Virginia DMV Permit Practice Test 33
- Questions40
- Correct to pass34
- Passing score85%
- Minimum age15 years 6 months
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1. What is the best way to handle the radio, the music player and the climate controls on a trip?
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Answer B: Set them before you start driving and let a passenger handle changes
Fiddling with controls takes eyes and hands off the driving task. Setting them before you move and letting a passenger make later changes removes the distraction entirely.
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2. A deer crosses the road in front of you and disappears into the trees. What should you expect?
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Answer B: That other deer are likely to follow it across the very same stretch of road
Deer usually move in groups, so one crossing the road is a warning that more may follow.
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3. You are passing a line of slow traffic in the lane beside you and you notice a gap in that line ahead. What should you expect?
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Answer A: A vehicle may pull out of that gap into your lane
A gap in a slow line is an invitation to any driver waiting to turn out of a side street or to change lanes, and they are looking at the gap rather than at you.
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4. If you must abandon a vehicle stuck on the tracks with a train coming, why do you move toward the train and away at an angle?
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Answer D: Because debris from the impact is thrown forward, away from the train
A train pushes wreckage down the track ahead of it, so walking toward the train and off to the side keeps you out of the debris path.
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5. Where do you find how much weight your vehicle may carry?
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Answer C: On the placard in the driver door opening
The certification placard in the driver door opening gives the load limit and the recommended cold tire pressures for the vehicle as built.
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6. You find yourself in a lane that must turn, you wanted to go straight, and you cannot change lanes safely. What should you do?
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Answer D: Make the required turn and find another route
Going straight from a mandatory turn lane surprises everyone around you, while a wrong turn costs only a few extra minutes.
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7. May you park across the entrance to a fire station?
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Answer D: No, an emergency exit must never be blocked
Emergency vehicles must be able to leave the moment a call comes in, so their entrances and exits are kept clear at all hours.
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8. Where is a road work ahead sign placed?
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Answer B: In advance of the work space or detour, so drivers are warned before reaching it
Advance warning signs are placed upstream of the work space or detour so that drivers have time to slow down and change lanes before reaching the activity.
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9. You are driving at night on an unlit road using low beams. How should you choose your speed?
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Answer C: So you could stop within the distance your headlights light up
Driving faster than you can stop within the lit area is called overdriving your headlights. Anything beyond the beam is invisible until it is too late to react.
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10. A white regulatory sign near a state line reads BUCKLE UP IT IS THE LAW. What is it doing?
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Answer A: Reminding occupants that belt use is required
The safety belt sign restates a law that already applies, and it is usually placed where drivers enter a state or a long rural stretch.
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11. A regulatory sign posted at the start of a road reads LENGTH LIMIT 30 FEET. What does it control?
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Answer B: The overall length of vehicle allowed on that road
Some states post a length limit where tight curves or narrow structures lie ahead; it bars vehicles or combinations longer than the figure shown from using that road.
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12. A person using a wheelchair is waiting to cross at a corner ahead. How should you treat that person?
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Answer B: As a pedestrian with the right of way at the crossing
A wheelchair or a mobility scooter user has the rights of a pedestrian, so yield the whole crossing and wait until the crossing is finished.
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13. What are the two recognized pathways for a Virginia applicant under 18 to satisfy the driver training requirement before getting a license?
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Answer A: A driver education program with classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction, or a parent or guardian certified 45 hour driving log
Virginia allows an applicant under 18 to satisfy driver training either through a formal driver education program or through a parent or guardian certified log of at least 45 hours of driving.
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14. You are turning left from a one-way street onto a two-way street. How should the turn be made?
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Answer B: Start in the far left lane and finish just to the right of the center line
Left turns begin from the lane nearest the left edge of the street you are leaving and must finish on the right-hand side of the center line of a two-way street.
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15. How does Virginia classify a standard aggressive driving conviction, when the offense was not committed with intent to injure another person?
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Answer A: A Class 2 misdemeanor
Virginia classifies a standard aggressive driving conviction as a Class 2 misdemeanor, which rises to a Class 1 misdemeanor when the offense is committed with the intent to injure another person.
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16. When are the hazard warning lights properly used?
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Answer A: When your vehicle is stopped or barely moving and is a hazard
Hazard lights warn that your vehicle is an obstruction; they do not authorize illegal parking and they hide your turn signals while driving.
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17. A driver moves into the space you were keeping ahead of you. What should you do?
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Answer D: Ease off and rebuild the gap in front of you
Losing a following gap is common in traffic; the answer is simply to drop back and recreate it rather than drive too close.
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18. A driver slows to walking pace at this sign, never stops rolling and eases into the intersection. How is that treated?
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Answer B: It is a violation, because the vehicle never came to a complete halt
What is required is a full halt with the wheels no longer turning, so slowing down, however carefully, does not satisfy it.
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19. You are on a four-lane divided highway and a vehicle in your lane is stopped waiting to turn left across the median. What is the normal way past?
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Answer D: Slow down and go by in the lane to the right when it is clear
On a multilane road the free lane beside you is the lawful place to go past a vehicle waiting to turn, and the median is not part of the roadway.
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20. You arrive at a four-way stop after two other vehicles have already stopped there. When is it your turn?
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Answer A: After both of the earlier vehicles have gone
Vehicles clear a four-way stop in the order they arrived, so the third driver to stop is the third to go.
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21. A driver behind you on a two-lane road clearly wants to pass. Why should you not wave that driver past?
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Answer B: You cannot see the whole road ahead for them and they may rely on your signal
Waving another driver out invites them to trust your judgment of a road you cannot see well enough, and the decision to pass belongs to the driver making it.
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22. A separate right-turn lane leads onto the cross street and carries a yield sign. What does it require?
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Answer D: Slowing and giving way to traffic and people, stopping if needed
A yield requires you to slow, give way to traffic in the lane you are joining and to pedestrians, and stop only if that is what safety demands.
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23. Four vehicles reach a four-way stop from all four directions at the same instant. How is the deadlock resolved?
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Answer C: Each driver yields to the vehicle on the right and they go one by one
Yielding to the right applies to every driver, so the group untangles itself as drivers take turns rather than moving together.
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24. What does a flashing yellow traffic light mean?
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Answer B: Slow down and proceed with caution
A flashing yellow lets you enter the intersection cautiously after yielding to pedestrians and to conflicting traffic that is already there.
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25. At what point accumulation does Virginia suspend an adult driver's privilege for 90 days and require a driver improvement clinic?
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Answer A: 18 demerit points within 12 months or 24 within 24 months
Virginia suspends the driving privilege for 90 days and requires a driver improvement clinic at 18 demerit points within 12 months or 24 points within 24 months.
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26. The trapezoid sign shape is associated with
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Answer C: recreational and cultural interest area signing
The trapezoid is used for recreational and cultural interest area guide signs and for national forest route markers.
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27. Your vehicle does not have antilock brakes and you must stop quickly on a slippery road. What is the correct technique?
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Answer B: Apply the brakes firmly without locking the wheels, releasing slightly if they lock
Locked wheels slide and cannot steer. Squeezing the brakes to just short of lockup, and easing off if they lock, gives the shortest stop with control.
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28. How often should you check your mirrors while driving?
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Answer C: Every few seconds, so you always know what is around you
Traffic behind and beside you changes constantly. Frequent, brief mirror checks keep a picture of your surroundings current so nothing surprises you.
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29. Traffic is entering the freeway from a ramp ahead of you and you are in the right lane. What should you do?
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Answer C: Move to another lane if it is safe, or adjust your speed to make room
Merging drivers may have little room to adjust. Helping them in by changing lanes or easing your speed prevents conflicts even though they must legally yield to you.
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30. You are at a red light where right turns on red are allowed, you cannot see clearly, and the driver behind sounds the horn. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stay stopped until you can see that the turn is safe
Turning right on red is permitted, never required, so you wait until you can see that the way is clear no matter what the driver behind does.
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31. At the scene of a crash you were part of, what are you required to do besides stopping?
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Answer B: Give your name, your address and vehicle details, and help anyone who is hurt
Every state requires drivers involved in a crash to identify themselves and to render reasonable aid to anyone injured.
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32. You have strapped luggage to the roof rack for a long trip. What should you expect?
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Answer D: A higher center of gravity, so take the curves and lane changes gently
Weight on the roof raises the center of gravity and makes the vehicle lean and respond more slowly to steering.
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33. 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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34. How does Virginia's safe driving point credit work to offset demerit points on a driving record?
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Answer C: One point is credited for each calendar year of safe driving, up to a maximum of five points, applied to offset the earliest eligible conviction
Virginia credits one safe driving point for each calendar year without a conviction, up to a maximum of five points, and applies those points to offset the earliest conviction still carrying demerit points.
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35. How does braking distance change if you double your speed?
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Answer D: It grows much more than twice as long
Braking distance increases with the square of speed, so doubling speed roughly quadruples the distance needed to stop.
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36. What is the main danger when you back out of an angle parking space?
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Answer A: Parked vehicles beside you hide the traffic coming along the aisle
You have to edge out blind past the vehicles on either side, so back very slowly and be ready to stop as soon as any part of the aisle comes into view.
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37. While you wait for the ambulance at a crash, what is the most useful help you can give?
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Answer C: Keep the person still and warm, and press down firmly on any heavy bleeding
Keeping an injured person still and warm and controlling bleeding are among the few things a bystander can safely do.
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38. You are leaving a freeway at an exit that has a deceleration lane. Where should you slow down?
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Answer C: After you have moved fully into the exit lane
Braking in a through lane surprises the traffic behind you, so you move into the exit lane at highway speed and then slow down inside it.
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39. You pass into a work zone with a reduced speed limit but you see no workers. What speed applies?
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Answer D: The posted work zone limit, whether or not workers are present
A posted work zone speed limit is a regulatory limit in force at all times, and narrow lanes and uneven surfaces remain dangerous when nobody is working.
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40. You hear a bang and one of the front tires deflates while you are on the highway. What happens to the vehicle?
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Answer D: It pulls strongly toward the side that failed
The collapsed tire drags heavily on that corner, so the vehicle veers toward it. Hold the wheel firmly, keep your line and let the speed fall before leaving the road.