Practice phone rules and other distractions: 26 questions based on the DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual, 11 of them on District of Columbia's own rules.
It is not allowed, even hands-free
Learner permit holders and drivers under 18 may not use phones even hands-free.
Source: D.C. Official Code § 50, D.C. Official Code § 50-1731.05(b)
Headphones or earbuds in both ears
Both-ear headphone use is banned, except for hearing-impaired drivers.
Source: D.C. Official Code § 50, D.C. Official Code § 50-1731.04(c)
Using a navigation system
The manual lists navigation system use among common distractions.
Source: DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual (published Dec. 2023), Driver Manual, p. 5
Never
The manual says texting while driving is never allowed.
Source: DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual (published Dec. 2023), Driver Manual, p. 26
An emergency call such as 911
Emergency calls are among the stated exceptions.
Source: D.C. Official Code § 50, D.C. Official Code § 50-1731.04(b)
Pull over where it is safe and legal
The manual says to stop where it is safe before the situation is under control.
Source: DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual (published Dec. 2023), Driver Manual, p. 26
An emergency call to school officials
Apart from emergency exceptions, school bus drivers may not use phones even hands-free.
Source: D.C. Official Code § 50, D.C. Official Code § 50-1731.05(a)
It is prohibited
Drivers may not hold a phone or use one without a hands-free accessory.
Source: D.C. Official Code § 50, D.C. Official Code § 50-1731.04(a)
The length of a football field
At 55 mph that is roughly the length of a football field.
Source: DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual (published Dec. 2023), Driver Manual, p. 25
Starting or ending a call
The law allows initiating or ending a call or switching a phone on or off.
Source: D.C. Official Code § 50, D.C. Official Code § 50-1731.04(b)
We wrote these practice questions from the facts in the DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual (DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual (English), District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles; 59 pages; the DMV publication page 'DC DMV Automobile Driver Manual' is dated Jan 22, 2024 and the Issuu file metadata gives a first publication date of 2023-12-20 (no edition or revision mark inside the manual); read 2026-11-10. The manual is offered only as an Issuu flipbook linked from https://dmv.dc.gov/publication/dc-dmv-automobile-driver-manual (no PDF on dmv.dc.gov), so the 59 page images were fetched from Issuu's image host and read with macOS Vision OCR into sources/DC/dc_manual_ocr.txt; page numbers cited are printed page numbers, which equal the page order. Cited in questions as the DMV publication page because Issuu is not a .gov host. Rules not in the manual come from the District's official law: D.C. Official Code Title 50 (code.dccouncil.gov) and 18 DCMR (dcregs.dc.gov), both read 2026-11-10. The manual has no section on DUI penalties, insurance minimums or crash reporting thresholds, so those facts come from the Code or are not tested. DC is not a state, so the District's own statutes and regulations replace state codes. Handbook statements that differ from or go beyond current law and how they were handled: (1) child restraint (manual p. 48 says only that a child under 3 rides in a child safety seat in the back seat) differs from D.C. Code 50-1703, which requires a child restraint under 3, a car seat or booster under 8 and a restraint or belt under 16; questions use the Code. (2) School buses (manual p. 38: stop at least 20 feet away; exception on a divided highway) differs from 18 DCMR 2209.1 (stop not less than 15 feet; exception only across a median strip divider); questions use the regulation. (3) Headphones (manual p. 47: earphones for cell phones are acceptable) is out of date against D.C. Code 50-1731.04(c) as amended by D.C. Law 26-55 (Dec. 6, 2025), which bans headphones over both ears and earbuds in both ears while driving; the question uses the Code. (4) Provisional and under-18 night hours (manual pp. 14-15: stop at 10:59 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11:59 p.m. Friday-Sunday) differ from D.C. Code 50-1401.01 (restricted from 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights outside July and August, and from 12:01 a.m. otherwise); only the Tuesday-night 11 p.m. and the July-August 12:01 a.m. rules are tested. (5) Phones (manual pp. 19 and 26 say only that drivers must be hands-free) is narrower than D.C. Code 50-1731.04 (holding is also banned; exceptions for emergency calls, starting or ending a call and a vehicle stopped off the active road) and 50-1731.05 (no phone at all for learner permit holders and drivers under 18, even hands-free); questions follow the Code. (6) The manual (pp. 42, 50) says a right turn on red is allowed after a stop unless a No Turn on Red sign is posted. D.C. Law 24-214 (Safer Streets Amendment Act of 2022) added a rule that from Jan 1, 2025 a driver may not turn on a steady red unless DDOT has posted a sign allowing it, but the Code annotation to 50-2201.04e says that amendment is subject to funding and has not been implemented; the DDOT page 'No Turn On Red Intersections' also exists. The right-turn-on-red permission is therefore not tested; only the left turn on red ban (manual pp. 42, 50) and the No Turn on Red sign are. (7) Speed limits (manual p. 46 lists 30-50 mph on ordinary highways, 30-55 on divided highways and 55-75 on interstates) are not repeated in 18 DCMR 2200.6, which sets 20 mph as the maximum unless designated; the ranges are not tested. The school zone limit has hours (6 a.m. to 7 p.m., 18 DCMR 2200.8) that the manual omits; the regulation is used. (8) Parking distances: the manual (p. 44) puts the stop-sign rule at 25 feet in front of a flashing signal, stop sign or signal; 18 DCMR 2405.2 uses the approach side of a STOP or YIELD sign and also bans parking within 40 feet of the intersection of curb lines; the manual's safety-zone distance (30 feet) differs from the regulation (90 feet); only hydrant (10 feet), driveway (5 feet), fire station (20 feet) and railroad crossing (50 feet) distances, which match, are tested. (9) The knowledge test retake wait is 'three calendar days' on the DMV Knowledge Tests page and in the manual (p. 12) but 72 hours in 18 DCMR 104.11; only the 72 hours after a failed road test (manual p. 13, same 72 hours) is tested. (10) Point totals for suspension and revocation (manual pp. 19-20) and the GRAD learner-stage point suspension (manual p. 16) could not be matched to a current regulation text (the 18 DCMR 302 text returned by DCRegs was a proposed-rule notice); they follow the manual, and the speeding and leaving-the-scene point values come from 18 DCMR 303.2. (11) The manual says a driver who moves must update a change of address within 60 days (p. 19) and that out-of-state license holders must get a DC license within 60 days (p. 11); these were not compared with the Code. The vision, fee, organ donor and Selective Service sections were not used. edition) and from official sources on road signs. Every answer links to its source, so you can check it and read more.
DMV Decoded is an independent guide, not a government agency. This practice test is not connected to the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles (DC DMV), and your actual test will have different questions. Study the handbook, and check the agency's website for current rules.