Driving on Staten Island vs Brooklyn vs Queens: What's Actually Different

Illustration (AI-generated image). Not a photo of Drive Rite staff or students.

Driving on Staten Island, in Brooklyn and in Queens follows the same New York City rules: a 25 mph speed limit unless a sign says otherwise, and no right turn on red unless a sign allows it. What changes is the setting: signed right-on-red corners on Staten Island, the MTA crossings permit holders must avoid, and the highways you use.

Reviewed by Michael, Professional Driving Instructor
Last updated: October 27, 2026

Drive Rite Academy teaches in all three boroughs: from our office at 1567 Richmond Rd on Staten Island, from our Brooklyn locations in Flatbush and Midwood and in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, and from our Queens locations in Forest Hills and Astoria. This guide does not rank the boroughs as easier or harder. Instead, it sets out what is the same everywhere, what is actually different in each borough, and how to practice for the place you will drive. We checked every rule in this guide on official DMV, New York City and MTA pages on October 27, 2026.

Start with the side-by-side view.

The infographic below sums up the six habits covered later in this guide.

Photo panels are illustrations (AI-generated images).

What Is the Same in All Three Boroughs

Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens are all part of New York City, so the same city traffic rules apply in each one. Before looking at the differences, it helps to know the rules that never change when you cross a borough line.

Speed. NYC311 says the citywide speed limit for motorists is 25 miles per hour unless otherwise posted, and NYC DOT's street safety tips say the same. On highways, follow the posted signs.

Red lights. The DMV Driver's Manual says you are not allowed to turn on a red light in New York City unless a sign that permits it is posted. Elsewhere in the state, the general rule is different: a right turn on red is allowed after a full stop unless a sign forbids it.

Learner permits. The learner permit restrictions apply in every borough. You need a supervising driver who is 21 or older with a valid license for the car, and you may not drive on any street within a park in New York City, on any bridge or tunnel under the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or in a DMV road test area. Junior permit holders have extra limits in all five boroughs. Between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., they may drive only with a parent, a guardian, a person acting in the role of a parent, a driver education teacher or a driving school instructor, in a car with dual controls. Between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., they may not drive in New York City at all. Our guide on who can supervise a learner driver in NYC explains these rules in more detail.

The road test. Examiners use the same DMV Class D scoring summary at every test site, so a turn, a lane change or a parking move is scored the same way in all three boroughs.

What's Actually Different on Staten Island

With the shared rules in place, the first real difference is on Staten Island. It is the one borough of the three where you may see a sign that allows a right turn on red. NYC311 says a right turn on a red light is illegal in New York City except at certain intersections in Staten Island, and those intersections have a sign saying the turn is permitted.

Treat that sign as permission, not an instruction. Come to a full stop and yield to traffic and pedestrians before you turn, as the DMV requires for any turn on red, and if there is no sign, wait for the green. Our post on turning right on red in NYC covers the citywide rule.

Staten Island also has only one MTA crossing, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn, and permit holders may not drive it. Your supervising driver must take the wheel for that part of any trip, as our post on driving over the Verrazzano with a learner permit explains. The island's other bridges, the Goethals Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing, are Port Authority crossings that lead to New Jersey. The DMV says you may drive outside New York State with a permit only if the other state's laws allow it, so check New Jersey's rules before planning a practice drive there.

For practice, mix residential streets, where you will meet driveways and parked cars, with expressway driving on roads like the Staten Island Expressway, where you merge and change lanes at speed. When test day comes, the DMV lists six active auto road test sites on the island. Our guides to Fox Hills and Dugdale explain where each site lines up, and our guide to road test sites in Staten Island covers all six. Lessons start from our office at 1567 Richmond Rd, and our Staten Island concierge pickup can meet you within our pickup area.

What's Actually Different in Brooklyn

Cross the Verrazzano into Brooklyn and the main change is the number of MTA crossings nearby. Brooklyn connects to three of them: the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island, the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel to Manhattan, and the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge to the Rockaway peninsula in Queens. Permit holders may not drive any of them, so plan practice drives that stay well clear of the approaches.

Brooklyn's highways, such as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Gowanus Expressway, the Belt Parkway and the Prospect Expressway, each have their own posted speed limits, so read the signs instead of assuming 25 mph. If the Belt Parkway is part of your daily drive, our guide to driving on the highway for the first time is a good place to start.

For test day, our Red Hook road test guide explains one of the Brooklyn sites, and the DMV's road test location finder lists the rest. Our Brooklyn driving school teaches from Flatbush and Midwood and from Prospect Heights and Park Slope.

What's Actually Different in Queens

Queens touches more MTA crossings than either of the other two boroughs. On the MTA's list are the Robert F. Kennedy, Throgs Neck and Bronx-Whitestone bridges, the Queens Midtown Tunnel, and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial and Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial bridges to the Rockaways. All six are off limits to permit holders. If you learn near Astoria, keep in mind that the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge lands in that neighborhood, so know where its approach begins before you set off.

Queens drivers also meet a long list of highways and parkways, including the Long Island Expressway, the Grand Central Parkway, the Van Wyck Expressway and the Cross Island Parkway. As in Brooklyn, follow each road's posted speed limit rather than the 25 mph city street default.

When you are ready to test, our guides to Kissena Park, Jamaica and Cunningham Park explain three of the Queens sites. Our Queens driving lessons start from Forest Hills and Astoria.

Crossing MTA Bridges and Tunnels: A Quick Reference

Because the bridge and tunnel rule shapes how you plan any trip with a permit, here is every MTA crossing that touches these three boroughs, based on the MTA's list of its toll facilities.

The MTA says it runs seven bridges and two tunnels and that all of its crossings use cashless tolling, so there are no toll booths to stop at. See the MTA Bridges and Tunnels page for current toll rates and payment options.

This Weekend: Marathon Closures in All Three Boroughs

The difference between the boroughs matters less this Sunday, because one event touches all three.

Driving Across Boroughs: 6 Habits for New Drivers

Whether you stay in one borough or drive through all three, these six habits turn the differences above into a plan.

1. Learn the Citywide Rules First. Know the 25 mph default, the no-turn-on-red rule and your permit limits before you think about borough differences. They apply wherever you drive in the city.
2. Look for Right-on-Red Signs. On Staten Island, turn right on red only where a sign permits it, after a full stop and yielding. Everywhere else in the city, wait for the green unless a sign allows the turn.
3. Plan Around MTA Crossings. Find the MTA crossings near your practice area and agree on a safe, legal place to switch drivers well before any approach.
4. Practice Your Local Highways. Practice merging, lane changes and exits on the highways you will actually use, with your instructor or supervising driver, and check the posted limit on each one.
5. Respect Bus Lanes. NYC DOT says bus lanes are marked "Bus Only" and/or painted red, with hours posted on signs. Drivers may enter only to turn right at the next street, to reach a curb cut or driveway within 200 feet, or to quickly drop off or pick up passengers. NYC DOT and the MTA use bus-mounted and street-mounted cameras to enforce bus lanes, and NYC DOT lists fines of $50 to $250.
6. Check Closures Before You Go. Check the NYC DOT weekend traffic advisory before weekend drives, and on test day check the DMV's cancellations, closings and delays page before you leave home.

Learning to Drive in Your Borough With Drive Rite

Knowing the differences is a start, but the habits come from time behind the wheel on the streets you will actually drive. Our instructors teach on Staten Island, in Brooklyn and in Queens, and our lessons keep permit holders off park streets, MTA crossings and test areas, in line with the DMV rules above. On Staten Island, our concierge pickup can meet you within our pickup area.

You can book a road test at any site in the state, so you do not have to test in the borough where you live or learn. Our guide on how to schedule your road test in New York walks through booking. For current prices, give us a call at 718-928-7048 or enroll online to see them.

Here are answers to common questions about driving in these three boroughs.

Your Next Step

Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens share one set of city rules, so most of what you learn carries across every borough line. The differences are specific and easy to plan for: signed right-on-red corners on Staten Island, the MTA crossings near your practice area, the highways you will use, and this Sunday's marathon closures. Learn the shared rules first, then practice the parts that are local to you.

If you want a Staten Island instructor to help you get ready, book a lesson on our Staten Island page, or choose another borough below.