District of Columbia DC DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 35
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. An oncoming car is waiting to turn left across your path at an intersection. What is the safest response?
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Answer D: Slow, cover the brakes and pick a lane position that keeps an escape path
A car turning left in front of a rider is one of the most common motorcycle collisions, so the rider prepares to stop or swerve rather than trusting the driver to wait.
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2. Is it acceptable to drive far below the flow of traffic on an open highway?
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Answer B: No, driving too slowly can obstruct traffic and create a hazard
Traffic that is much slower than the surrounding flow forces other drivers into sudden braking and unnecessary passing maneuvers, and impeding traffic is itself a violation.
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3. How does going a long time without sleep compare with drinking?
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Answer A: It can impair a driver in much the same way
Long periods awake produce slow reactions, poor judgment and lapses of attention that resemble the effects of alcohol, which is why fatigue counts as impairment.
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4. What must you check about a load before riding away with it?
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Answer C: That it does not cover the tail light, the brake light or the signals
Luggage that hides the lights leaves drivers behind with no warning that the motorcycle is slowing or turning.
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5. Which family of signs normally uses a rectangle that is wider than it is tall?
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Answer B: Guide signs, which name routes and destinations
Guide signs are laid out as horizontal rectangles because they have to carry route numbers, place names and distances side by side.
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6. At 45 mph you look at a navigation screen for four seconds. Roughly how far do you travel unseeing?
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Answer D: About 260 feet
At 45 mph you cover roughly 66 feet a second, so four seconds on a screen is around 260 feet of road that you never looked at.
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7. While you swerve around an obstacle, what should the rest of your body be doing?
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Answer C: Staying upright with the knees against the tank while the motorcycle leans
A swerve happens through the handlebars, and a body that stays still and anchored to the tank lets the motorcycle move quickly beneath the rider.
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8. Your light turns green and a driver on the cross street enters against a red. What should you do?
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Answer D: Hold back and let that vehicle go through
Giving up a right of way you are entitled to is the only way to avoid a crash with a driver who has already failed to yield.
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9. Where should the rider be looking during a U-turn?
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Answer B: All the way around toward the point where the turn will finish
A motorcycle follows the eyes, so turning the head to the exit of the turn keeps the machine coming round instead of drifting wide.
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10. You are stopped at an intersection where bushes block your view of cross traffic. What should you do?
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Answer A: Edge forward slowly until you can see, then proceed when clear
Creeping forward a little at a time lets you gain a view without committing to the crossing. Never enter an intersection you cannot see into.
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11. Why are motorcycles so often missed by other drivers?
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Answer C: Their narrow shape is easily hidden in traffic
A motorcycle presents a narrow outline that disappears behind pillars, mirrors and other vehicles, and it is harder to judge its speed and distance.
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12. Your light is green but the traffic beyond the intersection is stopped and there is no room on the far side. What should you do?
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Answer A: Wait behind the line until you can clear the far side
Entering an intersection you cannot clear blocks the cross traffic when their signal turns green, so you wait behind the line.
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13. A rectangular red sign with the white words WRONG WAY means that
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Answer C: the driver is already traveling against the legal flow and must not continue
The wrong way sign uses a white legend and border on red and addresses a driver who has entered a ramp or one-way roadway in the wrong direction, who should stop and turn around safely.
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14. Besides air pressure, what should a rider look for when inspecting the tires?
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Answer B: Tread depth, cuts, embedded objects and uneven wear
Worn or damaged tires lose grip and can fail suddenly, and uneven wear also warns of a pressure or alignment problem.
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15. When is a driver or rider most likely to need hand and arm signals instead of the vehicle turn signal lamps?
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Answer D: When the lamps have failed or cannot be seen because of glare or a load
Hand and arm signals replace or reinforce the lamps whenever the lamps do not work or cannot be seen clearly by other road users.
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16. A train has just cleared a crossing that carries two sets of tracks. What should you do?
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Answer B: Wait and look both ways for a second train
A passing train hides a second train on the other track, so wait until the signals stop and you can see that both tracks are clear.
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17. What is the correct way to think about protective gear?
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Answer D: It reduces injury in a crash but does nothing to prevent one
Gear is the last line of defense. Avoiding the crash depends on skill, speed choice, space and visibility, and gear only limits the damage when those fail.
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18. A group has just stopped at a stop sign. How should the formation be restored?
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Answer B: Riders should pull away one at a time and take up the stagger once moving
Motorcycles need room to pull away and get up to speed, so the staggered formation is taken up again only after the riders are rolling.
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19. A sign on a long descent points to a RUNAWAY TRUCK RAMP a mile ahead. What is that ramp for?
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Answer C: Stopping a vehicle whose brakes have failed
An escape ramp climbs into deep gravel or sand to bring a vehicle with failed brakes to a halt, so no one should stop or park in it.
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20. In most states, how far before a turn must your signal already be on in city traffic?
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Answer B: At least 100 feet, roughly the length of six or seven cars
Most states require the signal for at least 100 feet before a turn in city driving, which gives drivers behind you time to react before you slow; several require more at higher speeds.
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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.
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22. You are making a U-turn at a signal on a green left arrow. Who must you still watch for?
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Answer D: People in the crosswalk you will cross as you come around
Even a protected arrow does not clear the crosswalk, and a U-turn sweeps across a crosswalk that pedestrians may already be using.
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23. Traffic is heavy and you find yourself riding level with a car in the next lane. What is the problem with staying there?
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Answer B: You sit in the driver's blind spot, so a lane change could hit you
Motorcycles disappear easily in a blind spot, so adjust your speed to ride ahead of or behind the other vehicle instead of beside it.
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24. The only person offering you a ride home has been drinking. What should you do?
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Answer B: Do not get in; find another way home
A passenger in an impaired driver's vehicle shares all of the risk and can do nothing about it from the seat, so the only safe answer is another ride.
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25. A school sign paired with a plaque showing a diagonal downward-pointing arrow is installed
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Answer D: at the school crossing itself, or as close to it as possible
The diagonal downward arrow points at the crossing, so this assembly is placed at the crossing location rather than in advance of it.