New Jersey · Handbook chapter 4 · 10 min read

Chapter 4: Safe driving rules and regulations

New Jersey speed limits, passing and keeping right, right-of-way, crosswalks, intersections and traffic circles, highways, turns, required stops, school buses, emergency vehicles, Move Over, headlights, parking and cell phones.

Why this chapter matters

This is the biggest chapter in the manual and the source of many test questions. It holds the state's default speed limits, the stopping distances for school buses and trains, the parking distances and the cell phone law.

Speed limits

Unless a sign says otherwise:

In a 65 mph zone, fines are doubled for going 10 mph or more over the limit and for most other moving violations. Never drive faster than weather, road or traffic allows, whatever the sign says. Slow down on narrow or winding roads, at intersections and railroad crossings, on hills and curves, near pedestrians, on wet or icy roads and when you cannot see well.

Driving so slowly that you block traffic is also illegal when conditions are normal. If your car cannot keep up, pull off safely and turn on your hazard lights.

Safe Corridors are state highways with high crash rates where fines are doubled for offenses such as speeding and aggressive driving.

Passing

Finish every pass before the lines turn solid again. Pass on the left; passing on the right is allowed only on roads with two or more lanes in your direction or when the car ahead is turning left and there is room. Never pass on the shoulder.

Do not pass on a hill or curve, at an intersection or railroad crossing, on a narrow bridge, in an underpass or tunnel, where signs or lines forbid it, or when the car ahead has stopped for a pedestrian.

Keeping right

Drive on the right half of the road and as close as practical to the right edge, except when passing. On a multi-lane road, use the right lane when it is available, except to pass or to get ready for a left turn.

Right-of-way

Be ready to yield to emergency vehicles using sirens or lights, to trains, to buses and postal vehicles re-entering traffic, to people using mobility devices in a crosswalk, and to vehicles already in the intersection.

Pedestrians in crosswalks

There is a crosswalk at every corner of an intersection, marked or not. When a pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk, or crossing at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, you must stop, not just slow, and stay stopped until they have cleared your lane and the next lane in your direction. Stop even if the signal changes to DON'T WALK while they cross. Never pass a car that has stopped for a pedestrian, and never block a crosswalk. Failing to stop can mean fines of up to $500, up to 25 days in jail, community service, a suspension of up to six months and two points.

Intersections

• Controlled: obey signals, signs or the officer. At a multi-way stop, yield to the driver on your right if you arrive together, and to anyone already stopped. At a YIELD sign, slow and give way, stopping if needed. Turning left, yield to oncoming traffic.
• At a STOP sign, stop within five feet of the crosswalk or stop line.
• Uncontrolled: slow down and be ready to stop. The vehicle on the left yields to the vehicle on the right. A driver coming out of a driveway or private road yields to all traffic on the main road.
• A traffic signal that is dark because of a power failure is treated as a four-way stop.
• Cutting through private property to avoid a signal or sign is a violation.

Traffic circles

There are no fixed rules for New Jersey circles. Usually the established traffic pattern decides, and a major highway flowing through the circle has the right-of-way. Obey any STOP or YIELD signs at the entrances. When in doubt, the car on the left yields to the car approaching from the right.

Highways, parkways and turnpikes

• Use the acceleration lane to speed up to the flow of traffic, yield to traffic already on the road, and avoid stopping in the acceleration lane.
• Start slowing in the deceleration lane and obey its advisory speed.
• If you miss your exit, go on to the next one. Never back up on a ramp or shoulder.
• In a weave lane, a driver entering from the ramp yields to a driver leaving the expressway.
• On highways through cities at rush hour, the left or center lane avoids merging conflicts.

If your car breaks down

Pull as far onto the shoulder as you can, turn on your flashers, raise the hood, stay inside with your belt on and the doors locked, and call for help. Never get into a stranger's car.

Turns

• Right turn on red is allowed after a full stop, unless a sign forbids it. Yield to pedestrians and traffic, and watch for cyclists who may have a green.
• Right turns: stay close to the right curb; do not swing wide.
• Left turns, two-way to two-way: approach next to the center line and keep to the right of the center line of the new road.
• Left turns, one-way to one-way: turn from the left lane into the left lane.
• Two cars turning left from opposite directions each turn to the left of the center of the intersection.

Required stops

You must stop at a STOP sign, at a red light (steady or flashing), at a yellow light unless you are too close to stop safely, when an officer tells you to, at a yield sign when traffic does not allow a safe merge, when coming out of an alley, driveway or building, at a bridge about to open, for a blind pedestrian with a white or metallic cane or guide dog, and for pedestrians and mobility devices in a crosswalk.

Railroad crossings

Stop at least 15 feet from the nearest rail when lights flash, bells ring, gates come down or a flagger signals. Do not cross until the gates are up, the bells have stopped and the lights are off. Most trains need more than a mile to stop at 60 mph. School buses, other buses and hazardous-material carriers always stop at crossings, so be ready to stop behind them. Never stop on the tracks.

School buses

Stop at least 25 feet from a school bus with flashing red lights on a two-lane road, a multi-lane road divided only by lines, or a private road, whether you are behind it or coming toward it. On a divided highway with a safety island or raised median, traffic on the other side slows to 10 mph. When a bus stops directly in front of a school, you may pass from either direction at no more than 10 mph. Yellow lights warn that the bus is about to stop; red means it has stopped.

Ice cream trucks

When a frozen dessert truck shows flashing red lights and a stop arm, yield to anyone crossing to or from it, then pass at no more than 15 mph. You need not stop on a dual highway if you are on the far side of a safety island or raised median.

Emergency vehicles

When an emergency vehicle uses a siren or flashing red or blue lights, pull to the far right, stop and wait. Then stay at least 300 feet behind it. Volunteer firefighters and rescue members in private cars use blue lights. Never park within 200 feet of a fire vehicle in service or drive over a fire hose.

The Move Over law

When you approach a stopped emergency vehicle, tow truck, highway maintenance vehicle or any vehicle showing flashing red, blue, amber or yellow lights, hazard lights, flares or triangles, move into a lane not next to it. If you cannot, slow to below the speed limit and be ready to stop. Fines run from $100 to $500.

Traffic stops

Pull over promptly to the right, put the car in park and stay inside. Turn the music down, turn on the interior light at night, roll down the window and keep your hands on the wheel. Do not reach for documents until the officer asks, and say what you are about to do. Contest a ticket in court, not at the roadside.

Headlights

Headlights are required from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, whenever you can see 500 feet or less, whenever your wipers are on, and in fog, mist or smoke. Parking lights are not a substitute.

Use high beams on open roads with no traffic in sight. Dim them for oncoming traffic and when following another car. Glare can blind you for three to five seconds, about a football field at 50 mph. If an oncoming car keeps its high beams on, look toward the right edge of the road. Never flash your high beams back.

Parking rules

Park no more than six inches from the curb. Look for cyclists before opening your door, and let passengers out on the curb side. Never stop or park:

• In a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, in an intersection, in a bus stop or in front of a driveway.
• Within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.
• Within 25 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.
• Within 50 feet of a railroad crossing or a STOP sign.
• Within 20 feet of a fire station driveway, or 75 feet across the street from it.
• On a bridge, elevated road or in a tunnel, on an interstate highway, or double-parked.

Cell phones

Using a hand-held phone or texting while driving is a primary offense. Hands-free use is legal for licensed drivers outside the GDL program but strongly discouraged. A hand-held phone may be used only in an emergency such as a fire, crash, serious road hazard, medical or hazardous material emergency, with one hand on the wheel. Fines: $200 to $400 for a first offense, $400 to $600 for a second and $600 to $800 for a third, plus three points for a third or later offense and a possible 90-day suspension. GDL drivers may not use hand-held or hands-free phones at all, and school bus drivers may not use any phone while driving the bus.

Littering

Throwing anything from a vehicle is illegal. Throwing dangerous objects can bring fines of up to $1,000, and loads must be covered.