Minnesota DVS Motorcycle Practice Test 19
- Questions40
- Correct to pass32
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. How should a group plan its rest stops on a long day?
Show answer
Answer A: Around the rider who tires first, with breaks before anyone is worn out
Fatigue destroys judgment long before a rider admits to it, so the break schedule follows the least rested rider rather than the strongest one.
-
2. Why is a rider advised to keep the wrist flat and low on the throttle grip?
Show answer
Answer A: It makes it harder to roll on too much throttle by accident
A flat wrist limits how far the grip can rotate in one motion, so a bump or a startled reaction is less likely to open the throttle suddenly.
-
3. How can you tell a tire has reached its wear limit without measuring it?
Show answer
Answer C: The wear bars across the grooves become level with the tread
Molded bars sit at the bottom of the grooves. Once the surrounding tread has worn down to them, the tire has reached the end of its safe life.
-
4. 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.
-
5. Why is passing on a curve prohibited even when the traffic seems light?
Show answer
Answer C: You cannot see far enough around it to know the lane is clear
A pass is only as safe as the distance you can see, and a curve hides the very lane the maneuver uses.
-
6. You leave a brightly lit service area onto a dark rural road. Why should you slow down for a while?
Show answer
Answer C: Your eyes need time to adjust, so at first you see less
Eyes take a few minutes to adapt from bright light to darkness, and during that time you can see much less than your headlights actually show.
-
7. What should you do as you approach your exit from a roundabout?
Show answer
Answer A: Signal right and check the crosswalk for pedestrians before leaving
A right signal tells following drivers and waiting drivers that you are leaving, and pedestrians cross at the exit leg, so the crosswalk must be checked.
-
8. You are circulating in the inner lane of a two-lane roundabout, your exit is next, and a vehicle is beside you in the outer lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Keep circulating around the island and take that same exit on your next time around
You may not cut across a vehicle in the outer lane; if you cannot exit safely, continue around the circle and try again.
-
9. What is lane splitting?
Show answer
Answer B: A motorcycle riding between two lanes of traffic moving the same way
Lane splitting means riding along the line between two lanes of traffic going in the same direction rather than staying within a lane.
-
10. The left-turn signal facing you shows a flashing yellow arrow. What does it mean?
Show answer
Answer C: You may turn left after yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians
A flashing yellow arrow permits a left turn but gives no protection, so you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to people in the crosswalk.
-
11. After completing a turn you notice your signal is still flashing. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
12. You are stopped at a stop sign where your road ends at a two-way through street and you plan to turn left. What must you yield to?
Show answer
Answer B: Traffic from both directions and any pedestrians crossing
A left turn from the stem of a T crosses the near lane and joins the far one, so you give way to traffic in both directions and to pedestrians.
-
13. What does a swerve actually consist of?
Show answer
Answer B: Two quick presses on the grips, one to go around and one to come back
A swerve is two separate countersteering inputs made back to back, so the machine leaves the original path and then returns to it.
-
14. What is the most effective way for a rider to be seen by other drivers?
Show answer
Answer C: Wear brightly colored reflective gear, or a reflective vest over dark clothing
The most common thing drivers say after a collision with a motorcycle is that they never saw it, and bright reflective gear on the helmet and torso is the largest visible surface the rider controls.
-
15. You are leaving a freeway by an exit ramp. Where should you slow down?
Show answer
Answer D: On the ramp itself, after you have left the through lane
Braking in the through lane surprises the traffic behind, so the rider signals, moves onto the ramp and does the slowing in the space provided for it.
-
16. Where should the rider be looking during a U-turn?
Show answer
Answer B: All the way around toward the point where the turn will finish
A motorcycle follows the eyes, so turning the head to the exit of the turn keeps the machine coming round instead of drifting wide.
-
17. You are in the right-hand lane of a multilane street and that lane becomes a right-turn-only lane ahead, but you want to go straight. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Change into a through lane before you reach the markings for the turn lane
A lane-use arrow is a regulatory marking, so a driver who wants to continue straight has to leave that lane before it becomes a mandatory turn lane.
-
18. You come up behind a bicyclist who is descending a steep hill in the middle of the traffic lane. What should you take into account?
Show answer
Answer D: The rider may be moving at close to the speed of the traffic
A bicycle can reach the speed of traffic on a descent, so there is little to gain from a pass and the rider needs the whole lane to steer around surface hazards.
-
19. A tow truck with flashing amber lights is loading a car on the shoulder ahead. How should you treat it?
Show answer
Answer B: Give it the same room as an emergency vehicle
Tow operators, utility crews and highway workers face the same danger from passing traffic, so move over or slow down for their flashing amber lights too.
-
20. You are circulating in a roundabout and a vehicle is waiting to enter ahead of you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Keep going, because circulating traffic does not stop for entering vehicles
Stopping in the circle to be polite surprises the drivers behind you and defeats the design; entering traffic is the side that waits.
-
21. What minimum light transmittance does Minnesota require through a tinted side or rear window?
Show answer
Answer D: 50 percent
Minnesota Statutes 169.71 prohibits material with a light transmittance of less than 50 percent, plus or minus three percent, on side and rear windows.
-
22. You are approaching a narrow bridge where the road has one lane in each direction and no shoulder. What should you do about passing?
Show answer
Answer B: Do not pass on or near the bridge
A narrow bridge gives neither vehicle anywhere to go, so passing is prohibited there in the same way as on a hill or in a tunnel.
-
23. A city transit bus at a stop ahead of you switches on its left signal. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow and let the bus pull back into traffic
A bus needs a long gap to rejoin traffic, and yielding to a signaling transit bus keeps the whole line of traffic moving safely.
-
24. How should riders in a staggered formation pass another vehicle?
Show answer
Answer D: One rider at a time
Passing one rider at a time keeps each pass short and prevents the group from occupying the other lane longer than necessary.
-
25. The neutral light is on, but you are not sure the transmission is really out of gear. How can you confirm it?
Show answer
Answer B: Release the clutch and rock the motorcycle to see whether it rolls freely
A machine that rolls without resistance while the clutch is released is genuinely in neutral, which a burnt out or faulty neutral switch cannot tell you.
-
26. How much following distance should you keep behind a motorcycle?
Show answer
Answer C: At least three to four seconds
A motorcycle can slow or stop very quickly and is easily upset by a surprise, so allow three to four seconds instead of the usual car gap.
-
27. A group in formation needs to change lanes. What is the safest way to do it?
Show answer
Answer A: The leader starts the change early enough for the whole group to complete it
Beginning the change early gives the entire formation the road and the time it needs to move over together instead of scattering across two lanes.
-
28. A yellow diamond showing arrows arranged in a circle warns of
Show answer
Answer B: a circular intersection such as a roundabout ahead
The circular intersection warning sign announces a roundabout or traffic circle so drivers can slow down and prepare to yield to traffic already circulating.
-
29. Traffic is heavy and you find yourself riding level with a car in the next lane. What is the problem with staying there?
Show answer
Answer B: You sit in the driver's blind spot, so a lane change could hit you
Motorcycles disappear easily in a blind spot, so adjust your speed to ride ahead of or behind the other vehicle instead of beside it.
-
30. What is the main risk of buying a second hand helmet?
Show answer
Answer B: You cannot know whether it has been dropped or crashed already
A helmet's protection depends on a liner that may already be crushed by an impact you cannot see, and a stranger's helmet comes with no history you can trust.
-
31. What is meant by a crowned road?
Show answer
Answer B: A road built higher along its center so that water drains toward the sides
The crown is the built-in slope from the middle of the road down toward each edge, and it exists so rain runs off instead of standing on the surface.
-
32. What should a rider look for in rain gear?
Show answer
Answer A: A riding rain suit that fits close and will not balloon or tear at speed
Rain gear designed for riding stays sealed and stays put in the airstream, while loose garments can flap, tear or interfere with the controls.
-
33. Why does a long downhill grade lengthen the distance you need to stop?
Show answer
Answer C: Because gravity keeps pulling the vehicle forward as you brake
On a downgrade gravity works with the vehicle and against the brakes, so the same speed needs noticeably more distance than it would on level ground.
-
34. How does weight transfer during braking change what each brake can do?
Show answer
Answer A: Weight moves forward, so the front tire grips harder and the rear grips less
Deceleration pitches the machine forward onto the front wheel, which is why the front brake supplies most of the stopping power and the rear locks easily.
-
35. You are about to descend a long steep grade. How should you control your speed?
Show answer
Answer D: Select a lower gear before starting down and use the brakes in firm, brief applications
Engine braking in a lower gear carries most of the load down the grade, while continuous brake pressure overheats the brakes and reduces their effectiveness.
-
36. Trees block the view along the tracks as a driver approaches this sign. What approach speed is correct?
Show answer
Answer B: Slow enough to stop before the nearest rail once a train comes into view
Where the view along the track is obstructed, the only safe speed is one that still leaves stopping distance after a train first becomes visible.
-
37. 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.
-
38. You are parking on a one-way street where parking is allowed on both sides. What must still be true?
Show answer
Answer D: The vehicle must face the direction the traffic flows
Either curb may be used on a one-way street where signs allow it, but the vehicle must always be headed in the direction traffic moves.
-
39. When may a passenger get off the motorcycle?
Show answer
Answer D: Only after the rider has stopped, braced the machine and said so
A passenger climbing off before the rider is ready removes weight from the back of a machine the rider is still holding upright, which can drop it.
-
40. You want to turn right at a steady red light and no sign prohibits the turn. What is required?
Show answer
Answer B: Come to a complete stop, then yield to traffic and pedestrians before turning
A right turn on a steady red is permitted only after a complete stop and only after yielding to cross traffic and to pedestrians, and a posted sign can prohibit it entirely.