Massachusetts RMV Motorcycle Practice Test 35
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
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Answer A: Moving your eyes constantly over the road, the sides and the mirrors
Scanning keeps information coming in from every direction, while a fixed stare leaves you blind to everything else.
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2. Which part of the body operates the gearshift lever?
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Answer B: The left foot
The gearshift lever sits ahead of the left footrest and is moved up or down with the left foot.
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3. What should a rider remember about convex mirrors?
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Answer B: They show a wider view, but vehicles look farther away and slower than they are
The curved glass fits more of the scene into the mirror, and the price of that extra width is a distorted sense of distance and closing speed.
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4. You have a green light and are turning right. Pedestrians are stepping off the curb into the crosswalk you are about to cross. What should you do?
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Answer B: Wait and let them cross before completing your turn
A green light does not release a turning driver from yielding to pedestrians already in the crosswalk of the street being entered.
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5. What does a sign showing a bicycle inside a red circle with a diagonal slash prohibit?
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Answer D: Riding a bicycle on that roadway
This is a selective exclusion sign, used where bicycles are banned from a road such as a freeway or a tunnel.
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6. Why are dawn and dusk especially difficult times to be seen on a motorcycle?
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Answer A: Low contrast light makes a small vehicle blend into the scene
In the flat light of dawn and dusk a motorcycle blends into its background, so bright color, reflective material and the headlight matter most at exactly those hours.
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7. At an intersection where turning on a red arrow is not permitted, the signal shows a red left arrow next to a steady green ball. What may you do?
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Answer D: Go straight or turn right if permitted, but not left
An arrow controls only the movement it points to, so here the red arrow stops the left turn while the green ball still allows the other movements.
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8. You are stopping for a red light in the rain and your stopping point is on a wide painted stop line and crosswalk. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow earlier and gently, since wet paint offers much less grip than pavement
Painted stop lines and crosswalks turn slick when wet, so start braking early and squeeze gently rather than braking hard on the markings.
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9. When may you stop on the shoulder of a freeway?
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Answer A: Only in an emergency, moving completely off the travel lanes and switching on your hazard lights
The freeway shoulder is reserved for emergencies and for disabled vehicles, and a vehicle stopped there must be clear of the travel lanes with hazard lights on.
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10. Why is it harder to read the road surface at night once it has rained?
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Answer B: The wet surface throws light away and hides holes and markings
Light from your headlight bounces off wet pavement instead of coming back to you, and reflections of other lights mask the surface, so slow down and open up your following distance.
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11. Why should two riders never travel side by side in the same lane?
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Answer B: Because neither rider has room to swerve if a hazard appears
Riding directly alongside another motorcycle removes the escape path each rider needs to avoid a hazard, a pothole or another vehicle.
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12. Why is parking against the flow of traffic dangerous even when nobody complains?
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Answer D: Because you had to cross traffic to get there and must cross again to leave
Parking on the wrong side means driving against traffic at both ends of the stop, and your reflectors and lights face the wrong way while you are there.
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13. A rider chooses an open face helmet. What does that choice make necessary?
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Answer A: Separate goggles or a face shield, because the face is uncovered
An open face helmet gives no eye or face protection, so the rider must add goggles or a face shield that will not shatter and that seals against the wind.
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14. A rectangular red sign with the white words WRONG WAY means that
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Answer C: the driver is already traveling against the legal flow and must not continue
The wrong way sign uses a white legend and border on red and addresses a driver who has entered a ramp or one-way roadway in the wrong direction, who should stop and turn around safely.
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15. When is a driver at the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel?
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Answer B: Late at night, early morning and mid afternoon
The body clock produces its deepest dips in alertness in the small hours and again in the middle of the afternoon, and crash records follow those dips.
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16. The blue signs mounted before a freeway interchange that carry the logos of individual businesses are
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Answer C: specific service signs, which show the brands available at that exit
Specific service signs, often called logo signs, list eligible businesses for categories such as gas, food, lodging, camping, attractions and 24-hour pharmacies at the upcoming interchange.
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17. Why is backing up on a freeway or on its shoulder prohibited?
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Answer A: Traffic arrives far too fast to expect a vehicle moving the wrong way
Freeway traffic closes on a stopped or reversing vehicle at highway speed and has almost no time to react to something moving against the flow.
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18. You have just passed a vehicle on a two-lane road. When may you return to your lane?
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Answer B: When you can see the whole vehicle in your inside mirror
Seeing the entire vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror shows there is room to pull back in without cutting it off.
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19. Where should a rider in the middle of a group direct their attention?
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Answer A: Well ahead through the group and around it, not just at the rider in front
Watching only the machine ahead hides the traffic and hazards further up the road, and it leaves the rider reacting late to everything the group meets.
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20. What should the operator do while a passenger climbs on board?
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Answer D: Sit on the machine with both feet planted and the front brake held on
The added weight arrives suddenly and off center, so the operator braces the motorcycle with both feet down and the front brake applied to keep it still.
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21. Well before an intersection, an overhead sign shows a diagram of the lanes with an arrow above each one. What is its purpose?
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Answer C: To let drivers pick the correct lane in good time
Advance intersection lane control signs display the lane assignment far enough back that drivers can move over calmly instead of at the last moment.
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22. A signal stands part way up a freeway entrance ramp and turns green briefly again and again. How many vehicles does such a signal normally release on each green?
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Answer A: One for each lane of the ramp
A ramp control signal releases a single vehicle per lane on each green so that vehicles reach the merge one at a time instead of in a bunch.
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23. An orange sign reads RIGHT LANE CLOSED AHEAD. What is the correct response?
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Answer A: Move left in good time and keep a steady pace
The sign is placed well before the taper so that drivers can merge smoothly rather than braking hard where the lane actually closes.
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24. While you swerve around an obstacle, what should the rest of your body be doing?
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Answer C: Staying upright with the knees against the tank while the motorcycle leans
A swerve happens through the handlebars, and a body that stays still and anchored to the tank lets the motorcycle move quickly beneath the rider.
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25. What are painted curb markings mainly used for?
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Answer D: Conveying parking and stopping regulations
Colored curbs tell drivers where waiting or parking is restricted, and because the exact color meanings are set locally a driver should also read the posted signs.