Utah · Handbook chapter 3 · 4 min read

Starting and moving, backing, lane changes and head checks, the gore area, parking rules and distances, hill and parallel parking, passing, signaling, steering, stopping, school buses and turns in Utah.

Why this chapter matters

These are the skills the examiner scores on your driving test, and the distances and rules here show up on the written test too.

Moving and backing

Start with the brake on, check your gauges, do a traffic check and head check, signal and accelerate smoothly. To back up, check behind the car before getting in, put your right arm on the passenger seat, look through the rear window and steer the way you want the rear to go. Never back up on a freeway.

Lane changes and lane use

• Check mirrors, signal for at least two seconds, do a head check, then merge when safe and cancel the signal.
• Stay in the far-right lane on multi-lane roads unless passing.
• Never change lanes inside an intersection.
• Finish a turn in the matching lane: from a single left-turn lane, end in the far-left lane.
• Never cross or drive in the gore area between solid white lines at ramps.
• When stopping behind another car, stop where you can see its rear tires.

Parking

You may not park:

Also never park on a sidewalk, in front of a driveway, in an intersection, double-parked, on a bridge or in a tunnel, at red curbs, or on an interstate shoulder except in a breakdown.

• Downhill: turn the wheels toward the curb.
• Uphill with a curb: turn them away from the curb; with no curb, turn them right.
• End up no more than 12 inches from the curb. Set the parking brake and lock the doors.

Passing

The left lane is for passing. Never pass on the shoulder, on a hill or curve, at intersections, before a railroad crossing or bridge, or in a no-passing zone. Return to your lane no less than 200 feet from oncoming traffic. If you are being passed, keep your lane and speed.

You may not pass a snowplow showing flashing yellow lights on the side where its blade is down, and you may not pass three or more plows working in echelon on either side.

Signaling and steering

Signal two seconds before turning or changing lanes and whenever you pull to or from a curb. Keep both hands on the outside of the wheel. Use pull-push steering for normal turns and hand-over-hand for parking, sharp turns or correcting a skid.

Stopping

Make a complete stop at red lights, flashing red lights, STOP signs and controlled railroad crossings, where you stop 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail.

School buses

Illegally passing a school bus can cost up to $3,000.

Turns and U-turns

Signal, head check, and do not cut corners or swing wide. Never drive over a traffic island. Use a three-point turn only on a narrow two-lane road. No U-turns on a curve or hill where you cannot be seen for 500 feet, on railroad tracks or on a freeway.