Massachusetts RMV Motorcycle Practice Test 11

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass18
  • Passing score72%
  • Minimum age16 years

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 18 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. A bicyclist ahead of you puts the left arm straight out to the side. What is being signaled?

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    Answer B: A left turn or a move to the left

    The left arm held straight out is the bicycle signal for a left turn, so hold back and give the rider room to cross toward the center.

  2. 2. What does this sign tell a driver about the road ahead?

    A yellow diamond showing a black curving arrow
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    Answer A: The roadway changes direction ahead, so speed should be reduced before reaching it

    It gives advance notice of a change in alignment so the driver can slow down before entering, since braking inside a bend uses up grip that is needed for steering.

  3. 3. Your light turns green, but a vehicle from the cross street is still finishing a turn inside the intersection. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Wait until that vehicle has cleared the intersection

    A green indication lets you proceed only after yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to vehicles already lawfully within the intersection.

  4. 4. Why is the staggered formation abandoned in a curve?

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    Answer D: Because each rider needs the full width of the lane to choose a line through the curve

    In a curve every rider must be free to use the whole lane to set up an entry and an exit line, which is impossible while holding a fixed side position.

  5. 5. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signals are completely dark after a power failure. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop and take turns

    When a signal is dark or out of order, drivers on every approach must stop and proceed in turn, exactly as at a four-way stop.

  6. 6. Where should a touring rider keep the rain suit?

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    Answer B: Somewhere it can be reached quickly without unpacking everything

    Rain gear only helps if you can get to it before you are soaked, so pack it where a quick roadside stop is enough to reach it.

  7. 7. While you are still on an entrance ramp, where should your attention be?

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    Answer D: Along the ramp ahead and back at the highway traffic in the mirrors and over your shoulder

    A merge needs both halves of the picture at once: the ramp curving ahead of you and the traffic you are about to join behind and to your left.

  8. 8. A steady green downward arrow is displayed above the lane you are in. What does it tell you?

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    Answer A: You may drive in that lane

    A green downward arrow means the lane beneath it is open for travel in your direction.

  9. 9. Visibility drops suddenly and you decide to leave the highway. What is the safest way to do it?

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    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.

  10. 10. Why does full riding gear matter on a short trip around the neighborhood?

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    Answer D: Pavement takes skin off at 25 miles an hour just as it does at 55

    Serious injuries happen at ordinary street speeds and close to home, so gear that is worth wearing on a long trip is worth wearing on a short one.

  11. 11. A bicyclist ahead of you extends the left arm out with the forearm bent upward. What does that signal mean?

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    Answer A: The bicyclist intends to turn right

    Bicyclists use the same hand signals as drivers: left arm straight out means left, left arm bent up means right, and left arm bent down means stop or slow.

  12. 12. What is the danger of riding in cold weather with thin gloves?

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    Answer C: Cold, numb hands respond slowly and lose their feel for the controls

    Wind chill at riding speed cools the hands quickly, and numb fingers are slower and less precise on the clutch, throttle and brake.

  13. 13. A tow truck with flashing amber lights is loading a car on the shoulder ahead. How should you treat it?

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    Answer B: Give it the same room as an emergency vehicle

    Tow operators, utility crews and highway workers face the same danger from passing traffic, so move over or slow down for their flashing amber lights too.

  14. 14. What change in the road does this sign announce?

    A yellow diamond showing one black lane splitting into two around a central island
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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.

  15. 15. Is it acceptable to leave your vehicle across the entrance of an alley for a short time?

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    Answer A: No, the entrance must stay clear at all times

    Blocking an alley entrance traps the vehicles inside and can keep emergency services out, so it is prohibited however brief the stop.

  16. 16. A broken white line separates your lane from the lane on your right. What does it permit?

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    Answer C: Changing lanes when it is safe to do so

    A normal broken white line marks a boundary between lanes traveling the same way that road users may cross when it is safe.

  17. 17. You are joining a highway from a short ramp that has no acceleration lane. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Stop or slow at the end of the ramp and wait for a safe gap

    Without an acceleration lane there is no room to match speed, so you must yield at the end of the ramp and enter only when a gap allows it.

  18. 18. A driver passes this sign on an entrance ramp while merging onto a freeway. Who has priority?

    A downward pointing white triangle with a wide red border
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    Answer B: The traffic already traveling on the freeway

    The sign places the duty on the entering driver, who must adjust speed and fit into a gap without forcing through traffic to brake or swerve.

  19. 19. Why do many crashes happen on routes the driver knows very well?

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    Answer D: Familiar roads let attention slip into routine

    When a route is automatic the mind wanders and hazards get missed, which is why a well known road deserves the same attention as a strange one.

  20. 20. A friend who has been drinking insists on driving home. What is the right thing to do?

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    Answer B: Take the keys and arrange a sober ride, even if the friend objects

    An impaired driver is dangerous on any street at any speed, and coffee does not lower blood alcohol. Keeping the keys and finding another way home is the only safe choice.

  21. 21. A driver reaching a stop sign is required to do what?

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    Answer D: Come to a complete stop and then proceed only when it is safe

    A stop sign requires a full stop before the stop line, crosswalk or intersection, after which the driver may go on once the way is clear.

  22. 22. A yellow diamond shows two lanes narrowing into one. What does it require of a driver?

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    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.

  23. 23. A rectangular marker with alternating black and retroreflective yellow stripes set at a slant is used to

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    Answer C: mark an obstruction, with the stripes sloping down toward the side on which traffic should pass

    This striped panel is an object marker, and the direction in which the stripes slope shows the driver which side of the obstruction to pass on.

  24. 24. A center lane is bordered by a solid yellow line on the outside and a broken yellow line on the inside, with left-turn arrows painted in it. How may you use that lane?

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    Answer A: Only to make a left turn or to prepare for one from either direction

    That marking identifies a two-way left turn lane, which may only be used for left turns or to prepare for a left turn and never for travel or passing.

  25. 25. After a Massachusetts license is reinstated, how much longer must a required ignition interlock device stay in the vehicle?

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    Answer D: Two years

    The device must remain for the whole hardship license period and for a further stretch after the license itself has been reinstated.