South Carolina safe driving practice questions
3 questions below test South Carolina’s own safe driving law, each with the statute or South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles handbook section it came from, plus 10 more on safe driving rules that apply in every state.
The South Carolina permit knowledge test has 30 questions in total and needs 24 correct (80%) to pass.
South Carolina law
3 questions on South Carolina’s own safe driving rules
These differ from the rules that hold nationally — they are the ones that catch out drivers who studied another state’s handbook.
1. South Carolina seat-belt law requires which occupants to wear a fastened safety belt?
- The driver and every occupant
- BOnly front-seat passengers
- COnly passengers under 17
- DOnly the driver
Answer: The driver and every occupant. S.C. Code §56-5-6520 requires the driver and every occupant of a motor vehicle operated on public streets and highways to wear a fastened safety belt; the driver is responsible for requiring each occupant seventeen or younger to wear a belt or be secured in a child restraint system.
Source: South Carolina Code of Laws — §56-5-6520
2. While operating a motor vehicle on a South Carolina public highway, you generally may not:
- AUse an earpiece for voice communication
- Hold or support a mobile electronic device with any part of the body
- CUse a permanently mounted GPS already set
- DUse the vehicle radio
Answer: Hold or support a mobile electronic device with any part of the body. S.C. Code §56-5-3890 prohibits holding or supporting, with any part of the body, a mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle (with an exception for an earpiece or wrist device for voice-based communication), and also prohibits reading/composing/transmitting text.
Source: South Carolina Code of Laws — §56-5-3890
3. South Carolina requires a protective motorcycle helmet for operators and passengers who are:
- Under the age of twenty-one
- BUnder the age of eighteen only
- COnly passengers
- DAny age
Answer: Under the age of twenty-one. S.C. Code §56-5-3660 makes it unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one to operate or ride upon a two-wheeled motorized vehicle unless wearing a protective helmet of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety.
Source: South Carolina Code of Laws — §56-5-3660
Sources for the South Carolina items above
Applies everywhere
Safe driving rules that hold in every state
A sample of the national safe driving bank. All 10 are in the practice run, combined with the South Carolina items above for 13 questions in total.
1. How far ahead should you normally be looking while driving?
- AOnly at the vehicle directly in front
- BAs far as your headlights reach, at all speeds
- CJust past the hood of your car
- About 12 to 15 seconds of travel ahead
Answer: About 12 to 15 seconds of travel ahead. Looking well ahead gives time to spot hazards and react smoothly instead of braking or swerving at the last moment.
Source: Official state driver handbook — Safe driving — visual search
2. When must low-beam headlights be turned on in most jurisdictions?
- AWhenever driving above 45 mph
- BOnly during heavy snowfall
- From 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise
- DOnly when driving on dark rural roads
Answer: From 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise. Headlights must be used from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, and whenever visibility is reduced to 500 feet or less.
Source: Official state driver handbook — Lighting requirements — headlights
3. Under ideal driving conditions, what is the recommended minimum following distance?
- A10 seconds
- B1 second
- 3 seconds
- D5 seconds
Answer: 3 seconds. The 3-second rule provides a baseline buffer for reaction and stopping distance under normal, dry weather conditions.
Source: Official state driver handbook — Space management — following distance
More South Carolina topics
Other South Carolina rules with their own questions
Safe driving elsewhere
Safe driving rules in other states
Safe driving law is set state by state — compare how another state handles it.
Confirm current South Carolina rules
Statutes and handbooks change. South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is authoritative for South Carolina safe driving rules and for the permit test itself.
Visit South Carolina Department of Motor VehiclesCommon questions
About South Carolina safe driving rules and this practice set.