Virginia DMV Permit Practice Test 15
- Questions40
- Correct to pass34
- Passing score85%
- Minimum age15 years 6 months
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1. How does a NO OUTLET sign differ from a DEAD END sign?
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Answer B: It warns that a whole group of streets has no way out
No Outlet is posted where the road leads into a network of streets from which there is no through route, while Dead End refers to the single street itself.
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2. You have a green light at a school crossing, but the crossing guard steps out and holds up a stop sign toward you. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stop, because the crossing guard controls this crossing and outranks the signal
Directions from a crossing guard or a police officer take priority over signals and signs.
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3. Under Virginia's child restraint law, until what age must a child restraint device generally remain rear-facing?
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Answer A: At least until the child reaches two years of age
Virginia law requires a child restraint device to remain rear-facing until at least the child reaches two years of age, among the conditions the statute sets.
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4. A vehicle in the lane beside you has stopped at a crosswalk. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stop as well, because that driver may be yielding to a pedestrian you cannot see
The stopped vehicle hides the crosswalk from you, and passing it is a leading cause of collisions with pedestrians who are already crossing.
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5. What is the purpose of carrying a first aid kit in your vehicle?
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Answer D: It lets you treat cuts and bleeding while the help is on its way
A kit is for simple first aid such as controlling bleeding until trained help arrives, not a substitute for calling for that help.
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6. Enhanced reference location markers differ from ordinary mileposts in that they
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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.
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7. The traffic around you is moving well above the limit on a wide highway. What should you do?
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Answer D: Keep to the limit and stay to the right, letting faster traffic pass
The limit is a legal maximum, and the safe way to differ from the traffic around you is to keep right and let it go by.
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8. Your passengers are being noisy and you are losing concentration. What should you do?
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Answer B: Ask them to settle down, or pull over safely until they do
The driver is responsible for the conditions inside the vehicle, and stopping is always better than driving distracted.
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9. You are entering an angle parking space on your right. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stay a little left of the space, then turn in between the lines
Keeping a little left of the space gives the front wheels the room to turn in cleanly and leaves your car centered between the lines.
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10. A first-time Virginia DUI offender registers a blood alcohol concentration of .15 but less than .20. What additional mandatory minimum jail time applies, beyond the ordinary first offense penalty?
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Answer C: An additional mandatory minimum of five days
Virginia adds a mandatory minimum of five additional days in jail for a first DUI offense where the BAC is at least .15 but less than .20.
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11. A driver in the leftmost lane reaches this sign at an intersection. What must the driver do?
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Answer B: Go straight on or turn right, and reach the destination another way
The restriction holds whatever the traffic or the signal is doing, so the driver has to pass the intersection and plan a different route.
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12. How does the blood alcohol standard for a driver operating a commercial vehicle compare with the one for a car driver?
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Answer D: It is lower, set at 0.04
Commercial drivers are held to a stricter standard of 0.04 because of the size of their vehicles and the risk they carry.
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13. The lane control signal above your lane changes to a steady yellow X. What should you do?
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Answer A: Prepare to leave the lane, because it is about to be closed
A steady yellow X is the warning that the lane below it is about to close, giving drivers time to move over before the red X appears.
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14. A signal on an entrance ramp changes from red to green and lets one vehicle at a time onto the highway. What should you do?
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Answer A: Stop on the red and go on the green, one vehicle for each green
A ramp meter spaces vehicles out so they join the highway one at a time instead of arriving as a group, and it is a traffic signal like any other.
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15. Do family or household members count toward the passenger limit that applies to a Virginia provisional license holder?
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Answer B: No, family and household members are exempt from the passenger limit
Virginia's passenger restriction for provisional license holders exempts family and household members, so they do not count against the one-passenger limit.
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16. How does Virginia classify the offense of using studded tires outside the permitted season?
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Answer D: It is a Class 1 misdemeanor
Virginia classifies a violation of its studded tire season restriction as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
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17. You are driving on an open highway in a strong crosswind. What is the safest adjustment?
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Answer A: Reduce speed and keep a firm grip, expecting gusts on bridges and beside large vehicles
Gusts hit hardest in open gaps, on bridges and when passing high-sided vehicles, so a lower speed and a firm grip let you correct before you are pushed out of your lane.
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18. A streetcar is coming along tracks in the middle of the street as you wait to turn across them. What should you do?
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Answer A: Let the streetcar pass before you cross the tracks
Rail vehicles cannot steer around you and need a long distance to stop, so drivers yield to a streetcar or light rail train.
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19. Your vehicle has broken down at night on a rural road and your phone has no signal. What is the safest thing to do?
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Answer C: Stay with the vehicle, keep the hazard lights on and wait for help
A lit vehicle is far easier to find than a person walking in the dark, and running the engine while you sleep risks carbon monoxide.
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20. Your exit from a three-lane highway is about a mile ahead on the right, and you are in the left lane. What should you do?
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Answer B: Start moving right now, one lane at a time
Plan ahead and change lanes one at a time well before the exit, so you never have to cut across several lanes at the gore.
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21. A line beside your lane is painted about twice the normal width. What does the extra width convey?
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Answer B: Greater emphasis on the restriction it carries
Width is part of the marking code: a wide line carries more emphasis than a normal one, which is why it is used at gores and channelizing lines.
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22. You are in a passing zone that continues over the crest of a hill ahead. May you start a pass?
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Answer B: Only if you can finish it well before the crest
Beyond the crest you cannot see oncoming traffic, so any part of the pass that happens there is being made blind.
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23. You must leave your vehicle beside a narrow rural road at night. What should you do?
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Answer B: Get it right off the pavement and switch on the hazard lights
A vehicle left on an unlit rural road is very hard to see, so move it completely clear of the traveled surface and mark it with the hazard lights.
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24. Your low beams light about 250 feet of road, but at your speed you would need more than that to stop. What is that called?
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Answer D: Overdriving your headlights
When your stopping distance is longer than the stretch of road your headlights show, you cannot react to anything you finally see. Slow down until you can.
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25. A driver extends the left arm out the window and points it downward toward the road surface. What is being signaled?
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Answer A: Slowing down or stopping
The left arm extended downward is the standard hand signal for slowing or stopping.
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26. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
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Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
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27. You have just passed a vehicle on a two-lane road. When may you return to your lane?
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Answer B: When you can see the whole vehicle in your inside mirror
Seeing the entire vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror shows there is room to pull back in without cutting it off.
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28. 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?
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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.
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29. The sign over the leftmost lane reads LEFT LANE MUST TURN LEFT. You are in that lane and want to go straight. What should you do?
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Answer C: Move out of the lane before the intersection if it is safe
A mandatory movement lane control sign makes the turn compulsory for that lane, so a driver who wants another movement must change lanes in advance.
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30. An overhead lane signal shows a flashing yellow X above your lane. What does it mean?
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Answer D: The lane may be used only for a left turn
A flashing yellow X marks a lane that may be used only to make a left turn; a steady yellow X is the one that warns you to leave the lane.
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31. You are waiting inside the intersection to turn left when your light turns red. What should you do?
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Answer A: Complete the turn as soon as the way is clear
Once you have legally entered the intersection you should clear it as soon as the oncoming traffic has stopped, rather than sit in the path of cross traffic.
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32. Which of these is a recognized exception to Virginia's midnight to 4 a.m. driving curfew for a provisional license holder?
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Answer A: Driving to or from an activity supervised by an adult and sponsored by a school, civic, religious or public organization
Virginia's curfew for provisional license holders does not apply while driving to or from an activity that is supervised by an adult and sponsored by a school or by a civic, religious or public organization.
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33. What must a driver be ready to do along the stretch of road where this sign is posted?
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Answer D: Slow down and stop for a child who steps into the roadway
Children misjudge speed and distance and act without warning, so the driver reduces speed, covers the brake and scans the sidewalks and parked vehicles.
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34. Where is this sign installed in relation to the hazard it announces?
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Answer A: Far enough before the hazard that a driver can slow down and stop short of it
This is an advance warning sign, placed on the approach so a driver has time to react before reaching a crossing that a curve or a crest may be hiding.
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35. You come to a place where a storm has dropped a power line across the road ahead. What should you do?
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Answer B: Stop well back, keep everyone away from it and report it to the police
A downed line may be live and can energize the ground around it, so keep well clear and let the utility or the police handle it.
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36. The passenger-side mirror on most vehicles is convex. What does this mean for the driver?
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Answer D: Vehicles in that mirror are closer than they appear
A convex mirror gives a wider view but shrinks what it shows, so a vehicle looks smaller and therefore farther away than it really is. Allow for this before changing lanes.
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37. On a clear day with light traffic, a driver stays far below the maximum this sign sets. What can that cause?
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Answer B: Obstruction of the normal flow of traffic, which is prohibited in itself
Driving so slowly that other traffic is impeded is an offense in its own right when nothing about safety, weather or the road calls for it.
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38. A school bus ahead of you has its red lights flashing and its stop arm extended. What are you required to do?
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Answer A: Stop and stay stopped until the lights stop flashing and the bus starts moving
Flashing red lights and an extended stop arm mean children are getting on or off, so traffic must stop and wait until the bus withdraws the signals and moves again.
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39. You are about to make a three-point turn on a narrow two-way street. What is the first step?
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Answer B: Pull close to the right edge, signal left and check traffic both ways
A three-point turn starts from a stop at the right edge with a left signal, and you only move once you have checked that both directions are clear.
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40. A yellow diamond shows an arrow bent into a series of reversing turns. What does it warn about?
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Answer A: Three or more changes of direction close together
The winding road sign replaces a string of separate curve signs where several bends follow one another with only short straights between them.