DMV PracticeNo-parking distances: California, Virginia, Oregon
Parking rules are a list of distances, and the list is slightly different in each state. That makes them easy to test and easy to mix up.
The table shows what the three handbooks say, as we read them on 12 November 2026. "Not in the passages we read" means only that: the handbook may well cover the point elsewhere, so look it up there.
| Rule | California | Virginia | Oregon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire hydrant | Within 15 feet | Within 15 feet | Within 10 feet |
| Crosswalk or intersection | Within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk (15 feet where there is a curb extension) | Within 20 feet of an intersection | Within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection |
| Fire station driveway | Within 15 feet | Within 15 feet of the entrance | Within 15 feet on the same side, 75 feet on the opposite side |
| Railroad crossing | Not in the passages we read | Within 50 feet | Not in the passages we read |
| Traffic signal or stop sign | Not in the passages we read | Not in the passages we read | Within 50 feet |
Colored curbs in California
California's handbook adds a colour code painted on the curb. White: stop only long enough to pick up or drop off passengers. Green: park for a limited time, shown on a sign or on the curb. Yellow: load and unload passengers and freight, for no longer than the time posted. Red: no stopping. The handbook lists a further colour for disabled parking; read that part in the handbook itself.
Parking on a hill
California's handbook explains which way to turn the wheels so that the vehicle will not roll into traffic if the brakes fail: headed downhill, turn the front wheels into the curb or toward the side of the road; where there is no curb, turn the wheels so the vehicle would roll away from the centre of the road. Always set the parking brake. Virginia's manual shows the same idea in diagrams. Learn the three cases from your own state's handbook, with its pictures: downhill, uphill with a curb, and no curb.
Other places named in Virginia's list
Virginia's manual also forbids parking in a bike lane, on the hard surface of a road where there is no curb, and within 500 feet of where fire trucks or equipment are stopped answering an alarm.
Test tip
The hydrant distance is the classic question: 15 feet in California and Virginia, 10 feet in Oregon. Check your own state.
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Independent practice site. DMV Practice is not a government website and is not connected with any Department of Motor Vehicles or licensing agency. The questions are our own, written from each state's public driver handbook as we read it on 12 November 2026. They are not the official test questions. Laws change: the current handbook of your own state is the authority.