South Dakota Parking practice test

Practice curb colors, hills and where you can't park: 34 questions based on the South Dakota Driver's License Manual, 11 of them on South Dakota's own rules.

Key South Dakota facts: Parking

Sample Parking questions

You are leaving a perpendicular or angled parking space. What does the manual tell you to do first?

  • Back out with your hazard lights on and without checking traffic
  • Check traffic, then back straight until your bumper clears the next car
  • Back out quickly while sounding the horn to warn other drivers
  • Turn the steering wheel hard to one side as soon as you start backing
Show the answer

Check traffic, then back straight until your bumper clears the next car

Then steer sharply the way the rear should move.

Source: South Dakota Driver License Manual (revised 11/2024), General Driving, Parking, Perpendicular and Angle Parking, PDF p. 44

When may you choose not to set the parking brake?

  • On any hill where there is a curb to stop the wheels
  • When the vehicle will be parked for under an hour
  • In cold weather, if it might freeze in the on position
  • Whenever the vehicle has an automatic transmission
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In cold weather, if it might freeze in the on position

The vehicle should still be left in park or in the lowest gear.

Source: South Dakota Driver License Manual (revised 11/2024), General Driving, Parking, No-Parking Zones, PDF p. 43

After how long is a vehicle left unattended on a public road, without notice to law enforcement, treated as abandoned?

  • More than 30 days
  • More than 2 hours
  • More than 72 hours
  • More than 24 hours
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More than 24 hours

An abandoned vehicle can be removed and its owner billed.

Source: SDCL 32-30-12, SDCL 32-30-12

Your vehicle is disabled on the traveled part of a highway. What must you do?

  • Turn on all emergency lamps and set out any flags or flares
  • Leave the vehicle dark so you do not run down the battery
  • Turn on only the parking lights and leave the hood closed
  • Wait for help without any lights if it is still daytime
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Turn on all emergency lamps and set out any flags or flares

You must also arrange to remove the vehicle as quickly as possible.

Source: SDCL 32-30-4, SDCL 32-30-4; South Dakota Driver License Manual (revised 11/2024), Emergency Situations and Avoiding Crashes, Vehicle Malfunctions, PDF p. 58

A vehicle is parked on a highway outside a town at night. What lights must it display?

  • Red lights to the front and white or amber lights to the rear
  • Interior dome lights only, kept on until morning
  • White or amber to the front and red to the rear, seen from 500 feet
  • No lights at all, as long as hazard triangles are placed behind
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White or amber to the front and red to the rear, seen from 500 feet

No lights are required on a vehicle parked inside the limits of a municipality.

Source: SDCL 32-17-27, SDCL 32-17-27; South Dakota Driver License Manual (revised 11/2024), General Driving, Parking, No-Parking Zones, PDF p. 43

Which does South Dakota law require when you leave a vehicle unattended on a grade?

  • Set the brake and turn a front wheel toward the curb
  • Leave the engine idling and the doors unlocked
  • Leave the transmission in neutral with the brake off
  • Turn on the hazard lights and leave the keys inside
Show the answer

Set the brake and turn a front wheel toward the curb

The wheel position keeps the vehicle from rolling into the lane.

Source: SDCL 32-30-5, SDCL 32-30-5

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About these questions

We wrote these practice questions from the facts in the South Dakota Driver's License Manual (Driver's License Manual (English), South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing Program; 72 PDF pages, the last page says 'REVISED 11/2024' (PDF file metadata: created 2025-12-02, modified 2026-06-30); linked as 'Driver's License Manual - English' on the DPS page South Dakota Driver License and Motorcycle Manuals (https://www.sd.gov/dps?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0043733), read 2026-11-10. Page numbers cited are PDF pages, which equal the printed page numbers. PDF pp. 15-16 (blood stem cell and organ donor pages) and 69-70 (office lists) were not used. The manual has no speed-limit, insurance-minimum or crash-reporting-threshold sections, so those rules come from South Dakota Codified Laws read on sdlegislature.gov on 2026-11-10 (Titles 22, 32, 35 and ARSD 61:06:01:06); the section lists showed no amendment after SL 2025. Handbook statements that differ from or go beyond current law and how they were handled: (1) rural-highway parking (PDF p. 43: 15 feet of road width, visible 500 feet) differs from SDCL 32-30-2 (20 feet clear width, clear view from 200 feet); not tested, and the owner may want to note it; (2) first-offense DWI penalty text (PDF p. 20: fine $300-$1,000, 15-365 days in jail, license loss 90-365 days) differs from SDCL 32-23-2 (Class 1 misdemeanor, court must revoke at least 30 days, up to one year in jail and $2,000); questions use the statute and the 30-day minimum the manual also gives; (3) zero tolerance (PDF p. 20: 'second or subsequent' 180 days) differs from SDCL 32-23-21 (one year for a third or later offense); only first and second offenses are tested; (4) phones (PDF p. 19 lists texting, reading texts and social networking) is narrower than SDCL 32-26-47.1 (any mobile electronic device, Class 2 misdemeanor, exceptions for calls, emergencies, navigation and hands-free use); questions follow the statute; (5) the instruction permit section (PDF p. 8) omits the SDCL 32-12-11 rule that between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. a parent or guardian must sit beside the holder; a question uses the statute; (6) the restricted permit section (PDF p. 8) omits the SDCL 32-12-12.5 limit of one non-family passenger under 18 after six months; questions use the statute and the DPS teen page; (7) school buses (PDF p. 43 says always stop for red lights) omits SDCL 32-32-6 details (stop at least 15 feet away, amber lights mean 15 mph or less on roads with fewer than two lanes each way, no stop for a bus on the other side of a road with two or more lanes each way); questions use the statute; (8) following distance is a minimum of 4 seconds in the manual (PDF p. 51) but the DPS teen page tip says to teach the three-second rule, so following_seconds uses the manual and is noted; (9) large-truck stopping distance is 290 feet (PDF p. 62) and 335 feet (PDF p. 63), so it is not tested; (10) the 200-foot distance behind snowplows (PDF p. 67) and the 500-foot U-turn sight distance (PDF p. 39) were not found in the statutes read, so they are not tested; (11) the manual is silent on left turn on red, which SDCL 32-28-4.1 leaves to city ordinance for one-way-to-one-way turns; a question uses the statute. Fees (PDF p. 7), points (PDF p. 14), window tint (PDF p. 24) and move-over (PDF p. 2) match the statutes. 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 South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Driver Licensing Program, and your actual test will have different questions. Study the handbook, and check the agency's website for current rules.