Driver's License Test Prep
California Practice Parking

At an ordinary marked crosswalk with no curb extension, what is the minimum distance the manual sets between your parked vehicle and the crosswalk?

  1. A.
    Twenty feet, whether the crosswalk is marked or unmarked. Correct
  2. B.
    Ten feet, the manual's default for unmarked intersections.
  3. C.
    Fifteen feet, matching the fire hydrant minimum.
The Why

The answer is "Twenty feet, whether the crosswalk is marked or unmarked."

The manual requires twenty feet from any crosswalk, dropping to fifteen only where a curb extension shortens the intersection. A driver who picks fifteen has borrowed the fire-hydrant minimum, an easy swap because both numbers appear together in the same illegal-parking list.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Ten feet, the manual's default for unmarked intersections.

Ten feet is not the distance this parking rule sets for crosswalks; the crosswalk rule uses twenty feet unless a curb extension is present. This answer splits the difference between the fifteen-foot hydrant figure and twenty-foot crosswalk figure on the same list, settling on a round number the parking rule does not use.

C. Fifteen feet, matching the fire hydrant minimum.

Fifteen feet is the fire-hydrant minimum, not the standard crosswalk distance. This answer borrows the fifteen-foot hydrant figure from the line directly above the crosswalk entry in the illegal-parking list.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Parking in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Illegal Parking," p.28..

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