Parking Distances You'll Be Tested On (Hydrants, Crosswalks, Stop Signs, Tracks)

Parking distance questions show up on nearly every permit test, and they're easy points if you know the numbers. The good news is that most states use the same handful of distances. The bad news is that a few don't, and the test will offer the common number as a wrong answer.

The Common Numbers

These come up again and again in state handbooks:

• Fire hydrant: 15 feet. This is the rule in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan.
• Crosswalk at an intersection: 20 feet. Texas, New York, Illinois, Georgia and California all use 20 feet (California drops it to 15 feet where there's a curb extension).
• Stop sign, yield sign or traffic signal: 30 feet. Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and Georgia.
• Railroad crossing: 50 feet. Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan measure it from the nearest rail.
• Fire station driveway: 20 feet on the same side, 75 feet across the street. Texas, New York and Michigan spell out both numbers.

The Exceptions That Catch People

• Ohio uses 10 feet for fire hydrants, not 15. If you're testing in Ohio, don't let the common number fool you.
• North Carolina measures from the curb line: no parking within 25 feet of the curb line of an intersecting street, or within 15 feet of the intersecting right-of-way lines if there's no curb.
• Florida says 20 feet from an intersection rather than from a crosswalk, and adds a rule most states don't have: no parking within 30 feet of a rural mailbox on a state highway between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• California adds that you can't park within 3 feet of a sidewalk ramp for people with disabilities.
• Michigan bans parking within 500 feet of a fire or a crash.

Parking on a Hill

This one isn't a distance, but it's on almost every test. The logic is that if your brakes fail, the car should roll into the curb, not into traffic:

• Downhill, with or without a curb: turn your wheels toward the curb or the edge of the road (to the right).
• Uphill with a curb: turn your wheels away from the curb (to the left) and let the car roll back a few inches until a tire rests against it.
• Uphill without a curb: turn your wheels toward the edge of the road (to the right).

Always set the parking brake and leave the car in park, or in gear with a manual transmission.

Why These Rules Exist

Every distance protects someone. Hydrant space lets firefighters connect hoses. Crosswalk and stop-sign space keeps pedestrians and other drivers able to see each other. Railroad space keeps your car out of a train's path. When you understand the reason, the number is easier to remember.

Your state page on this site lists the specific distances for your state in its sample questions.

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