Virginia DMV Permit Practice Test 3
Test 3 of 10. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 34 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Virginia test.
- Questions40
- Correct to pass34
- Passing score85%
- Minimum age15 years 6 months
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1. How does Virginia classify the offense of failing to stop for a school bus that is loading or unloading with red lights flashing, when a stop is legally required?
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Answer A: It is classified as reckless driving
Virginia law provides that a driver who fails to stop for a school bus as required is guilty of reckless driving.
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2. A sign at the approach to a bridge reads WEIGHT LIMIT 10 TONS. What does the figure set?
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Answer B: The heaviest vehicle the bridge may legally carry
A weight limit sign is a regulation based on what the structure can bear, and it applies to the loaded weight of the whole vehicle.
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3. A vehicle in front of you has already begun turning left into a driveway when the gap you were waiting for opens up. What should you do?
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Answer B: Wait and let that driver finish the turn
A vehicle that has lawfully started a maneuver keeps the right of way until it is finished.
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4. On a Virginia highway where passenger vehicles have a default maximum speed of 55 miles per hour, what is the corresponding default maximum for a truck, tractor truck, or combination of vehicles hauling property?
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Answer A: 45 miles per hour
Virginia sets a lower default maximum of 45 miles per hour for trucks, tractor trucks and combinations hauling property on highways where passenger vehicles default to 55 miles per hour.
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5. Does Virginia give a grace period after a vehicle's safety inspection sticker expires before a driver can be ticketed for it?
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Answer B: No, there is no grace period once the sticker expires
Virginia allows no grace period after a vehicle's safety inspection sticker expires at the end of its listed month.
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6. A mixed drink is made with two shots of spirits. How much alcohol is that?
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Answer C: About two standard drinks
A standard drink is a fixed amount of pure alcohol, so a glass poured with two measures counts as two drinks however it is served.
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7. What happens after a second or subsequent violation of Virginia's provisional license curfew or passenger restrictions?
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Answer C: The court may suspend the juvenile's driving privilege for up to six months
A first violation of Virginia's provisional license curfew or passenger restrictions is a traffic infraction, and for a second or subsequent violation the court may suspend the juvenile's driving privilege for up to six months.
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8. What top speed range does Virginia law use to define a four-wheeled vehicle as a low-speed vehicle?
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Answer B: Greater than 20 but not greater than 25 miles per hour
Virginia defines a low-speed vehicle as a four-wheeled vehicle whose maximum speed is greater than 20 miles per hour but not greater than 25 miles per hour.
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9. A yellow diamond showing a bicycle is posted on a rural road. What should a driver expect?
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Answer A: Bicyclists crossing or riding along the roadway there
The bicycle warning sign is used where a bikeway crosses the road or where riders are likely to be in the traffic lanes, so drivers should look carefully and pass wide.
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10. You see a shield for a three-digit Interstate whose first digit is even. What does that tell you about the route?
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Answer C: It loops around a city and rejoins its parent route
A three-digit Interstate beginning with an even digit is a loop or beltway that connects back to the main route at both ends, while an odd first digit marks a spur.
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11. Why does the situation ahead of this sign deserve extra care from a motorcyclist?
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Answer C: Because a narrow machine is easy to overlook in a mirror or a blind spot
A motorcycle fills very little of a mirror and disappears easily into a blind spot, so the rider should adjust speed and lane position to stay visible where the streams come together.
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12. At what blood alcohol concentration is an adult driver considered to be driving under the influence in Virginia?
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Answer C: 0.08 percent or more
Virginia law makes it unlawful to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more, the threshold that defines per se intoxication for an adult driver.
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13. Beyond the point this sign refers to, which movement becomes unlawful?
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Answer D: Driving on the far side of the separation, against the flow
Once the two directions are separated, each roadway carries one-way traffic, so crossing to the other side means driving into oncoming vehicles.
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14. How many passengers under age 21 may a Virginia driver under 18 normally carry during the first year of licensed driving?
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Answer B: Only one, unless a licensed parent or guardian occupies the front seat
A Virginia driver under 18 may carry only one passenger under age 21 unless a licensed parent or guardian occupies the front passenger seat, and the limit rises to three in specific situations after one year.
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15. When may you stop on the shoulder of a freeway?
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Answer A: Only in an emergency, moving completely off the travel lanes and switching on your hazard lights
The freeway shoulder is reserved for emergencies and for disabled vehicles, and a vehicle stopped there must be clear of the travel lanes with hazard lights on.
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16. Can a Virginia law enforcement officer stop a vehicle solely because an occupant appears not to be wearing a seat belt under the general seat belt law?
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Answer C: No, the law specifically bars a stop for that reason alone
Virginia's general seat belt law is secondary enforcement only, and the statute specifically states that no officer shall stop a vehicle solely for a violation of that section.
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17. Where is this sign normally installed?
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Answer A: At an island or other obstruction in the roadway, to show which side traffic must take
It is placed at a divider, island or fixed obstruction so that drivers approaching it know without hesitating which side to pass on.
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18. 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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19. Which of these is true of the roadway a driver is being sent onto here?
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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.
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20. What is the maximum fine for exceeding a maximum speed limit specifically posted for a Virginia highway work zone when workers are present?
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Answer C: A maximum fine of 500 dollars
Exceeding a maximum speed limit specifically posted for a Virginia highway work zone, when workers are present and the zone is properly signed, is punishable by a fine of not more than 500 dollars.
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21. Snow has covered the pavement markings on a two-lane road. How should a driver judge lane position?
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Answer B: By the tracks of other traffic and the roadside features
With the markings hidden, ruts left by earlier traffic, signs, poles and the line of the shoulder are the best clues to where the lane runs.
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22. Why is a sign reading BRIDGE ICES BEFORE ROAD worth heeding even when the road itself is merely wet?
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Answer C: Cold air passes under a bridge as well as over it
A bridge deck loses heat from below as well as above, so it can be frozen while the road on either side of it is only wet.
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23. About how much alcohol can the body eliminate per hour?
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Answer A: About one standard drink
The liver removes alcohol at a nearly fixed rate of roughly one standard drink per hour. Drinking faster than that raises the blood alcohol level, and nothing speeds the process.
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24. 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.
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25. While you are still on an entrance ramp, where should your attention be?
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Answer D: Along the ramp ahead and back at the highway traffic in the mirrors and over your shoulder
A merge needs both halves of the picture at once: the ramp curving ahead of you and the traffic you are about to join behind and to your left.
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26. For a Virginia policy effective on or after January 1, 2025, what is the minimum liability coverage required?
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Answer C: 50,000 dollars per person, 100,000 dollars per crash and 25,000 dollars property damage
Virginia policies effective on or after January 1, 2025 must provide at least 50,000 dollars for injury or death of one person, 100,000 dollars for two or more people and 25,000 dollars for property damage.
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27. On a multi-lane street, a yield line is painted well back from an unsignalized crosswalk rather than right at it. Why?
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Answer D: So drivers in the other lanes can see the pedestrian
Setting the yield line back keeps a stopped vehicle from hiding a crossing pedestrian from drivers in the next lane, which is a common cause of these crashes.
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28. You reach a T intersection where the cross street has a ONE WAY sign pointing to the right. What may you do?
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Answer B: Turn right only, because the street carries traffic in that direction
The arrow shows the only direction traffic may travel, so the only legal movement from the terminating road is a right turn.
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29. Traffic is backed up on the far side of a railroad crossing. What should you do before driving onto the tracks?
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Answer D: Wait behind the tracks until there is room to clear them completely
Never enter a crossing until you are certain you can drive completely across without stopping, because a vehicle trapped on the tracks cannot get out of a train's way.
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30. Which ability does alcohol usually affect first?
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Answer A: Judgment and self control
Alcohol reduces judgment and inhibition before a drinker notices any clumsiness, which is why an impaired driver often feels perfectly capable while already driving worse.
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31. Up to what age must a child transported in a Virginia vehicle be secured in a child restraint device that meets federal safety standards?
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Answer D: Up to age eight
Virginia requires a driver to properly secure any child up to age eight in a child restraint device meeting federal safety standards.
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32. Something rolls off the seat onto the floor while you are driving. What should you do?
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Answer C: Leave it where it is and pick it up after you stop somewhere safe
Reaching for an object pulls your eyes and your body away from the controls at exactly the wrong moment, and nothing on the floor is worth that risk.
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33. You have started to pass and you see the no-passing zone beginning ahead. What should you do?
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Answer D: Ease off, drop back and return to your own lane
A pass must be completed before the no-passing zone starts. If it will not fit, abandon it and slot back in behind.
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34. 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.
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35. An arrow panel in a work zone shows four flashing lamps in caution mode instead of an arrow. What does that display mean?
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Answer A: Warning only, so pass the work area with caution in your current lane
Caution mode gives a general warning without directing a lane change, so drivers stay alert and pass the activity with care.
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36. 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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37. 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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38. Why does a dirty windshield matter much more at night than during the day?
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Answer C: Dust and streaks scatter oncoming light and increase glare
Film and streaks on the glass spread every oncoming headlight into a star of glare, so clean the inside as well as the outside before a night trip.
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39. You carry reflective warning triangles in your car. How should they be used after a breakdown?
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Answer B: Set out behind the vehicle, far enough back to warn traffic before it arrives
A warning device works only if drivers see it in time to react, so it is placed well back along the road they are traveling.
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40. Before a Virginia vehicle owner can purchase license plates or decals, what must the owner certify to the DMV?
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Answer A: That the vehicle is covered by the minimum required insurance
Virginia requires a vehicle owner to certify that the vehicle is covered by the state's minimum liability insurance requirements before license plates or decals may be purchased.