District of Columbia DC DMV Permit Practice Test 44

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. A driver ignores this sign and passes on the opposite side. What is the main risk?

    A white vertical rectangle with a black border and black legend
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    Answer B: Ending up on the wrong side of a divider, facing traffic coming the other way

    The sign settles which side of a fixed divider is the legal one, so taking the other side sends the vehicle into the opposing stream or straight at the obstruction.

  2. 2. During the school year, how late may a 16- or 17-year-old DC provisional license holder drive from Sunday through Thursday?

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    Answer A: Until 10:59 p.m.

    Provisional license holders may drive until 10:59 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday during the school year.

  3. 3. A pedestrian steps off the curb in the middle of a block where there is no crosswalk at all. What is the legal position?

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    Answer A: They must yield to you, but you must still avoid a crash

    A pedestrian crossing away from a crosswalk yields to vehicles, yet every driver still has a duty to use care and avoid hitting a person.

  4. 4. A dust storm is blowing across the highway ahead of you. What is the recommended response?

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    Answer B: Leave the road if you can, park well clear and take your foot off the brake

    Get well off the pavement, switch the lights off and keep your foot off the brake, so drivers still on the road do not follow your tail lights off the highway.

  5. 5. Cones and drums mark a shifted lane through a work zone. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Follow the path that they mark and stay inside it

    Channelizing devices define the temporary travel path, and the space on the other side of them belongs to the workers.

  6. 6. Besides a chemical test, what else supports an impaired driving charge?

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    Answer B: The officer's observations of the driving and the driver

    Weaving, slow responses, speech and balance observed by the officer are evidence in their own right, which is why a driver can be charged on behavior alone.

  7. 7. What do the numbers on a pedestrian countdown display show?

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    Answer A: The seconds remaining to finish a crossing already under way

    The countdown runs during the pedestrian change interval and shows how many seconds are left before the crossing time ends.

  8. 8. Two solid white lines are painted between your lane and the lane beside it. What do they mean?

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    Answer D: Crossing from one lane to the other is prohibited

    Double solid white lines separate lanes of traffic going the same way and may not be crossed.

  9. 9. What insurance document must be in the vehicle used for a DC road skills test?

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    Answer B: An insurance card or policy that identifies the vehicle and shows the expiration date

    DC DMV requires the test vehicle to carry a motor vehicle liability insurance card or the policy itself, identifying the vehicle and showing the expiration date.

  10. 10. Which of these would appear as a symbol on a blue general service sign?

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    Answer A: A hospital

    General service signs cover facilities such as hospitals, fuel, food, lodging, camping, telephones and rest areas, all shown in white on blue.

  11. 11. Compared with dry pavement, how much room does a vehicle need to stop on packed snow?

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    Answer D: Several times as much

    Grip on packed snow is a fraction of that on dry pavement, so stopping distance grows several times over. Antilock brakes help you steer, not stop shorter.

  12. 12. Which drivers take part in the DC GRAD license program?

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    Answer D: Drivers aged 16 to 20

    The DC graduated license program applies to drivers aged 16 through 20.

  13. 13. A center lane is bordered by a solid yellow line on the outside and a broken yellow line on the inside, with left-turn arrows painted in it. How may you use that lane?

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    Answer A: Only to make a left turn or to prepare for one from either direction

    That marking identifies a two-way left turn lane, which may only be used for left turns or to prepare for a left turn and never for travel or passing.

  14. 14. Before making a right turn at an intersection, what should you check besides oncoming traffic?

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    Answer B: Your right blind spot and the crosswalk, for cyclists and pedestrians

    Right turns often catch a cyclist or a pedestrian coming up on the right, so check the blind spot and the crosswalk before you turn.

  15. 15. Which of these is true of the roadway a driver is being sent onto here?

    An orange rectangle with black lettering and a black arrow
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    Answer D: Its own signs, signals and speed limits govern for the whole way around

    The alternate route is an ordinary public road, so every control posted on it governs as usual; being sent that way grants no extra priority and no relief from the limits in force there.

  16. 16. A deer crosses the road in front of you and disappears into the trees. What should you expect?

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    Answer B: That other deer are likely to follow it across the very same stretch of road

    Deer usually move in groups, so one crossing the road is a warning that more may follow.

  17. 17. You are leaving a private driveway and entering a public street. What are you required to do?

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    Answer B: Stop and yield to traffic on the street and to pedestrians on the sidewalk

    A driver entering a roadway from a driveway, alley or private road must stop and yield to traffic on the roadway and to pedestrians on the sidewalk being crossed.

  18. 18. Which color scheme is standard for the drums and barricades that channel traffic through a work zone?

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    Answer C: Alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes

    Drums and barricades carry alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes, and the traffic cones used in the same zones are predominantly orange.

  19. 19. Why do young drivers carrying several friends face a higher crash risk?

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    Answer D: Because young passengers are a strong source of distraction and pressure

    Crash risk for new drivers rises with each extra young passenger, mainly through distraction and social pressure.

  20. 20. You come upon a crash that has just happened and decide to help. Where should you stop your vehicle?

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    Answer A: Well beyond the scene, completely off the road, with the hazard lights on

    Stopping past the crash and off the pavement keeps you from becoming another victim and leaves the approach clear for emergency vehicles.

  21. 21. Your vehicle is burning at the roadside. How far away should everyone keep?

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    Answer D: At least a hundred feet away from the vehicle and upwind, out of the drifting smoke

    Burning vehicles give off toxic smoke and parts such as tires and struts can burst, so keep a long distance and stay upwind.

  22. 22. Besides its height, what else matters about a head restraint?

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    Answer C: That it is close to the back of the head, and not far behind it

    A restraint that sits far behind the head lets the head snap back before it is caught, so a small gap is important.

  23. 23. You are turning left from a divided highway through a median opening into a business on the other side. Who has the right of way?

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    Answer C: The traffic on the roadway you are crossing

    Turning through a median opening means crossing the opposite roadway, so you yield to all traffic on it before you go.

  24. 24. It is cold and the road looks wet, but you notice the tires of vehicles ahead are throwing up no spray. What does this suggest?

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    Answer B: The surface has frozen and is probably icy

    Water throws spray, but ice does not. A shiny road with no spray in freezing temperatures is a strong sign of black ice, so slow down and avoid sudden inputs.

  25. 25. Why is parking against the flow of traffic dangerous even when nobody complains?

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    Answer D: Because you had to cross traffic to get there and must cross again to leave

    Parking on the wrong side means driving against traffic at both ends of the stop, and your reflectors and lights face the wrong way while you are there.