Minnesota DVS Motorcycle Practice Test 21
- Questions40
- Correct to pass32
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. A motorcycle ahead of you is weaving slightly as it crosses a stretch of grooved pavement. What should you do?
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Answer D: Give the rider extra room until the surface improves
Grooves, metal plates and loose material affect a motorcycle far more than a car, so back off and let the rider deal with the surface.
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2. A hands free phone conversation is which kind of distraction?
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Answer C: Cognitive, because your mind leaves the road
Hands free equipment removes the manual and visual parts of a call but not the mental load, and it is the mental load that makes a driver miss hazards.
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3. A yellow diamond showing the silhouette of a deer warns that
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Answer D: large animals may cross the road in that area
The sign marks a stretch where animals are known to cross, so drivers should reduce speed and scan both roadsides, especially around dawn and dusk.
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4. You are backing out of a space in a parking lot. Who has the right of way?
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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.
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5. Why is wearing headphones over both ears a problem while driving?
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Answer D: You may not hear horns, sirens or other warning sounds
Hearing is part of your awareness of traffic. Covering both ears blocks emergency sirens, horns and the sound of an approaching vehicle you cannot yet see.
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6. Your group is turning left across oncoming traffic. What should you do?
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Answer D: Wait until you personally have a large enough gap to turn
Each rider needs a gap of their own, and turning on the strength of the rider ahead means turning into traffic you have not actually judged.
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7. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?
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Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one
At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.
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8. What should you expect while driving through a parking lot?
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Answer D: Pedestrians and vehicles moving from any direction, so drive slowly
Parking lots mix walking people, reversing vehicles and poor sight lines, so low speed and constant scanning are the only reliable protection.
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9. A large truck ahead of you in a roundabout is using part of both lanes as it goes around. What is the correct response?
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Answer B: Stay back and give it room until it leaves the roundabout
Long vehicles need extra width to get around the central island, so drivers behind must hold back rather than share the space beside them.
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10. What limits how much weight a motorcycle can carry?
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Answer A: The load limit given by the manufacturer for that machine
The manufacturer's figure covers the rider, the passenger and everything carried, and going over it overloads the tires, the brakes and the suspension.
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11. The street you are turning right onto has a bike lane along its right edge. Where should your vehicle end up?
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Answer B: In the first traffic lane to the left of the bike lane
A bike lane is not a travel lane for motor vehicles, so the nearest lane you may finish a right turn in is the first general traffic lane beside it.
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12. A bee gets inside your jacket while you are riding. What is the recommended action?
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Answer B: Pull off the road and stop before you try to deal with the insect
Being stung hurts, but losing control while swatting hurts much more, so ride to a safe place, stop and then deal with the insect.
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13. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?
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Answer C: A patch of pavement that simply looks wet or slightly glossy
Black ice is clear, so you see the dark road through it and read it as a wet patch. In freezing weather, treat any wet looking patch as ice.
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14. A yellow diamond shows a horse with a rider. Besides slowing down, what else should a driver do?
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Answer C: Avoid using the horn or revving the engine
The equestrian crossing sign warns of horses on or across the road, and a sudden noise can startle an animal into the traffic lane.
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15. You are making a legal U-turn at an intersection. Who has the right of way?
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Answer C: Everyone else, until your turn is complete
A U-turn crosses several paths at once, so you yield to oncoming vehicles, to crossing traffic and to pedestrians before starting it.
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16. You have stopped on the shoulder of a highway and want to rejoin the traffic. What is the correct way?
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Answer D: Signal, build up speed along the shoulder, then merge into a gap
Entering a fast lane at a slow speed is what causes the conflict, so the shoulder is used to gain speed before the merge in the same way as an acceleration lane.
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17. In near freezing weather, which part of an otherwise clear road is most likely to still be icy?
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Answer D: A shaded dip under trees or beside a rock cut
Sun clears most of the road, but shaded hollows never warm up and can hold ice long after the rest of the pavement is dry.
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18. Why do streetcar or light rail rails set into a street deserve extra care from a rider?
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Answer B: The groove alongside the rail can catch a front tire crossed at a shallow angle
The groove beside an embedded rail is just wide enough to trap a motorcycle tire, so cross rails at as steep an angle as your lane allows.
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19. Why do drivers so often misjudge how fast an approaching motorcycle is traveling?
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Answer C: A narrow vehicle seems to grow slowly, so it appears further away
A small frontal area changes size slowly as it approaches, so drivers read a motorcycle as further away and slower than it really is. Never assume a waiting driver has judged your speed correctly.
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20. How should you use your mirrors while another vehicle overtakes you on a multilane road?
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Answer C: Follow it from the inside mirror to the side mirror and then to your own view
Handing the vehicle from one mirror to the next keeps it in sight through the blind spot instead of losing it there.
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21. How do stimulant drugs such as amphetamines or cocaine typically affect driving?
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Answer D: They can make the driver overconfident and more willing to take risks
Stimulants create a false sense of alertness and encourage aggressive, risky driving. When they wear off, sudden fatigue can follow.
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22. You are about to leave a roundabout when a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk on your exit. What should you do?
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Answer B: Yield to the pedestrian and wait for the crosswalk to clear
Roundabout crosswalks sit on the entries and exits, and drivers must yield to pedestrians using them.
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23. A driver is thinking about overtaking a slower vehicle and sees this sign a short distance ahead. What does it mean for that pass?
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Answer B: The pass must be finished before the restricted section begins
The sign marks the start of a section where passing is prohibited, so a driver may not be on the left side of the road beyond it; any pass has to be completed before that point or not started at all.
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24. You are driving through patchy fog on a highway. What should you be ready for?
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Answer B: Sudden dense banks where visibility drops within a few car lengths
Patchy fog can go from clear to nearly blind in a moment, so keep your speed low enough that a sudden bank does not leave you without room.
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25. You are stopped at an intersection where bushes block your view of cross traffic. What should you do?
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Answer A: Edge forward slowly until you can see, then proceed when clear
Creeping forward a little at a time lets you gain a view without committing to the crossing. Never enter an intersection you cannot see into.
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26. The oil pressure warning light comes on while you are riding. What should you do?
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Answer D: Stop as soon as it is safe and shut the engine off
That light warns that the engine may not be receiving oil, and every extra minute of running risks destroying it.
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27. You are turning left across tracks that run along the center of the street. What should you do before crossing them?
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Answer B: Look along the tracks in both directions and cross only when clear
Rail vehicles running in the street can arrive from either direction and cannot stop quickly, so look along the tracks before you turn across them.
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28. What is the recommended minimum following distance behind the vehicle ahead?
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Answer C: Two seconds
A two second gap is the minimum in good conditions and should be stretched to three seconds or more on slippery roads, in poor visibility or in heavy traffic.
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29. When may a Minnesota driver meeting a school bus with flashing red lights carry on without stopping?
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Answer B: When a physical barrier or a median separates the two roadways
Minnesota Statutes 169.444 excuses the stop only where the road is separated from the parallel road by a physical barrier, a raised median or a depressed median.
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30. Warning signs such as stop ahead, yield ahead and signal ahead are installed mainly where
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Answer B: the traffic control device cannot be seen from far enough away
These advance warning signs are used when a crest, curve or obstruction keeps the stop sign, yield sign or signal from coming into view in time for a driver to react.
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31. What activates the Minnesota Move Over duty for an authorized vehicle stopped at the roadside?
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Answer B: Its emergency, flashing or warning lights being on
Minnesota Statutes 169.18 conditions the duty on the authorized vehicle having its emergency, flashing or warning lights activated.
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32. Two left-turn lanes are marked at the intersection and you are in the left one. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stay in your own lane all the way around the turn
With dual turn lanes each driver must hold a lane through the whole turn and come out in the matching lane of the new street.
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33. You are stopped at a T-intersection and a driver on the through road is signaling a right turn into your road. What is the safe assumption?
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Answer B: The driver may not actually turn, so wait until the vehicle slows and starts turning
A blinking signal may have been left on by mistake or may be for the next street, so wait until the vehicle actually slows and turns.
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34. When should most of your braking for a turn be finished?
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Answer B: Before you begin to turn the wheel
Slow to the right speed before the turn begins; braking hard while turning uses up the grip the tires need for steering.
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35. What is the Minnesota speed limit on an interstate highway outside the limits of any urbanized area?
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Answer B: 70 mph
Minnesota Statutes 169.14 sets 70 miles per hour on interstate highways outside urbanized areas and a lower figure inside them.
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36. What change in the road does this sign announce?
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Answer B: The two directions of travel are about to be separated, and the driver must keep to the right of the separation
Ahead the roadway splits into separate one-way roadways on either side of a median, so the driver stays to the right of the divider and no longer meets oncoming vehicles.
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37. Rain is falling and the outside temperature reads close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is that dangerous?
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Answer A: The rain can freeze on contact and glaze the road with ice
Near freezing, rain landing on cold pavement can turn to a glaze of ice almost at once, so a road that looks merely wet may have no grip at all.
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38. You face a red light at an intersection that has no stop line and no marked crosswalk. Where must you stop?
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Answer C: Before entering the intersection
With no line and no crosswalk, the stopping point is the near edge of the intersecting roadway, close enough to see cross traffic but clear of it.
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39. A bicyclist is riding around a single-lane roundabout in the middle of the lane as you wait to enter. What is your duty?
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Answer C: Yield to the bicyclist just as you would to a car
A bicyclist using the roundabout is traffic like any other vehicle and has the same claim to the circulating lane.
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40. You must stop for a train at a highway-rail crossing. Where should you stop?
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Answer B: Behind the stop line, gate or signal and well clear of the nearest rail
Stop behind the stop line, gate or flashing-light signal and well clear of the nearest rail, because a train overhangs its track by several feet on each side.