LTO Reviewer Questions Everyone Gets Wrong
2026-07-27
The speed limit examinees blur together
“Under RA 4136, the maximum speed for a passenger car on an open country road with no blind corners is…” 80 km/h. It’s the highest of the four RA 4136 car speed limits, and examinees who haven’t drilled the full table often confuse it with the 100 km/h expressway maximum, which is a separate, newer rule entirely.
“Under RA 4136, speed limits do NOT apply to which of the following?” The correct answer is a hospital ambulance on an emergency call — RA 4136 exempts specific emergency responders from posted limits, but that exemption is narrow. It doesn’t extend to “a driver who is late for work” or any other option that sounds like a reasonable excuse.
A related expressway question catches people who only remember the maximum: expressways also enforce a 60 km/h minimum speed for cars, so driving too slowly can be a violation just as much as driving too fast.
A courtesy rule that’s easy to get backwards
“Two vehicles meet on a steep, narrow road where only one can pass. As a general courtesy rule, the vehicle…” going downhill should give way to the vehicle climbing. It’s counterintuitive to some examinees, who assume the vehicle already moving forward on the flat should have priority — but the descending vehicle has an easier time stopping and restarting than one halfway up a grade, which is exactly why the rule runs the other way.
A nearby question tests the general overtaking rule itself: on a two-lane road you normally overtake on the left, and passing on the right is only allowed when the vehicle ahead is turning left with room to spare, or you’re on a road with two or more free lanes in your direction.
Two laws examinees confuse for one
“Under RA 10913, may you use your handheld phone while stopped at a red light?” No — the ban applies even while temporarily stopped at a red light or in traffic, not only while the vehicle is moving. Examinees who reason “I’m not driving right now, I’m stopped” get this one wrong constantly.
“Under RA 8750, children six (6) years old and below are…” not allowed to sit in the front seat of a moving vehicle. This one gets confused with general seatbelt rules — it’s a specific, separate restriction about where young children may sit at all, not just whether they’re buckled in.
A softer version of the phone law trips people up too: hands-free use is allowed only if the device doesn’t block your line of sight while driving. Mounting a phone somewhere that obstructs your view of the road is still a violation, even if nobody is touching it.
Rules most people have never had to use
“If your vehicle breaks down on the road, the early warning device (EWD) must be placed at least…” 4 meters to the front and rear of the vehicle. Most drivers who’ve never actually broken down have no intuition for this distance, and the wrong answer options — 1 meter, 10 meters only to the front, on the roof — are all designed to sound plausible if you’re guessing.
A similar knowledge gap shows up in flood-related questions. If you reach a flooded stretch of road and can’t tell how deep the water is, the correct move is to turn around and find another route — not cross slowly, and never follow a motorcycle through on the assumption that if it can make it, a car can too.
The philosophy question hiding in the exam
“The right of way is best described as something you…” give to others, not something you take. It’s not a numbers question, but it trips up examinees who’ve been drilling figures and get caught off guard by a conceptual one — and it’s a fair summary of nearly every right-of-way rule on the exam: priority is yielded for safety, never seized because you technically qualify for it.
Alcohol limits that aren’t all the same number
“Under RA 10586, the BAC limit for professional drivers of trucks, buses, and public utility vehicles is…” 0.0% — any trace of alcohol is a violation. Motorcycle riders face the same 0.0% standard. Private non-professional drivers get a higher — but still strict — threshold of below 0.05%. Examinees who memorize only one BAC number for “driving under the influence” miss that the Philippines applies different thresholds depending on what you’re driving and what kind of license you hold.
Officers don’t jump straight to a breath analyzer either — RA 10586 has them run field sobriety tests first, such as the eye test, walk-and-turn, and one-leg stand, with the breath test used to confirm what those tests already suggest.
FAQ
What are the RA 4136 speed limits for cars?
80 km/h on open country roads, 40 km/h on through streets or boulevards, 30 km/h on city and municipal streets with light traffic, and 20 km/h through crowded streets or near intersections.
Does the RA 10913 phone ban apply when I’m stopped at a red light?
Yes. The ban on handheld calls and texting applies even while temporarily stopped at a red light or in traffic, not only while the vehicle is moving.
Is the BAC limit the same for every driver?
No. Private non-professional drivers must stay below 0.05%. Professional drivers of trucks, buses and PUVs, along with motorcycle riders, are held to 0.0% under RA 10586.
Where should the early warning device go if I break down?
At least 4 meters to the front and rear of the vehicle, as required by LTO regulations.