The Kansas road test

By the end of this topic you can

• You can say when you become eligible for the Kansas driving test.
• You can list what to bring on test day.
• You can perform the turnabouts and parallel parks that may be tested.
• You can name the errors that cause an automatic fail.

What you need to know and understand

• Under 17, you must hold your instruction permit for one full year, or reach 17, before taking the driving test.
• Bring your valid permit and proof of Kansas residence. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian signs for the 50 supervised hours, and under 17 signs permission for the license.
• In the pre-trip inspection you walk around the car and explain what you are checking; you do not open the hood.
• The basic control test uses two or more of: forward two-point turnabout, reverse two-point turnabout, three-point turnabout, left parallel park and right parallel park.
• When parallel parking, finish within 12 inches of the curb.
• If you fail, you may retest from the next working day after paying a $1.50 re-exam fee.
• After four failures within six months, you must wait six months from the last failure.

Part by part

1. Pre-trip inspection: point to or touch items such as tires, lights, signals, mirrors, wipers, horn, seat belts and dashboard warning lights, and say why each matters.
2. Basic control skills: on or off street, you complete at least two exercises. Each reversal of direction, each touch of a cone or line, each missed or wrong signal, missing head checks and a poor final position add to your score.
3. Road test: you follow the examiner's directions through turns, intersections, urban and rural driving, a lane change left and back, expressway or limited-access entry and exit, and curves. You may be asked to name a traffic sign you have just passed.

Habits the examiner watches for

• Both hands on the outside of the wheel, using any steering method.
• Complete stops behind the line, with a gap that lets you see the rear tires of the car ahead.
• Head checks over your shoulder before lane changes and merges.
• Finishing turns in the correct lane and cancelling the signal.
• Keeping to the right-most lane unless it is blocked, and up with traffic without speeding.

Automatic fails

The handbook lists errors that end the test at once:

• Not wearing your seat belt.
• A moving violation, such as speeding, rolling a stop or disobeying a sign or signal.
• Failing to yield to pedestrians or other road users.
• An avoidable crash or any contact with vehicles, objects or people.
• Any unsafe act that forces another driver to take evasive action.
• Driving over a curb or sidewalk without need, or the examiner having to take control.

Common mistakes

• Rolling through a stop sign. Come to a full stop every time.
• Forgetting head checks during turnabouts and lane changes.
• Ending a parallel park too far from the curb.
• Bringing a car with a faulty brake light or signal. Check the car the day before.

Test yourself: The Kansas road test

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Kansas 50 Hour Supervised Driving Affidavit
• Kansas Driving Test and the Driver’s Ed Waiver
• Kansas Farm Permit for Teen Drivers