at least 25 feet from a school bus with flashing red lights or an extended stop arm, from any direction, unless a physical barrier separates the road. Stay stopped until the bus moves or the red lights stop, then go slowly, watching for children.

Parking

• On a rural highway, park off the pavement. If you cannot, leave a clear view of 200 feet in each direction and room for others to pass. Leave a note if you must leave the car for hours.
• Park as far from traffic as possible, close to the curb.
• Before you walk away from a parked car, the law says the engine must be off and the key out. Lock it too.
• Use park (automatic) or leave it in gear (manual), set the parking brake, and turn the wheels into the curb on a hill.
• Never open a door into traffic.
• Spaces and access aisles (striped areas beside accessible spaces) for people with walking disabilities are off-limits to others, with fines.

Never park

• double parked, on a sidewalk, in an intersection, on a crosswalk, on any bridge or in a highway tunnel;
• where you block traffic, or where cars cannot pass between parked cars and the far curb;
• in front of a driveway;
• within 15 feet of a fire hydrant;
• within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection;
• within 30 feet of a stop sign, yield sign or traffic signal;
• within 20 feet of a fire station driveway, or 75 feet on the opposite side of the street;
• within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.