Massachusetts RMV Permit Practice Test 15
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. A driver's blood alcohol concentration is below the legal limit, but the driver is visibly impaired. Can the driver be arrested?
Show answer
Answer C: Yes, driving while impaired by alcohol is an offense at any concentration
The per se figure, 0.08 percent in most states and 0.05 percent in Utah, is the level at which impairment is presumed. Impairment shown by driving behavior and field tests is enough on its own, because alcohol affects skills well before that number.
-
2. Why are drivers required to turn the front wheels when parking on a grade?
Show answer
Answer A: So that a vehicle that starts to roll leaves the traffic lanes instead of entering them
The wheel position is a last line of defense if the parking brake or transmission fails, directing the vehicle into the curb or off the roadway.
-
3. When is a driver or rider most likely to need hand and arm signals instead of the vehicle turn signal lamps?
Show answer
Answer D: When the lamps have failed or cannot be seen because of glare or a load
Hand and arm signals replace or reinforce the lamps whenever the lamps do not work or cannot be seen clearly by other road users.
-
4. What mobile electronic device use is allowed for a Massachusetts driver under 18?
Show answer
Answer C: No use at all except to report an emergency
Drivers under 18 may not use any mobile electronic device for any purpose while driving, and reporting an emergency is the single exception.
-
5. You have printed directions or paperwork you need to check. When should you read them?
Show answer
Answer C: Before you leave, or after you park
Reading takes eyes and mind off the road for far longer than any safe glance, and a light that changes while you read leaves you moving off blind.
-
6. What is a good habit when you open the door on the traffic side of a parked car?
Show answer
Answer C: Use the hand farther from the door, which turns you to look back
Reaching across with the far hand rotates your body and brings the mirror and the road behind into view before the door moves.
-
7. You are approaching a highway-rail grade crossing marked only with a crossbuck sign. What does that sign require?
Show answer
Answer A: Yield to any approaching train and cross only when the tracks are clear
The crossbuck is a regulatory yield sign, and a train can never stop or steer around a vehicle, so the driver must always give way.
-
8. Your vehicle is stuck in deep snow and you run the engine for heat while waiting for help. What must you check?
Show answer
Answer C: That the exhaust pipe is clear of snow
Snow packed around the tailpipe pushes exhaust back into the cabin, and carbon monoxide can kill without warning. Clear the pipe and crack a window open.
-
9. A sign shows a lane joining from the right with no merge required. What does that mean?
Show answer
Answer B: The joining traffic gets its own new lane, so nobody has to merge
An added lane means the roadway gains a lane at that point, so entering vehicles have somewhere to go without anyone changing lanes.
-
10. You are turning left from a one-way street onto another one-way street. Which lane should you use?
Show answer
Answer B: Turn from the far left lane into the far left lane of the new street
The general turning rule is to turn from the lane nearest the direction of the turn into the nearest lane of the new roadway, which on a one-way to one-way left turn means far left to far left.
-
11. A white regulatory sign near a state line reads BUCKLE UP IT IS THE LAW. What is it doing?
Show answer
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.
-
12. Which of these is never a legal place to park?
Show answer
Answer C: In a crosswalk, on a sidewalk or within an intersection
Crosswalks, sidewalks and intersections must stay clear so that pedestrians can cross and drivers can see approaching traffic.
-
13. At an intersection the signal flashes red toward you and flashes yellow toward the cross street. Who must yield?
Show answer
Answer D: You must, because the flashing red faces your road
A flashing red means stop and yield like a stop sign, while a flashing yellow lets the other road proceed with caution.
-
14. You are very angry after an argument and about to drive. What should you know?
Show answer
Answer A: Strong emotions can impair judgment and attention much like alcohol
Anger, grief and stress pull attention inward and encourage risk taking. Give yourself time to settle down before getting behind the wheel.
-
15. Beyond this sign, cones and temporary signs lead traffic along a path that does not agree with the lines painted on the pavement. Which one must the driver follow?
Show answer
Answer C: The temporary arrangement, because it replaces the permanent layout while the work lasts
Temporary traffic control set up for the work takes precedence over the permanent signs and markings, which no longer describe how the road is being used.
-
16. You are waiting inside the intersection to turn left when your light turns red. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Complete the turn as soon as the way is clear
Once you have legally entered the intersection you should clear it as soon as the oncoming traffic has stopped, rather than sit in the path of cross traffic.
-
17. What happens when tires are driven underinflated for a long time?
Show answer
Answer D: They wear at the edges, they run hot and they are more likely to fail
An underinflated tire flexes too much, which wears the shoulders and builds up heat that can destroy the tire.
-
18. At many crossings the walk indication appears only after a button is pressed. What happens if a pedestrian does not press it?
Show answer
Answer B: The signal may cycle without showing a walk indication
An actuated pedestrian phase is called in by the pushbutton, so without it the controller may serve the vehicle movements alone.
-
19. A curb lane is marked BUS ONLY 7 AM TO 9 AM. What may the driver of a car do?
Show answer
Answer A: Use the lane outside those hours
A part-time bus lane is reserved only during the posted period, and outside it the lane serves general traffic like any other.
-
20. A signal on an entrance ramp changes from red to green and lets one vehicle at a time onto the highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop on the red and go on the green, one vehicle for each green
A ramp meter spaces vehicles out so they join the highway one at a time instead of arriving as a group, and it is a traffic signal like any other.
-
21. A yellow diamond showing two vertical arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down, warns that
Show answer
Answer A: the road ahead carries traffic in both directions
The two-way traffic sign warns that the roadway ahead is not divided and that vehicles will be coming from the opposite direction.
-
22. The divided highway ends warning sign means that
Show answer
Answer D: the median separating the directions ends and the road returns to two-way operation
Beyond this sign opposing traffic is no longer separated by a median, so the driver must keep right and expect vehicles approaching in the adjacent lane.
-
23. A yellow sign ahead of an underpass reads LOW CLEARANCE 12 FT 6 IN. What does the figure tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: The greatest height that can pass beneath the structure
The figure is the actual clearance available, so a vehicle taller than that must leave the road and take a marked alternative route.
-
24. A regulatory message is normally carried on a sign whose shape is
Show answer
Answer A: a rectangle standing taller than it is wide
Regulatory signs that state a law, such as speed limits and turn restrictions, use a vertical rectangle with a black legend on a white background.
-
25. What is the most common cause of rear-end collisions?
Show answer
Answer C: Following too closely to stop in time
A driver who leaves too little space has no room to perceive, react and brake when the vehicle ahead slows, which is why space management prevents rear-end crashes.