Minnesota DVS Permit Practice Test 13

  • Questions40
  • Correct to pass32
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age15 years

40 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 32 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. Why is this restriction used so often on a divided road just before a crest or a bend?

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    Answer A: Because a vehicle turning across the median there stays hidden from approaching drivers until it is too late

    The maneuver needs a long gap and good visibility, and where sight distance is short an approaching driver has no time to react to a vehicle turning across the road.

  2. 2. 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.

  3. 3. How does marijuana affect a driver?

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    Answer C: It slows reaction time and impairs judgment of time and distance

    Marijuana impairs coordination, attention and the ability to judge speed and distance. Driving while impaired by it is illegal everywhere, even where its use is legal.

  4. 4. You are involved in a collision, even a minor one. What is your first legal duty?

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    Answer A: Stop at or near the scene without blocking traffic more than necessary

    Every driver involved in a crash must stop at the scene, and leaving before meeting that duty is a serious offense. Move the vehicles only as far as needed to clear the traffic lanes.

  5. 5. Besides the hours from sunset to sunrise, when does Minnesota require headlights?

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    Answer C: When people and vehicles cannot be clearly seen at 500 feet

    Minnesota Statutes 169.48 requires lighted lamps whenever weather or other conditions leave persons and vehicles not clearly discernible at 500 feet.

  6. 6. How should a turn at an intersection be taken on a wet road?

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    Answer C: Slow earlier than usual and steer smoothly through the corner

    Wet pavement leaves less grip, so the speed must come off before the turn and the steering must be gentle enough not to break traction.

  7. 7. The tire pressure monitoring symbol lights up on your dashboard. What is the system telling you?

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    Answer A: At least one tire is significantly underinflated

    The system warns when a tire falls well below the recommended pressure. Check all four with a gauge and inflate to the placard figure while they are cold.

  8. 8. An officer directing traffic faces you and holds one hand up with the open palm toward your vehicle. What does the gesture mean?

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    Answer D: Stop before reaching the officer

    A raised open palm shown toward a driver is the standard signal to stop.

  9. 9. You are on a two-lane road where a broken yellow line runs on your side of the center. What does that pattern allow?

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    Answer C: Passing when the way ahead is clear and it is otherwise legal

    A broken yellow center line marks a stretch where passing is permitted for traffic on that side when it can be completed safely.

  10. 10. A driver holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?

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    Answer B: The vehicle runs wide toward the outside and can cross into another lane or leave the pavement

    Holding speed into a change of alignment asks the tires for more side grip than they can supply, so the vehicle runs wide and the driver is left with less room to correct.

  11. 11. An orange sign showing the symbol of a person holding a flag or a sign paddle means that

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    Answer D: a person is controlling traffic ahead and the driver must obey that person

    The flagger sign warns that a trained flagger is directing traffic further on, and the flagger's instructions govern movement through the work zone.

  12. 12. 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.

  13. 13. Heavy trucks have worn deep ruts into a highway lane and rain has filled them. What is the danger?

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    Answer D: Water collects in them, so the tires can lose contact with the road

    Ruts hold standing water long after the rest of the lane has drained, which makes them the most likely place to start hydroplaning.

  14. 14. You are approaching a yield sign and no other vehicle is anywhere in sight. What does the sign require?

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    Answer A: Slow down and be ready to stop, but stop only if needed

    A yield sign requires you to slow and give way, and to stop only when traffic or pedestrians make stopping necessary.

  15. 15. A bicyclist ahead of you extends the left arm out with the forearm bent upward. What does that signal mean?

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    Answer A: The bicyclist intends to turn right

    Bicyclists use the same hand signals as drivers: left arm straight out means left, left arm bent up means right, and left arm bent down means stop or slow.

  16. 16. A school crossing guard steps into the roadway and holds up a stop paddle. What must you do?

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    Answer D: Stop and stay stopped until the guard and the children have left the road

    A crossing guard directs traffic with legal authority; you must remain stopped until both the guard and the children are clear of the roadway.

  17. 17. Why should you not leave the engine running when you walk away from your vehicle?

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    Answer C: Because the vehicle can be stolen or can move on its own

    An unattended running vehicle is an easy theft and, if the transmission slips or is knocked out of park, it can roll away with nobody at the wheel.

  18. 18. A driver's destination lies along the street to the right, and this sign stands at that corner. How should the driver reach it?

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    Answer D: By going on and using a later intersection where turning is allowed

    When a movement is barred at one corner the driver has to reroute, normally by continuing and coming back to the destination from a permitted approach.

  19. 19. When does a standard Minnesota driver's license expire?

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    Answer D: On the holder's birthday in the fourth year after it was issued

    Minnesota Statutes 171.27 sets the expiration date as the driver's birthday in the fourth year following issuance.

  20. 20. 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.

  21. 21. A yellow diamond reading DIP warns a driver about

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    Answer A: a short, sharp depression in the road surface

    A dip is an abrupt low point that can jolt a vehicle or scrape its underside, so speed should be reduced before reaching it.

  22. 22. What actually lowers the amount of alcohol in a person's blood?

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    Answer D: The passage of time

    The body eliminates alcohol at its own steady rate, so only time reduces blood alcohol. Coffee or a cold shower may make a person feel more awake while still impaired.

  23. 23. An ambulance with lights and siren is coming toward you on an undivided two-lane road. What must you do?

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    Answer A: Pull to the right edge and stop until it passes

    On an undivided road, drivers in both directions clear the way, pulling to the right edge and stopping.

  24. 24. 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.

  25. 25. Is it acceptable to drive far below the flow of traffic on an open highway?

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    Answer B: No, driving too slowly can obstruct traffic and create a hazard

    Traffic that is much slower than the surrounding flow forces other drivers into sudden braking and unnecessary passing maneuvers, and impeding traffic is itself a violation.

  26. 26. What is the safest way to leave a perpendicular parking space in a busy lot?

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    Answer B: Back out slowly, checking both ways and yielding

    Backing out gives you the poorest view of any maneuver, so it must be done slowly, with checks in both directions and with yielding to whoever is already there.

  27. 27. What is the minimum fine in Minnesota for failing to stop for a school bus displaying flashing red lights?

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    Answer D: 500 dollars

    Minnesota Statutes 169.444 makes the violation a misdemeanor carrying a fine of not less than 500 dollars.

  28. 28. What does Minnesota's hands-free law say about playing a game on a phone while driving?

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    Answer D: It is prohibited, along with accessing other applications

    Minnesota Statutes 169.475 bars a driver from accessing video content, audio content, images, games or applications on a wireless device.

  29. 29. Why is a U-turn on a one-way street a problem?

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    Answer A: You would end up facing the wrong way against all the traffic

    Every lane of a one-way street runs the same way, so turning around leaves you driving head-on against all of the traffic.

  30. 30. Why is this restriction so common beside fire hydrants, crosswalks and intersection corners?

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    Answer C: To keep sight lines open and leave access for emergency crews

    A vehicle left in those places hides pedestrians from approaching drivers, blocks the path of turning vehicles and can keep firefighters from reaching a hydrant.

  31. 31. You must cross a stretch of water lying across the road that you know is shallow. What is the right technique?

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    Answer A: Slow down before you reach it and cross steadily in a low gear

    Slow before the water, then keep a steady low speed so you do not throw water over the engine or lose steering. Test the brakes gently once you are through.

  32. 32. This sign leads to a crossing that has no gates and no flashing lights. What does that mean for the driver?

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    Answer D: Nothing will warn of an approaching train, so the driver must check the tracks personally

    At a passive crossing there is no active device to announce a train, so the whole judgment rests on the driver, who must approach slowly enough to stop after looking along the track.

  33. 33. Small green signs with white numerals posted at regular intervals along a highway are used to

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    Answer B: show distance along the route and give a reference point for reporting a location

    Reference location signs, commonly called mileposts, carry white numerals on green and let a driver describe exactly where a breakdown or crash has occurred.

  34. 34. Your lane is ending ahead in slow, heavy traffic and drivers in the next lane are already bumper to bumper. What is the recommended way to merge?

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    Answer C: Take turns, one vehicle from each lane at the merge point

    Alternating one for one at the merge point keeps both lanes moving and is the safest way to combine slow traffic.

  35. 35. At night you are waiting to turn left and can see only the headlights of an approaching vehicle. Why should you allow a bigger margin?

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    Answer D: Because lights alone make speed and distance hard to judge

    With no other visual cues, two points of light give you very little information about how fast the vehicle is closing, so leave extra margin.

  36. 36. 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.

  37. 37. 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.

  38. 38. A tractor-trailer is backing slowly across the roadway to enter a loading dock. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Stop and wait until the truck has finished the maneuver

    A backing truck driver has a very limited view and the trailer can swing unexpectedly. Trying to squeeze past in either direction risks being crushed.

  39. 39. A pedestrian is crossing in a marked Minnesota crosswalk. What must an approaching driver do?

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    Answer A: Stop and stay stopped until the pedestrian has cleared the lane

    Minnesota Statutes 169.21 requires the driver to stop to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk and to remain stopped until the pedestrian has cleared the lane.

  40. 40. You come back to find that your parked car has rolled out into the street. What most likely went wrong?

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    Answer C: The parking brake was not set and the wheels were not turned

    The parking brake, a gear or park, and turned front wheels are three separate safeguards, and a runaway means at least the first two were missing.