Massachusetts RMV Permit Practice Test 50
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. What should you check on the hitch before towing a trailer?
Show answer
Answer B: That the coupler is locked and the safety chains are crossed underneath
The coupler must be latched and pinned, and the chains crossed under the tongue so they cradle it if the coupling lets go.
-
2. A driver ignores this sign and passes on the opposite side. What is the main risk?
Show answer
Answer B: Ending up on the wrong side of a divider, facing traffic coming the other way
The sign settles which side of a fixed divider is the legal one, so taking the other side sends the vehicle into the opposing stream or straight at the obstruction.
-
3. Why should you stay out of an intersection you cannot clear, even on a green light?
Show answer
Answer B: Because you would block cross traffic when their signal turns green
A vehicle stranded in the intersection blocks the cross street when its light turns green, which stalls the whole junction and traps emergency vehicles.
-
4. You and the driver facing you both have stop signs at a two-way stop. You are going straight and that driver is turning left. Who has the right of way?
Show answer
Answer B: You do, and the turning driver must wait
Between two opposing drivers who both stopped, the one going straight goes first and the left-turning driver yields.
-
5. Massachusetts drivers under 21 face administrative sanctions after a chemical test showing which blood alcohol content?
Show answer
Answer A: 0.02 or higher
The criminal standard stays at 0.08 for every driver, but a driver under 21 faces administrative penalties at a blood alcohol content as low as 0.02.
-
6. What is the suspension for a first conviction of violating the Massachusetts junior operator passenger or night restriction?
Show answer
Answer D: 60 days
A first offense brings a 60 day suspension, a second 180 days and any later offense a full year, on top of any other penalty imposed.
-
7. Two roads come together at a shallow angle under a MERGE sign, with no yield line on either one. What is expected of you?
Show answer
Answer D: Adjust your speed and position so you blend smoothly into the other traffic
A merge means neither road ends at a stop; drivers adjust speed and position so that the two streams fit together without stopping.
-
8. You are approaching a marked school crossing and children have started to cross the roadway. What is required?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop and let the children finish crossing the roadway
Drivers give way to people in a marked crossing, stopping if that is what it takes, and children in particular may change direction without warning.
-
9. What do the numbers on a pedestrian countdown display show?
Show answer
Answer A: The seconds remaining to finish a crossing already under way
The countdown runs during the pedestrian change interval and shows how many seconds are left before the crossing time ends.
-
10. Why are eating, drinking and personal grooming risky behind the wheel?
Show answer
Answer B: They occupy hands, eyes and attention that driving requires
Each of these tasks takes a hand off the controls and attention off the road, and a spill or a dropped item can pull the driver's eyes away entirely.
-
11. A sign at the curb reads Tow-Away Zone. What does it mean for you?
Show answer
Answer C: That a vehicle left there can be removed at the owner's expense
In a tow-away zone the vehicle can be removed immediately and the owner pays the towing and storage charges to get it back.
-
12. The vehicle in front of you has stopped and is waiting to turn left, and there is a paved shoulder to the right. May you use it to get by?
Show answer
Answer D: No, in most states a pass may not be made by leaving the paved travel lanes
Passing on the right is normally lawful only inside the marked travel lanes, and most states prohibit driving onto the shoulder to get around a turning vehicle; the few states that allow it attach strict conditions.
-
13. How should you use your mirrors while another vehicle overtakes you on a multilane road?
Show answer
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.
-
14. A police officer in the intersection raises a hand toward you although your signal is green. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Stop and wait for the officer to wave you on
An officer directing traffic overrides signals and signs, and drivers must follow the officer even when the light says otherwise.
-
15. Another vehicle is passing you on a two-lane road. What should you do with your speed?
Show answer
Answer A: Hold your speed or ease off slightly to shorten the pass
Speeding up strands the passing driver in the oncoming lane, while a steady speed or a slight lift lets the pass finish quickly and safely.
-
16. You have loaded the trunk heavily. Why might oncoming drivers flash their lights at you at night?
Show answer
Answer D: The rear sits lower, so your headlights point higher and dazzle them
Weight in the back tips the vehicle nose up and lifts the beam pattern, so low beams shine into the eyes of drivers coming the other way.
-
17. A driver slows to walking pace at this sign, never stops rolling and eases into the intersection. How is that treated?
Show answer
Answer B: It is a violation, because the vehicle never came to a complete halt
What is required is a full halt with the wheels no longer turning, so slowing down, however carefully, does not satisfy it.
-
18. Visibility drops suddenly and you decide to leave the highway. What is the safest way to do it?
Show answer
Answer A: Take the next exit or a wide pull off, well clear of the traffic lanes
Get right off the traveled way, and off the shoulder too if you can, because vehicles in poor visibility often drift onto the shoulder.
-
19. Your car begins to lose power on a freeway and you must stop. Where should you try to bring it to a halt?
Show answer
Answer A: As far off the right side of the road as you can get, beyond the edge line
A disabled vehicle should be moved completely clear of the travel lanes, on the right, so that traffic can pass without changing course.
-
20. You are entering an angle parking space on your right. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stay a little left of the space, then turn in between the lines
Keeping a little left of the space gives the front wheels the room to turn in cleanly and leaves your car centered between the lines.
-
21. On the Interstate system, what do the odd-numbered one and two digit routes have in common?
Show answer
Answer D: They run mainly north and south
Odd numbers are given to north and south Interstates and even numbers to east and west ones, with the numbers rising toward the north and the east.
-
22. Which practice matches current child passenger safety guidance?
Show answer
Answer D: Keep a child rear facing until the top height or weight limit of the seat is reached
A rear facing seat spreads crash forces across the child's whole back, so it should be used as long as the seat allows, and never in front of an active passenger air bag.
-
23. A yellow diamond shows two lanes narrowing into one. What does it require of a driver?
Show answer
Answer D: Adjusting speed and merging before the lane disappears
The lane ends sign gives notice that one lane will be dropped, so drivers should adjust speed and blend into the continuing lane in good time.
-
24. How long should a glance at a mirror or an instrument take?
Show answer
Answer A: A brief glance of about a second, returning your eyes to the road at once
Checks should be quick flicks of the eyes. At highway speed, a few seconds with your eyes off the road covers a distance long enough for a hazard to appear.
-
25. How far should the driver chest be from the steering wheel?
Show answer
Answer B: At least about ten inches
The airbag deploys with great force in the first instants of a crash, so about ten inches between your chest and the wheel is the recommended minimum.