Could you pass the written test for a New Jersey driver’s license? How about the test from 1932 – ninety-some years ago?
This small 12-page brochure from around 1932 can help – “Questions and Answers Upon the Motor Vehicle Laws.” It has 120 questions – and answers – including the driving laws and rules, plus the penalties for breaking them.
The back cover also illustrates the dangers of careless driving with photos of horrific accidents. – “The present value of the family car may not be high, but when it is loaded up with the wife and kiddies, it is the most precious cargo in the world.”
In comparison, the current New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles Driver Manual is 243 pages. The site also has a sample Knowledge Test, including answers (e.g., “You needn’t stop your vehicle for a frozen dessert truck when…”).
Highlights of the 120 entries in the 1932 brochure are paraphrased below, to compare motor vehicle laws and attitudes after almost a century.
== View the full NJ DMV Motor Vehicle Laws Q&A Brochure (PDF) ==
Driving Rules
The basic driving and licensing rules from 1932 still are relatively familiar.
However, be warned that you can’t take the brochure with you to the test, since “These answers cannot be referred to during the examination.”
General Rules
General rules for travel, safe distances, and licenses.
- Right Turn on Red – No right turn on red (#117)
- Following Distance
– When driving in back of a trolley car, must remain at least 10 feet back (#95)
– When following fire apparatus responding to a fire alarm, must remain no closer than 200 feet – and must park no closer than 200 feet (#120) - Accidents
– A motorist is involved in an accident must give their name and address and show license and registration card to the person injured, or to the driver or occupants of any involved vehicle (#38)
– All accidents in which there is personal injury or property damage of over $25 must be reported in writing to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within 48 hours (#15) - Insurance – It advisable (but not required) to carry car insurance, for your own protection and the protection of the public (#39)
- Licenses – Drivers must be at least 17 years old to obtain a license (#2). All drivers’ licenses and registrations expire on December 31st of each year (#13). Driver’s licenses must be renewed every three years (#14)
Rules for Headlights and Hand Signals
Basic headlights were required, “from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, and in fog.”
- All cars were required to have at least two lighted lamps in the front, and a red light at the rear, “with white rays shining upon the license plate so that it can be read at a distance of 50 feet” (#57)
- Plus all motorists had to carry spare lamps or lamp-bulbs in order to immediately replace any that fail (#58)
Hand signals are required on the roads (in the absence of turning signal lights). Drivers must signal before starting, stopping, backing or turning (#83) – and before pulling into traffic when parked at a curb or side of the road (#118).
- Right turn hand signal: Extend the hand and arm beyond the side of the vehicle and make a sweeping motion from the rear to the front (#84)
- Left turn hand signal: Extend the hand and arm beyond the side of the vehicle, and point with the index finger to the left (#85)
- Stopping or slowing hand signal: Extend the hand and arm beyond the side of the vehicle in a steady position with the palm to the rear (#86)
Note however that, at the same time, it is a violation to allow any part of a person’s body to extend beyond the motor vehicle, while in motion (#103).
Rules for Speed Limits and Braking Distances
General rules for speed limits (#21):
- 16 mph – Approaching intersections – street or highway
- 15 mph – Around curves – and upon grades when driver’s view is only 100 ft.
- 20 mph – Residence and business districts with traffic signals – or police officers
- 16 mph – Other business districts
- 40 mph – Under all other conditions
The brochure also estimates the braking distance for a car “with brakes in good working order” to be 100 feet or less when travelling at forty miles per hour (#64). Current online estimates still range from 80 to 120 feet (depending on the reaction time before braking, which can be 2 to 4 seconds).
Fines and Penalties
Many of the rules detail various infractions, and list the associated fines and penalties, including loss of license and incarceration.
These are organized in categories below, with somewhat similar fines within the different groups.
Fines and Penalties for Various Infractions
- Sound a horn unnecessarily (#66) – Fine up to $25 and license may be revoked
- Park on a street in front of a driveway (#96) – Fine up to $50
- Throw anything from a vehicle when it is in motion (#100) – Fine up to $50
- Extend any part of a person’s body beyond the motor vehicle while in motion (#103) – Fine up to $50
- Coast down a hill with gears in neutral position (#110) – Fine up to $50
- Throw or drop glass, or other sharp or cutting substance in street or road (#115) – Fine of $100 to $500
Fines and Penalties for Dangerous Driving
- Reckless Driving
– Operating a vehicle carelessly and with disregard of the safety of others considered (#19) – Fine up to $100 and license may be revoked - Drunk Driving
– Driving while intoxicated (#33) – Fine of $200 to $500 and/or imprisonment for 30 to 90 days, and license revoked for two years
– Second conviction of drunken driving (#34) – Imprisonment for three months and permanent revocation of license
– Owner permitting a drunken driver to operate their car (#36) – Same penalty as the driver
Fines and Penalties for Applications and Licenses
- Lend an operator’s license to another (#37) – Fine of $26 to $50
- Allow unlicensed person to operate your car (#9) – Fine of $50 to $100
- Driving when license has been refused (#11) – $100 minimum fine
- Driving after license has been revoked (#32) – Fine of $100 to $500
- Applying for a license after one has been revoked (#30) – Fine of $500 and/or jail for three months
- Wrong information on application (#5) – Fine of $200 to $500, and/or imprisonment of not more than one year
Driving Fatalities
The pamphlet also provides driving fatalities for New Jersey and the U.S. in 1931 The current-day numbers from 2022 are much better – while there are lots more people on the road, the roads and cars are safer.
In both New Jersey and in the United States, only about 1.2 times more people died in automobile accidents in 2022 compared to 1931. Over the same time period, the population of both increased over 2 1/2 times. So the deaths per 100,000 people in 2022 actually decreased to about half of the 1931 number.
More stats, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
United States
- In the U.S. in 1931, over 34,000 people were killed in automobile accidents (#16)
– In 2022, in comparison, 42,514 people were killed in U. S. auto accidents - The U. S. population in 1931 was 124 million, compared to over 333 million in 2022 (with 3.1 trillion miles traveled)
– So the 1931 there were some 27 deaths per 100,000 people
– In comparison, the 2022 there were 12.8 deaths per 100,000 people, or 1.33 deaths per 100 million miles traveled
New Jersey
- In N.J. in 1931, 1,302 people were killed in automobile accidents (#17)
– In 2022, in comparison, 685 people were killed in automobile accidents - The New Jersey population in 1931 was 4.1 million, compared to 9.2 million in 2022, with 75,288 million miles traveled
– So in 1931 there were some 31 deaths per 100,000 people
– In comparison, in 2022 there were 7.4 deaths per 100,000 people, or 0.91 deaths per 100 million miles traveled
== View the full NJ DMV Motor Vehicle Laws Q&A Brochure (PDF) ==
So how did you do on the test?
Thanks to Roger Labaw for sharing this fascinating document. – We continue to collect and share historic information related to local roads and travel. Any other information and related materials are most welcome.
More on Local Road Maps and Travel
Posts on local road maps and travel guides showing the development of the road infrastructure in the Hopewell Area.
- 1924 A.L.A. Automobile Green Book – Early touring guide with maps, travel information, and directions
- 1932 N. J. Driver’s Test Brochure – Q&A on traffic laws
- 1920s and 1962 Hopewell Road Maps – State and Township maps showing the original route of our Route 31 – through Pennington and forking at Marshall’s Corner
- Hopewell Valley Changes – 1962 & 1972 Road Maps – Township maps showing roads from new developments
- 1960s Hopewell Maps with Route 69 and I-95 – Esso maps showing the predecessor to our Route 31, and the plans for routing I-95 through the Hopewell Valley
