Study notes

The everyday things a driver must and must not do: control of the vehicle, the engine, passengers, phones and abandoned vehicles.

The three general limits (60/100/120) and the lower class limits for heavy goods vehicles and passenger vehicles.

Keep at least a 2-second gap, and more in poor conditions, so that you always have room to stop.

Keep left, pass right; overtake on the left only in the listed cases, and never where you cannot see the road ahead.

Stay left of a division, change lanes only when safe, obey mandatory arrows, and keep off the shoulder and bus lanes.

Who goes first at stop streets, yield signs, uncontrolled intersections and when turning.

Roundabouts: yield to the right. Mini-circles: first to the yield line goes first. Both are driven clockwise.

Signal every change of direction or speed, know the hand signals, and position correctly for left and right turns.

The distances and places where parking is prohibited: 5 m from an intersection, 1,5 m from a hydrant, 1 m from the road edge outside towns.

Where stopping is prohibited (9 m from a crossing, 6 m from a bridge), when you must stop, and the 45 m warning triangle.

When lights must be on (sunset to sunrise, visibility under 150 m) and the distances each lamp must reach.

Who may not use a freeway, when you may stop, and the rules for learners and hand signals.

Yield to pedestrians on crossings, never pass a vehicle stopped at a crossing, and the rules that apply to cyclists.

Tyres, windscreen, wipers, hooter, number plates, licence disc and the maximum vehicle dimensions.

How far a load may project, how it must be marked, and the 3,5 m / 1,8 m / 30 km/h towing rules.

Seatbelts whenever the vehicle moves, the 3-14 year / 1,5 m child definition, helmets for everyone on a motorcycle.

Stop, help, exchange details and report within 24 hours; do not move vehicles after a fatal crash without authority.

The blood and breath limits for ordinary and professional drivers, and the rules on testing.

Hoot only for safety, the 90 m audibility rule, and the ban on noisy vehicles and musical hooters.

Ages, validity periods, disqualifications, what to bring, and the format of the learner's test.

Give way to emergency vehicles, know the lamp colours, and the exemptions they enjoy on duty.

Adjusting speed, following distance and lights for rain, fog, dust, wind, glare and loose surfaces.

The K53 observation routine: mirrors every 5-8 seconds, blind-spot checks, a clear space all round, and anticipating hazards.

Red-and-white signs that tell you where to stop, where to yield, which direction to drive and which special rules apply.

Round blue signs with white symbols that tell you what you MUST do, or which class of road user must use a part of the road.

White discs with a red border that tell you what you may NOT do, which classes may not use the road, and the limits you may not exceed.

Blue rectangles that reserve a lane or roadway (R) or a parking area (P) for a particular class of vehicle.

Blue rectangular signs with a red border that bring a whole set of rules into force: residential area and freeway.

Small plates (R500 series) fixed under a regulatory sign that limit WHEN it applies, or to WHOM, or for HOW FAR.

Red-bordered triangles warning of junctions, narrowing roads, railway crossings and traffic control devices ahead, plus the hazard plates that mark where a road ends.

Curves, bends, hairpins, winding roads, traffic circles, concealed driveways, and the chevron and danger plates that mark them.

Gradients, surfaces, tunnels, gates, water, visibility, wind, overhead cables and restrictions ahead.

People, animals and vehicles that may suddenly enter the roadway, plus traffic officers, scholar patrols and police activity ahead.

Yellow-background versions of warning and regulatory signs used at roadworks and incidents, plus barricades and boom markings.

Steady and flashing red, amber and green discs and arrows, pedestrian and cyclist signals, railway signals and overhead lane signals.

The stop and proceed signals given by traffic officers and flagmen, and the turning and stopping signals drivers and cyclists give by hand.

Blue or green rectangles that tell you about the road ahead so you can plan your route and lane use. They inform; they do not command.

Colour tells you the road type: blue for freeways, green for other roads, white for local streets, brown for tourism. Route markers N, R and M identify national, regional and metropolitan routes.

Blue guidance signs, exit countdown markers (100 m per bar), the gore sign at the split, and confirmation signs after the on-ramp. Freeway rules: no U-turns, no stopping except in an emergency.

Brown signs with white symbols point to tourist attractions, routes and facilities. They guide only; they never regulate.

White and yellow markings you must obey: stop and yield lines, pedestrian crossings, solid no-overtaking and double lines, edge lines, painted islands, reserved lanes and bays, box junctions, and red/yellow kerb lines.

White markings that warn of something ahead: the railway X, the yield-ahead triangle, white arrows before mandatory arrows, no-overtaking-ahead arrows, reversible lanes, arrestor beds, speed humps and kerb blocks.

White broken lines and symbols that help you position the vehicle: lane lines, dividing lines, continuity lines, furcation and travel arrows, painted words and symbols, and reflective road studs.

The test shows a numbered picture of a car's controls and asks which number does what. Learn the eleven numbers cold.

The one-line function of every control, plus the gauges, lights and warning systems the test may ask about in plain words.

The manual's table of tasks and the control numbers that go with them – the source of the 'which numbers do you use to…' questions.

The handlebar and footpeg controls of a motorcycle, numbered on the trainer's diagram, and which hand or foot works each one.

How the controls, gauges and lights are used in everyday driving situations the test likes to describe – rain, night, hills, breakdowns and emergencies.