Virginia · Handbook chapter 6 · 6 min read

Chapter 6: Lanes, turns, passing and parking

Virginia rules for hand position, changing lanes, passing, over-correcting, turns and U-turns, turn and hand signals, following distance, searching, blind spots, backing and parking.

Why this chapter matters

Most crashes start with a misjudged gap or an unseen vehicle. This chapter covers how Virginia expects you to position, signal, look and keep space, along with the parking distances that often appear as exam questions.

Hand position

Sit straight but relaxed with your hands at 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock. Hold the wheel with your fingers and thumbs, not your palms.

Changing lanes and passing

• Check your mirrors, signal, look for drivers moving into the same lane, then glance over your shoulder for your blind spot.
• On multi-lane highways keep right if you are slower than traffic. The left lane is for passing, not cruising.
• To pass: check ahead, behind and your blind spot, signal, then accelerate. Move back to the right once the front of the car you passed shows in your rearview mirror.
• It is illegal to exceed the speed limit while passing, and you must finish before a No Passing zone.
• Passing on the right is allowed when the vehicle ahead is turning left, but never by leaving the pavement.
• Pass a person on a bicycle, moped or similar device at least three feet to the left, and slow down.
• When someone passes you, do not speed up.

Passing is illegal:

• on hills, curves, at intersections or railroad crossings, unless the road has two or more lanes in your direction
• off the pavement or on the shoulder
• when a school bus is stopped to load or unload, unless a barrier or unpaved median divides the road
• when a solid line is on the left of your lane
• near a crosswalk when the vehicle ahead or in the next lane has stopped

Over-correcting

Turning the wheel too sharply can make the rear wheels slide and cause a loss of control, usually in a single-vehicle crash. If you drift off the road, do not panic: slow down gradually, look where you want to go and steer back gently.

Turns

• Right turn: start in the lane farthest right and turn into the lane closest to the curb.
• Left turn: start in the lane farthest left and turn into the leftmost lane, unless markings say otherwise or there are several left-turn lanes.
• Signal three to four seconds, about 100 feet, before turning.
• Waiting to turn left, keep your wheels straight so a rear-end crash does not push you into oncoming traffic.
• Two drivers turning left from opposite directions turn in front of each other, passenger sides side by side.

U-turns

Check for No U-Turn and No Left Turn signs first. In cities, towns and business districts a U-turn is legal only at an intersection, and never on a highway. Signal left, stop, yield, and turn into the outside (right) lane going the other way.

Signals

Turn signals are required by law; use them even with no one around, and cancel them after the turn.

Following distance

Stay in the middle of your lane and use the counting rule on dry roads:

These cushions do not work above 70. Count from when the car ahead passes a fixed object; add seconds for bad weather, heavy traffic, poor pavement or a vehicle in poor condition. Hand response takes about half a second and foot response about three-quarters of a second.

Leave more room when you follow a large vehicle or a motorcycle or bicycle, in heavy traffic or bad weather, as you leave an expressway, and when someone is tailgating you. If tailgated, do not brake suddenly: change lanes or tap your brakes and slow down.

Searching and blind spots

• Look 20 to 30 seconds ahead, about one block in the city. Keep your eyes moving.
• Watch for clues such as exhaust smoke, brake or backup lights and turned wheels.
• At intersections look left, right, then left again: cars from the left are closer.
• Check your rearview mirror about every 10 seconds.
• Set the inside mirror to frame the whole rear window and the side mirrors so you barely see your car's sides.
• Do not ride in another driver's blind spot: speed up or drop back.

Backing

The most common backing mistake is not looking both ways. Turn your body and head to the right and look through the rear window, back slowly and glance to each side. Check for cars, bicyclists and pedestrians before opening your door.

Parking

Park as far from traffic as you can, no more than one foot from a curb. On a two-way street park on the right; on a one-way street either side is allowed.

You may not park:

• beside another parked car (double parking), on crosswalks or sidewalks, or in front of driveways
• where yellow curbs or No Parking signs forbid it, in a bike lane, or on the road surface where there is no curb
• in disabled spaces or their striped access aisles without a permit
• within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or the entrance to a fire, ambulance or rescue squad station
• within 20 feet of an intersection
• within 50 feet of a railroad crossing
• within 500 feet of fire equipment answering an alarm
• anywhere that blocks a traffic lane

Parking on a hill