Virginia DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 56
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years 6 months
-
1. Which shape is used for the school advance warning sign and the school crossing sign?
Show answer
Answer B: An upward-pointing pentagon
The five-sided pentagon with its point up identifies school signing, so the outline alone tells a driver that children may be present.
-
2. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you proceed?
Show answer
Answer C: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop
When a signal shows no indication at all, drivers on every approach must stop and then take turns, exactly as at an all-way stop.
-
3. You have just merged onto a freeway from an entrance ramp. What should you do next?
Show answer
Answer C: Settle into the right lane and build up speed before changing lanes
Crossing lanes while you are still below the speed of the traffic forces other drivers to brake, so the speed comes first and the lane change second.
-
4. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
Show answer
Answer A: Moving your eyes constantly over the road, the sides and the mirrors
Scanning keeps information coming in from every direction, while a fixed stare leaves you blind to everything else.
-
5. When must a passenger keep both feet on the footrests?
Show answer
Answer C: At all times, including while the motorcycle is stopped
Feet stay on the footrests even at a stop, because a foot put down or swung out can unbalance the motorcycle or be caught by the road.
-
6. You notice that the driver ahead of you is holding a phone to the ear. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Assume slower reactions and leave extra space, or else hold back
A driver on the phone reacts late and misses things, so the safe response is distance rather than a lesson.
-
7. Why should you stay out of an intersection you cannot clear, even on a green light?
Show answer
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.
-
8. How does Virginia classify the offense of driving while one's license, permit or privilege to drive is suspended or revoked?
Show answer
Answer B: A Class 1 misdemeanor
Virginia classifies driving while one's license, permit or privilege to drive is suspended or revoked as a Class 1 misdemeanor, and a conviction adds an additional period of suspension.
-
9. The gates at a railroad crossing begin to come down as you approach. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop and wait until the gates are fully raised and the lights stop flashing
Once the gates start down you must stop clear of the tracks and wait until they are fully raised and the warning lights have stopped.
-
10. You have stopped at a stop line but parked cars hide the cross street. What comes next?
Show answer
Answer C: Edge forward to where you can see, stopping again if needed
The legal stop at the line is only the first stop; you then move up slowly to a point where you can see, and stop again if traffic requires it.
-
11. You are backing out of a space in a parking lot. Who has the right of way?
Show answer
Answer D: Traffic already moving in the lane, and pedestrians walking behind you
A driver backing out must yield to vehicles and pedestrians already using the lane, because backing is the movement with the poorest view.
-
12. A pedestrian with a white cane draws the cane back and steps away from the curb as you approach. What does that usually mean?
Show answer
Answer B: They are signaling you to go ahead and drive on
Pulling the cane in and stepping back from the curb is the customary way a blind pedestrian tells drivers to proceed.
-
13. How is the yield sign shaped and colored?
Show answer
Answer C: A downward-pointing triangle with a wide red border and a red legend on white
The yield sign is a downward-pointing equilateral triangle with a wide red border and the legend in red on a white background, an outline used for no other message.
-
14. You are turning right on a red light where that is permitted. What does the law require first?
Show answer
Answer B: A full stop, then yielding to traffic and pedestrians
A right turn on red is allowed only after stopping completely and giving way to everyone who has the green, including people in the crosswalk.
-
15. In a work zone a flagger is directing traffic in a way that conflicts with the posted signs. Whom do you follow?
Show answer
Answer B: The flagger's directions
A flagger controls traffic through a work area that changes from day to day, and those instructions take precedence over the fixed signs and markings in that zone.
-
16. How much space should the leader of a group keep behind the vehicle ahead of the group?
Show answer
Answer D: At least the normal following distance a rider would keep when riding alone
Riding in a group does not shorten the space a motorcycle needs to stop, so the leader keeps the same cushion any rider would keep alone.
-
17. What should be adjusted on the motorcycle before carrying a passenger?
Show answer
Answer C: The suspension and the tire pressure, following the owner's manual
The extra weight compresses the suspension and loads the tires, so both should be set to the values the manufacturer specifies for riding with a passenger.
-
18. What should a passenger be told about moving around on the motorcycle?
Show answer
Answer A: To stay directly behind the operator and avoid sudden or unnecessary movement
Unexpected movement by a passenger upsets the balance of the machine, most of all at low speed and while the motorcycle is leaned over in a turn.
-
19. The road is icy and visibility is poor, but you are driving at the posted speed limit. Is this acceptable?
Show answer
Answer A: No, because you may never drive faster than is safe for the conditions
Under the basic speed rule a driver must travel at a speed that is reasonable for the actual conditions, so a legal posted speed can still be an unlawful and unsafe speed.
-
20. 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?
Show answer
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.
-
21. What makes up the total distance needed to bring a vehicle to a stop?
Show answer
Answer A: The distance covered while you perceive the hazard, the distance covered while you react, and the braking distance
Total stopping distance combines the ground covered while you notice the hazard, the ground covered while you move your foot to the brake, and the ground covered while the brakes slow the vehicle.
-
22. A large panel mounted on a trailer at the roadside displays a flashing arrow pointing left. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: Move into the lane to your left
An arrow panel directs traffic out of a closed lane, so the arrow shows the direction you must move rather than the shape of the road ahead.
-
23. Where should a rider keep the knees while riding?
Show answer
Answer B: Against the fuel tank
Knees held against the tank anchor the rider to the motorcycle and improve balance, which matters most in turns.
-
24. Heavy rain has left water standing on the highway. What is the main risk to a rider?
Show answer
Answer D: The tires can ride up on the water and lose contact with the road surface
At higher speeds a tire can no longer push standing water aside and starts to hydroplane, so the rider slows and eases off rather than braking or turning hard.
-
25. Why is backing up on a freeway or on its shoulder prohibited?
Show answer
Answer A: Traffic arrives far too fast to expect a vehicle moving the wrong way
Freeway traffic closes on a stopped or reversing vehicle at highway speed and has almost no time to react to something moving against the flow.