Virginia DMV Permit Practice Test 25
- Questions40
- Correct to pass34
- Passing score85%
- Minimum age15 years 6 months
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1. May you stop in a marked bicycle lane to let a passenger out?
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Answer B: No, stopping there forces riders into the traffic lane
A vehicle stopped in a bike lane pushes riders out into moving traffic, which is exactly what the lane exists to prevent.
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2. You are turning left into a street that is divided by a raised median. Which side should you enter?
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Answer C: The right-hand roadway, so that you travel on the proper side
A raised median separates two directions of travel, so the turn must be completed into the roadway carrying traffic your way.
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3. You wait in the aisle with your signal on for a space that is about to be vacated. What is the risk?
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Answer D: You block the aisle and drivers behind may try to squeeze past
A stopped vehicle turns a two-way aisle into a bottleneck, and drivers who try to get around it pass close to pedestrians and reversing cars.
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4. Traffic has built up behind you while you wait for a gap to turn left. How should that affect your decision?
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Answer C: It should not change it; wait for a gap that is genuinely safe
Pressure from behind does not make a small gap bigger, and rushing a left turn across traffic is a common cause of serious crashes.
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5. In Virginia, a driver under 21 can be convicted of illegal consumption of alcohol at what blood alcohol content?
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Answer B: At least .02 but less than .08
Virginia convicts a driver under 21 of illegal consumption when the blood alcohol content is at least .02 but less than .08, while .08 or higher can bring the same penalties as an adult.
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6. You realize you have driven several miles without remembering any of it. What kind of distraction is this?
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Answer C: Cognitive distraction, because your mind was not on driving
Daydreaming or being lost in thought is a cognitive distraction. Your eyes may be on the road, but your brain is not processing what they see.
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7. You are clear of the tracks after your vehicle stalled on a crossing. Whom should you contact?
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Answer C: The emergency number posted on the blue sign at the crossing, or 911
Grade crossings carry an emergency notification sign with a railroad phone number and a crossing identification number so that approaching trains can be stopped, and 911 works if that sign is not visible.
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8. How long does a parallel parking space need to be for the car you are driving?
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Answer D: About five or six feet longer than your vehicle
A few extra feet at each end give you the room to swing in and to straighten up without touching the vehicles in front or behind.
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9. May you use a relative's accessible parking placard to park in a marked accessible space?
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Answer D: No, only when the placard holder is being transported in the vehicle
A placard belongs to the person, not to the car, so it is valid only when that person is being transported; using it otherwise takes a space from someone who needs it.
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10. At highway speed, a large object suddenly appears in your lane and there is open space beside you. Which response is often the most effective?
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Answer B: Steer around it, since at speed you can often turn quicker than you can stop
Above roughly 25 mph, stopping distance is long while a lane change takes only a moment. When space is available, a controlled steer around the hazard avoids the impact.
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11. In heavy fog at night on a rural two-lane road, which marking best helps a driver hold position?
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Answer C: The solid white line along the right edge
Steering by the right edge line keeps a driver clear of oncoming traffic, while watching the center line tends to pull the vehicle toward it.
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12. What happens when tires are driven underinflated for a long time?
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Answer D: They wear at the edges, they run hot and they are more likely to fail
An underinflated tire flexes too much, which wears the shoulders and builds up heat that can destroy the tire.
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13. A truck ahead of you is spreading salt or grit on the road. What should you do?
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Answer B: Drop back so the material does not reach your car
Spreaders throw material backward and sideways, and following close means stone chips and a screen full of spray, so leave extra distance.
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14. You are backing out of a driveway that crosses a public sidewalk. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stop before the sidewalk and check both ways
Walkers, runners and riders use the sidewalk at speeds that can bring them into your path in a second, so the stop and the look belong before the sidewalk, not after it.
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15. You turn the wheel but the front of the vehicle keeps sliding straight ahead on a slippery road. What should you do?
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Answer C: Ease off the accelerator and reduce the steering angle until the front tires grip again
A front-wheel skid means the tires are asking for more grip than the surface can give. Less speed and less steering angle let them regain traction.
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16. A yellow diamond showing two vertical arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down, warns that
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Answer A: the road ahead carries traffic in both directions
The two-way traffic sign warns that the roadway ahead is not divided and that vehicles will be coming from the opposite direction.
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17. How far ahead should you normally be looking as you drive?
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Answer C: About 12 to 15 seconds ahead, well beyond the vehicle in front
Looking that far down the road lets you see a problem developing and slow smoothly, instead of discovering it in time only for hard braking.
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18. After completing a turn you notice your signal is still flashing. What should you do?
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Answer A: Switch it off at once, before other drivers act on it
A signal left on after a turn is a false message, and drivers waiting to pull out may move into your path because of it.
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19. You are driving through patchy fog on a highway. What should you be ready for?
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Answer B: Sudden dense banks where visibility drops within a few car lengths
Patchy fog can go from clear to nearly blind in a moment, so keep your speed low enough that a sudden bank does not leave you without room.
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20. Why is it useful to watch the vehicle two or three places ahead of you?
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Answer C: You get an earlier warning of slowing traffic than brake lights give
Trouble travels back through a line of traffic, so seeing it start several vehicles ahead gives you a head start on braking.
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21. What is the correct relationship between air bags and seat belts?
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Answer B: Air bags are designed to work together with seat belts, not instead of them
An air bag is a supplemental restraint that cushions one impact, while the belt keeps you in position so the bag can work and protects you in rollovers and secondary impacts.
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22. A grade crossing is marked only with a crossbuck and has no lights or gates. What does the crossbuck require of you?
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Answer C: Yield to rail traffic and cross only when no train is approaching
The crossbuck requires road users to yield the right-of-way to rail traffic, so you must look and listen and be ready to stop.
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23. In normal operation, which indication always comes between a green and a red on the same signal face?
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Answer C: A steady yellow
The yellow change interval must follow every green or green arrow, so a signal can never jump straight from green to red.
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24. 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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25. A sign with a yellow background and a black legend generally conveys
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Answer B: a general warning
Yellow is the background color used for general warning signs, so a yellow sign tells the driver to expect something ahead rather than to obey a rule.
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26. You have stopped on the shoulder of a busy freeway with a flat tire that you cannot change safely. Where should you and your passengers wait?
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Answer A: Well away from the traffic side, behind a barrier or up the bank if there is one
People struck on the shoulder are a common cause of roadside deaths, so wait away from the traffic side and behind any barrier.
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27. Is it a good idea to shift into neutral and coast down a long hill to save fuel?
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Answer B: No, you lose engine braking and some control of the vehicle
In neutral the engine cannot help slow the vehicle, so the brakes do all the work and can overheat. Stay in gear so the drivetrain helps hold your speed.
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28. Some states allow a left turn against a red light. Which movement is it?
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Answer A: A left turn from a one-way street onto another one-way street
The movement generally allowed on red is one-way to one-way, because the turn does not cross any lane of oncoming traffic; a few states also extend it to a two-way street turning onto a one-way street.
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29. A school sign combined with an AHEAD plaque, or with a plaque giving a distance in feet, forms an assembly that
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Answer B: warns of a school crossing located further along the road
The school advance crossing assembly is placed before the crosswalk to give drivers notice, while a different assembly marks the crossing itself.
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30. Why is passing another vehicle a bad idea in dense fog?
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Answer C: You cannot see far enough ahead to know the passing lane is clear
A pass needs a clear view of the road well beyond the vehicle you are overtaking, and fog takes exactly that away.
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31. When are you expected to switch from high beams to low beams?
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Answer D: When a vehicle approaches from ahead or you come up behind another vehicle
High beams blind other drivers, both those coming toward you and those you follow through their mirrors. Dim them whenever another vehicle is within range.
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32. You are waiting to turn left and an oncoming vehicle stopped in the near lane to turn left blocks your view of the far lane. What should you do?
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Answer A: Wait where you are until you can see that the far lane is completely clear
The lane you cannot see is where the crash comes from, so you hold your position until the view opens up.
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33. A pedestrian is waiting to cross ahead of you and you have slowed down. What helps most?
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Answer D: Making eye contact, so that you both know you have seen each other
Eye contact confirms that you have seen each other; waving someone across can send them into the path of another vehicle.
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34. You must slow suddenly on a highway and a vehicle is following close behind you. What helps prevent a rear-end collision?
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Answer D: Tapping the brake pedal early so your brake lights flash a warning
Early brake light flashes give the driver behind more time to react, and slowing gradually instead of suddenly reduces the chance of being struck.
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35. 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.
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36. You and a driver coming from the opposite direction reach a four-way stop at the same time and you are both going straight ahead. What happens next?
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Answer D: Both of you may move off together, because your paths do not cross each other
Opposing vehicles that are both going straight do not cross paths, so they can move off together once the intersection is clear.
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37. 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.
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38. Why should you stay out of an intersection you cannot clear, even on a green light?
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Answer B: Because you would block cross traffic when their signal turns green
A vehicle stranded in the intersection blocks the cross street when its light turns green, which stalls the whole junction and traps emergency vehicles.
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39. Which sequence describes a well-made turn?
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Answer A: Signal, move into the correct lane, slow down, check, then turn
Tell others first, take your position, lose the speed before the corner, take a final look, and only then steer through the turn.
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40. On the Interstate system, what do the odd-numbered one and two digit routes have in common?
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Answer D: They run mainly north and south
Odd numbers are given to north and south Interstates and even numbers to east and west ones, with the numbers rising toward the north and the east.