District of Columbia DC DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 57
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. Someone appears seriously injured after a crash. What should you generally do?
Show answer
Answer C: Call for emergency help and avoid moving the person unless there is an immediate danger such as fire
Moving an injured person can worsen spinal or internal injuries, so summon trained help and leave the person in place unless staying there is more dangerous than moving.
-
2. What change in the road does this sign announce?
Show answer
Answer B: The two directions of travel are about to be separated, and the driver must keep to the right of the separation
Ahead the roadway splits into separate one-way roadways on either side of a median, so the driver stays to the right of the divider and no longer meets oncoming vehicles.
-
3. You arrive at an intersection with no signs, no signals and no markings at the same time as a vehicle on the road to your right. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Yield to the vehicle on your right
At an uncontrolled intersection you must yield to a vehicle already in the intersection or approaching from your right.
-
4. What is the main advantage of a face shield over goggles?
Show answer
Answer D: It protects the whole face, not only the eyes
Goggles keep wind and debris out of the eyes, but a shatter resistant face shield also protects the rest of the face in a crash.
-
5. Why is it dangerous to make a left turn from the second lane from the center?
Show answer
Answer C: Because a driver in the lane beside you is turning into the same space
Drivers in the proper turn lane are entitled to that space, and turning across them puts two vehicles into one path through the intersection.
-
6. Why can a mild afternoon still chill a rider dangerously on the highway?
Show answer
Answer B: Riding speed creates a wind chill well below the air temperature
Air moving over the body at highway speed strips heat far faster than still air, so a comfortable temperature at a standstill can cause serious chilling in an hour of riding.
-
7. You are hosting a party and a guest who has been drinking wants to drive home. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop serving and arrange a ride or a bed
Only time removes alcohol, so a host who wants to prevent a crash has to remove the driving, not try to speed up sobering that cannot be sped up.
-
8. A driver passes this sign on an open road. Over what stretch does the figure it sets stay in force?
Show answer
Answer A: From the sign onward, in every lane, until another sign sets a different figure
The figure governs the road from the sign onward and binds every lane, and it stays in force until a later sign sets a different one.
-
9. A shared-use path crosses the road ahead at a marked crossing and people are already crossing on it. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Yield and let them finish crossing the road
People already crossing at a marked crossing have the right of way, and a path crossing is a crossing of the roadway like any other.
-
10. What does this sign warn a driver about?
Show answer
Answer A: Traffic from another roadway will enter the same lane ahead
Two traffic streams come together into one lane beyond this point, so drivers on both roadways have to adjust speed and spacing to fit together.
-
11. What does a marked crosswalk tell a driver approaching a corner?
Show answer
Answer D: Where pedestrians are expected to cross and must be given way
Crosswalk markings show pedestrians where to cross and warn drivers to yield to anyone using the crossing.
-
12. Which feature suggests that a helmet is an uncertified novelty helmet?
Show answer
Answer D: A shell less than one inch thick with no firm foam liner
Novelty helmets are typically thin and very light because they lack the stiff energy absorbing liner that a certified helmet uses to manage an impact.
-
13. What happens if a DC applicant fails the knowledge test six times within 12 months?
Show answer
Answer D: The seventh attempt is blocked until 12 months after the first failure
After six failures in a 12-month period, the seventh test cannot be taken until 12 months have passed since the first failure.
-
14. A United States numbered route is normally marked with
Show answer
Answer C: black numerals on a white shield
The U.S. route marker is a white shield carrying black numerals, which sets it apart at a glance from the red, white and blue Interstate shield.
-
15. What is sensible when you drive in an unfamiliar town for the first time?
Show answer
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.
-
16. Why is the road often most slippery during the first few minutes of rain after a long dry spell?
Show answer
Answer C: Oil and dust on the surface mix with the water into a slick film
Oil drippings and road dust build up on dry pavement, and the first light rain lifts them into a slippery film before heavier rain washes it away.
-
17. How far forward should a rider sit on the seat?
Show answer
Answer D: Far enough forward that the arms are slightly bent on the grips
Slightly bent arms let the rider steer with the handlebars instead of using the arms to prop up the upper body.
-
18. You are stopped at a T-intersection and a driver on the through road is signaling a right turn into your road. What is the safe assumption?
Show answer
Answer B: The driver may not actually turn, so wait until the vehicle slows and starts turning
A blinking signal may have been left on by mistake or may be for the next street, so wait until the vehicle actually slows and turns.
-
19. Enhanced reference location markers differ from ordinary mileposts in that they
Show answer
Answer B: carry the route number and a mileage figure to the tenth of a mile
An enhanced reference location marker adds the route designation and carries the mileage to a tenth, so the point named is far more precise than a plain milepost.
-
20. An orange background with a black legend on a sign indicates
Show answer
Answer B: a temporary traffic control or work zone situation
Orange is reserved for temporary traffic control signing, so an orange sign means conditions have been altered for work or another temporary operation.
-
21. How much more energy must your brakes absorb if you double your speed?
Show answer
Answer D: About four times as much, since energy rises with the square of speed
Kinetic energy grows with the square of speed, so twice the speed means about four times the energy and a far longer braking distance.
-
22. Which rough check suggests that a helmet is a novelty shell rather than a certified helmet?
Show answer
Answer C: It weighs about a pound, far less than a certified helmet
A certified helmet weighs roughly three pounds because of its shell and thick liner, while a novelty shell is very light. Weight is only a clue, and the certification label is the real check.
-
23. What should you do as you approach your exit from a roundabout?
Show answer
Answer A: Signal right and check the crosswalk for pedestrians before leaving
A right signal tells following drivers and waiting drivers that you are leaving, and pedestrians cross at the exit leg, so the crosswalk must be checked.
-
24. The vehicle you want to pass is traveling close to the speed limit. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stay behind, because a pass may not take you over the limit
The speed limit applies while passing too. If you cannot complete the pass without exceeding it, do not start the pass.
-
25. A load has been packed onto the seat behind you. What else must it not do?
Show answer
Answer A: Restrict how you move on the seat or reach the controls
Baggage that pins the rider in place or gets in the way of the handlebars and levers takes away the control the rider needs in an emergency.