Massachusetts RMV Permit Practice Test 36
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. The vehicle you have borrowed is larger and heavier than your own. How should you drive it?
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Answer B: Allow more room for stopping and for turns until you are used to it
Extra weight and length mean longer stopping distances and wider turns, so give yourself more room until you are used to it.
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2. At an intersection where turning right on red is permitted and no sign prohibits it, what must you do before turning?
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Answer A: Come to a complete stop and yield to pedestrians and cross traffic
A right turn on red is allowed only after a full stop, and the turning driver must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to traffic already using the intersection.
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3. 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?
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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.
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4. On which approach is this sign normally installed?
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Answer C: On the road that ends, far enough ahead for the driver to slow down
The warning belongs on the approach that terminates, placed early enough that the driver can lose speed and choose a direction before reaching the junction.
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5. Which facility does this sign direct a traveler toward?
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Answer B: A hospital offering emergency care
This is the standard marker for medical care, used to lead a traveler to a hospital where emergency treatment is available.
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6. Why must you never leave the engine running in a closed garage?
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Answer B: Because carbon monoxide builds up and can kill within minutes
Exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, which has no smell or color and can reach fatal levels in an enclosed space very quickly.
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7. For an alert driver, about how long is the reaction time once a hazard has been recognized?
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Answer A: About three quarters of a second
Reaction alone takes roughly three quarters of a second for an alert driver, and perception takes about as long again, so a second and a half of travel is added before the brakes bite.
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8. 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.
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9. A driver who has been drinking has two cups of strong coffee. What has changed?
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Answer D: The driver is more awake but just as impaired
Coffee can make a drinker feel alert, but nothing except time removes alcohol from the blood, so a wide awake drinker is still an impaired driver.
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10. A car is coming straight at you in your lane and there is no time for it to move back. What should you do?
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Answer A: Brake, sound the horn and steer to the right, toward the shoulder or ditch
Steering right takes you away from the other vehicle even if its driver corrects course, and the shoulder or ditch is survivable.
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11. A stop line is painted across the pavement at this sign. Where must the vehicle come to rest?
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Answer A: Behind the stop line, with no part of the vehicle across it
The vehicle must halt behind the stop line; where no line is painted the driver stops before the crosswalk, and where there is neither, before entering the intersection.
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12. How should your following distance change in heavy rain?
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Answer D: It should be increased well beyond what you use on dry pavement
Wet pavement lengthens stopping distance and rain cuts visibility at the same time, so a larger gap gives you the extra seconds needed to see a problem and stop for it.
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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. You are stopped at a red light waiting to turn right where the turn is allowed. Besides traffic from the left, what must you check?
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Answer D: Both crosswalks, and anyone approaching along your right side
A right turn on red crosses the crosswalk in front of you and enters the one on the cross street, and cyclists often approach along your right.
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15. Roughly how far does a vehicle travel at 55 mph during the few seconds a driver spends reading a text message?
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Answer D: About the length of a football field
Sending or reading a message takes the eyes off the road for about five seconds, which at 55 mph covers roughly the length of a football field with nobody watching the road.
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16. Apart from other vehicles, who else must a driver let go first at this sign?
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Answer A: Pedestrians and cyclists already in or entering the crossing
The duty to give way covers every road user who has the right of way at that point, including people walking or cycling across the driver's path.
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17. Over how long a period may a Massachusetts insurer use accidents and surcharges to set a premium?
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Answer B: Six years
Insurance companies may only use accidents and surcharges that fall within a six year period when setting a driver's premium.
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18. Your vehicle leaves the road and enters deep water. What gives you the best chance of escape?
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Answer B: Release your seat belt and get out through a window as quickly as possible
Water pressure holds the doors shut, so a window is the reliable exit and the first seconds after entry are the best time to use it.
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19. What minimum speed applies on the Massachusetts Turnpike?
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Answer D: 40 mph
The Massachusetts Turnpike carries a minimum speed of 40 mph, and drivers who slow traffic can be ordered off the road by a police officer.
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20. What is the driver expected to do after passing this sign?
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Answer A: Begin slowing so that a complete stop can be made at the intersection ahead
It is used where the control at the intersection stays hidden until late, so braking should begin here rather than at the stop line.
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21. How close to a fire may a Massachusetts driver drive by or park?
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Answer A: No closer than 800 feet
State law makes it illegal to drive by or park within 800 feet of a fire, and driving over an unprotected fire hose is barred unless a firefighter directs it.
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22. A white diamond symbol is painted in a highway lane. What does it identify?
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Answer C: A lane reserved for high-occupancy vehicles
The diamond symbol marks a preferential lane, most often one reserved for vehicles carrying a minimum number of occupants.
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23. Your car is sinking after leaving the road into deep water and two children are in the back. In what order should you act?
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Answer D: Free yourself from the belt first, then release the children, the oldest one first
You cannot help anyone while you are still belted in, and the oldest child released first needs the least help getting out.
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24. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
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Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
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25. What range of posted speed limits does the Massachusetts Driver's Manual give for limited-access highways such as interstate routes?
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Answer A: 50 to 65 mph
Limited-access highways in Massachusetts carry posted limits between 50 and 65 mph, while smaller highways are posted at 55 mph or lower.