District of Columbia DC DMV Permit Practice Test 42
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. Why should you not rest your foot on the brake pedal as you drive?
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Answer D: The brake lights stay on and the drivers behind cannot read you
Resting on the pedal keeps the brake lights lit and wears the brakes, so following drivers stop believing your brake lights.
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2. What fine does DC set for failing to produce proof of insurance?
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Answer A: 30 dollars
Failing to provide proof of insurance is a 30 dollar infraction in DC, separate from the far larger penalty for having no insurance at all.
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3. A flashing red lamp is mounted above a stop sign at a rural intersection. What does it add?
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Answer C: Emphasis, while the required stop stays the same
A stop beacon makes an easily missed stop sign more visible, but it neither adds to nor takes away from the obligation the sign already imposes.
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4. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?
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Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one
At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.
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5. What is sensible when you drive in an unfamiliar town for the first time?
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Answer C: Drive a little slower and give yourself more time to read the signs
In unfamiliar surroundings you need longer to take in signs, junctions and markings, and lower speed buys that time.
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6. You are behind a snow plow working on a highway. What is the correct way to drive?
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Answer C: Stay well back and do not try to pass it
A plow throws snow, runs wider than its body and works on the poor surface ahead of it, so the cleared road behind it is the safest place to be.
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7. Your vehicle has a blind spot warning light in the door mirror. What should that mean for your habits?
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Answer B: You still check the blind spot yourself, because the system can miss a rider
Blind spot systems are an aid, not a substitute, and a motorcycle or a bicycle can be missed or arrive faster than the sensor expects.
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8. The red lights on a stopped school bus go out and the bus begins to move away. What should you do?
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Answer B: Move off slowly and keep watching for children near the road
Children who have just left the bus may still be near the roadway or crossing behind it, so pull away gently and keep looking for them.
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9. Your power steering fails while you are driving. What happens and what should you do?
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Answer B: Steering becomes much harder but still works, so slow down and pull off the road
Without power assistance the steering still works, but it takes much more effort, especially at low speed. Keep both hands on the wheel and get off the road.
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10. You are following a tractor-trailer so closely that its rear doors fill your windshield. What is the main problem?
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Answer D: You cannot see the road ahead and the truck driver cannot see you
A truck has a deep blind spot directly behind it, and tailgating also hides everything in front of the truck from you. Drop back so you can see and be seen.
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11. How much following distance should you keep behind a motorcycle?
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Answer C: At least three to four seconds
A motorcycle can slow or stop very quickly and is easily upset by a surprise, so allow three to four seconds instead of the usual car gap.
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12. How can you keep space at the sides of your vehicle in heavy traffic?
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Answer D: Drive in the gaps between the other vehicles rather than beside them
Travelling in the open spaces rather than alongside others keeps a way out open on at least one side.
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13. You are stopped at a red light ready to turn right when a person pushing a stroller steps into the crosswalk. What should you do?
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Answer A: Stay stopped until they have crossed your path
A turn on red gives way to every pedestrian in the crosswalk, and someone pushing a stroller has even less room to react.
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14. Your left-turn lane faces a steady green ball and oncoming traffic is heavy. What are you allowed to do?
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Answer C: Move into the intersection and turn when a safe gap appears
A green ball permits the turn but gives no priority, so you may move into the intersection and wait there for a gap in the oncoming traffic.
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15. You are about to slow down sharply for a turn. Which check comes first?
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Answer A: A look in the mirror to see how close the traffic behind you is
Any hard slowing needs a mirror check first, because the driver behind is the one who has to react to it.
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16. You are driving in the left lane at the posted speed limit and a line of vehicles has built up behind you. What should you do?
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Answer D: Move into a lane on your right when it is safe and let the traffic behind go by
Most states require traffic moving slower than the flow to keep right and reserve the left lane for passing, so a driver holding up a line of vehicles should move right when it is safe rather than block the lane.
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17. The motorcyclist ahead of you keeps moving from one side of the lane to the other. What should you understand?
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Answer B: The rider is avoiding surface hazards and staying where drivers can see the bike
Riders shift their lane position to avoid debris, grease strips and potholes and to be seen. That movement is normal and never an invitation to share the lane.
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18. Where are signs of this kind placed at an intersection?
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Answer C: At the near right and far left corners, facing drivers on the intersecting street
They are installed at the corners of the intersecting street so that a driver about to turn in sees the restriction before committing to the turn.
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19. On a divided highway you see a median opening marked for authorized vehicles only. May you use it to turn around?
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Answer D: No, those openings are for emergency and maintenance vehicles
Official crossovers are reserved for emergency and highway maintenance use; turning there puts a slow vehicle across high-speed traffic.
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20. Two vehicles meet on a steep, narrow mountain road with no room to pass. Which driver should back up?
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Answer C: The driver heading downhill, who has more control while reversing
On a narrow mountain road the vehicle facing downhill yields, because backing uphill gives better control than reversing down a grade.
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21. You realize you have turned the wrong way onto a one-way street. What should you do?
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Answer A: Pull to the right, stop, and back into the street you came from when clear
Get out of the traffic stream first: pull right and stop, then back out into the street you came from once you can see it is safe.
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22. A yellow diamond showing a truck is posted beside a quarry entrance. What is it warning about?
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Answer A: Trucks turning onto the highway from that entrance
A truck crossing or trucks entering sign is used where heavy vehicles pull onto the road from a site, and they accelerate slowly once they are on it.
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23. Which sign shape is reserved for one message only, the requirement to stop?
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Answer A: The octagon
The octagon is used for the stop sign and for no other message, so the outline alone identifies the requirement even when the legend is hard to read.
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24. Two drivers each have three drinks, one over three hours and one in half an hour. What is the difference?
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Answer C: The fast drinker reaches a higher peak level
The liver removes alcohol at a steady rate, so drinking faster than the body can clear it pushes the blood alcohol level much higher.
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25. What injury does a correctly set head restraint help prevent?
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Answer A: A neck injury of the kind caused when your vehicle is struck from behind
In a rear impact the body is pushed forward and the head restraint stops the head from whipping backward.