Massachusetts RMV Permit Practice Test 48
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. Is it acceptable to drive with your vehicle straddling the line between two lanes?
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Answer D: No, you must drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane
A vehicle astride the line takes up two lanes and leaves the drivers around it unable to predict where it will go.
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2. Which family of signs normally uses a rectangle that is wider than it is tall?
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Answer B: Guide signs, which name routes and destinations
Guide signs are laid out as horizontal rectangles because they have to carry route numbers, place names and distances side by side.
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3. You have turned right into the nearest lane but you need the left lane soon. When should you move over?
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Answer A: After the turn is finished, once you have checked mirrors and blind spot
Complete the turn in the proper lane first, then make a normal lane change with mirror and blind spot checks once you are established on the new street.
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4. What counts as a complete stop at a stop sign?
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Answer C: The wheels stop turning before the stop line
A legal stop means the vehicle is no longer moving, made at the stop line or before entering the crosswalk or intersection.
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5. How do strong emotions affect driving?
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Answer B: They narrow your attention and make risky decisions more likely
Anger, worry and excitement all take attention away from the driving task and push drivers toward decisions they would not normally make.
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6. How long is the Massachusetts suspension for a driver declared a habitual traffic offender?
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Answer C: Four years
A habitual traffic offender, defined by three major moving violations or any twelve major or minor ones within five years, loses the license for four years.
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7. Where should the lap part of the seat belt sit?
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Answer C: Low and snug across the hips, touching the tops of both of the thighs
The hip bones can take crash forces, but the abdomen cannot, so the lap belt goes low and tight across the hips.
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8. You are leaving a private driveway and entering a public street. What are you required to do?
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Answer B: Stop and yield to traffic on the street and to pedestrians on the sidewalk
A driver entering a roadway from a driveway, alley or private road must stop and yield to traffic on the roadway and to pedestrians on the sidewalk being crossed.
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9. What should a driver do first after passing this sign?
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Answer A: Move into the right-hand lane and stay there
Traffic returns to two-way operation, so the driver keeps to the right of the centerline and stops treating the left side as available.
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10. Which effect appears as a drinker's blood alcohol level climbs well past the first drinks?
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Answer D: Loss of muscle control and steady steering
Higher levels of alcohol reach the parts of the brain that control movement, which shows up as clumsy steering, late braking and poor lane control.
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11. You have turned onto a ramp at night and your headlights pick out large white arrows painted on the pavement pointing straight back at you. What do they mean?
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Answer C: You are traveling against the flow and must turn back
Wrong-way arrows are laid so that a driver going the correct way never sees them head on, so an arrow pointing at you means you are on the ramp backwards.
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12. Why do young drivers carrying several friends face a higher crash risk?
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Answer D: Because young passengers are a strong source of distraction and pressure
Crash risk for new drivers rises with each extra young passenger, mainly through distraction and social pressure.
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13. You are waiting to turn left at a solid green light with no green arrow. Oncoming traffic is approaching. What should you do?
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Answer A: Yield to the oncoming traffic and turn only when there is a safe gap
A solid green light permits the left turn but does not protect it, so you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to pedestrians before turning.
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14. You have brought the vehicle under control after a blowout. What should you do next?
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Answer A: Signal and coast well off the road before stopping
Let the speed fall, signal, and leave the roadway as far from traffic as you can before you stop. Driving on a failed tire ruins the wheel and risks control.
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15. Your passengers are being noisy and you are losing concentration. What should you do?
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Answer B: Ask them to settle down, or pull over safely until they do
The driver is responsible for the conditions inside the vehicle, and stopping is always better than driving distracted.
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16. A pedestrian is crossing at a corner where no crosswalk is painted on the pavement. What is your duty?
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Answer A: Yield, because a legal crosswalk exists at the corner even without paint
Every intersection has a crosswalk whether or not it is marked, and drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing there.
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17. You have just merged onto a freeway from an entrance ramp. What should you do next?
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Answer C: Settle into the right lane and build up speed before changing lanes
Crossing lanes while you are still below the speed of the traffic forces other drivers to brake, so the speed comes first and the lane change second.
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18. A row of solid white triangles points toward you across your lane. What does it mark?
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Answer A: The place to yield to traffic or people ahead
A yield line of triangles shows drivers exactly where to give way, and it is used at roundabouts and at midblock crosswalks.
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19. A ball rolls into the street from between parked cars ahead of you. What should you expect and do?
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Answer A: Expect a child to follow it and be ready to stop
A ball is usually followed by a child who is watching the ball and not the traffic. Slow down and be prepared to stop immediately.
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20. Until when must a child ride in a federally approved child passenger restraint in Massachusetts?
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Answer C: Until age 8 or 57 inches tall
A child must use an approved child passenger restraint until reaching at least eight years old or at least 57 inches in height.
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21. A sign warns that your exit leaves from the left side of the freeway. What should you do?
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Answer D: Move into the left lane in good time before you reach the exit
Left-hand exits are unusual, which is exactly why they are signed well in advance and why the lane changes should be finished early.
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22. A steady downward green arrow is displayed over a lane. What does it indicate?
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Answer C: The lane is open to traffic in your direction
A steady downward green arrow means the lane it points to is open to traffic traveling in your direction.
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23. No plaque stating days or hours accompanies this sign at the intersection. When does the restriction apply?
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Answer D: At all times, since nothing limits it to particular periods
A regulatory restriction runs continuously unless a supplemental plaque states the days or hours during which it applies.
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24. Traffic is backed up just past the exit you want to use at a single-lane roundabout. What should you do?
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Answer D: Wait at the yield line until you can pass through and exit
You must not enter a roundabout unless you can clear it, because stopping inside blocks every other entry.
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25. On a narrow residential street, why does parking tight against the curb matter so much?
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Answer C: Because fire trucks and ambulances need the width to get through
Cars parked even a foot out from the curb on both sides can narrow a street until a fire truck or ambulance cannot pass.