Massachusetts RMV Motorcycle Practice Test 48
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. How much space should the leader of a group keep behind the vehicle ahead of the group?
Show answer
Answer D: At least the normal following distance a rider would keep when riding alone
Riding in a group does not shorten the space a motorcycle needs to stop, so the leader keeps the same cushion any rider would keep alone.
-
2. What is a marked loading zone for?
Show answer
Answer A: Loading and unloading only, not for general parking
A loading zone is reserved for actively loading or unloading goods or passengers; leaving a vehicle there for other reasons is a parking violation.
-
3. May you stop in the striped triangle that separates an exit ramp from the freeway lanes?
Show answer
Answer A: No, it is not a lane and stopping there is dangerous
The striped gore area is not a travel lane or a shoulder, and a vehicle stopped there sits directly in the path of drivers correcting a late exit.
-
4. Your road ends at a T-intersection with no signs or signals. Who has the right-of-way?
Show answer
Answer A: Traffic on the through road, and you must yield before entering
A driver on a road that ends at a T-intersection must yield to traffic on the through road that continues past the junction.
-
5. What is the purpose of carrying a first aid kit in your vehicle?
Show answer
Answer D: It lets you treat cuts and bleeding while the help is on its way
A kit is for simple first aid such as controlling bleeding until trained help arrives, not a substitute for calling for that help.
-
6. 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.
-
7. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?
Show answer
Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one
At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.
-
8. A streetcar is coming along tracks in the middle of the street as you wait to turn across them. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Let the streetcar pass before you cross the tracks
Rail vehicles cannot steer around you and need a long distance to stop, so drivers yield to a streetcar or light rail train.
-
9. After an hour on a hot highway your tire pressure reads higher than it did in the morning. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Nothing, because pressure rises when tires heat up
Air expands as the tire warms, so a hot reading is normally above the cold setting. Bleeding air off would leave the tire underinflated once it cooled.
-
10. 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.
-
11. A shared-use path crosses the road ahead at a marked crossing and people are already crossing on it. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Yield and let them finish crossing the road
People already crossing at a marked crossing have the right of way, and a path crossing is a crossing of the roadway like any other.
-
12. What makes a left turn protected rather than permissive?
Show answer
Answer B: Oncoming traffic is held by a red signal while you have a green arrow
A protected turn is one where the conflicting movements are stopped by their own signal, which is what the green arrow indicates.
-
13. How long is the license suspension for a second Massachusetts operating under the influence conviction?
Show answer
Answer C: Two years
A second OUI conviction brings a two year license suspension along with a fine of 600 to 10,000 dollars.
-
14. What does a posted speed limit sign represent?
Show answer
Answer B: The maximum speed permitted under ideal conditions
A speed limit is an upper limit that assumes good weather, good visibility and light traffic, so the safe speed is often lower than the posted figure.
-
15. How much more energy must your brakes absorb if you double your speed?
Show answer
Answer D: About four times as much, since energy rises with the square of speed
Kinetic energy grows with the square of speed, so twice the speed means about four times the energy and a far longer braking distance.
-
16. About how much alcohol can the body eliminate per hour?
Show answer
Answer A: About one standard drink
The liver removes alcohol at a nearly fixed rate of roughly one standard drink per hour. Drinking faster than that raises the blood alcohol level, and nothing speeds the process.
-
17. A traffic signal ahead is showing a flashing red light. What does it require?
Show answer
Answer C: Stop completely, then go when the way is clear, as at a stop sign
A flashing red light has the same meaning as a stop sign: stop completely, yield to traffic and pedestrians, then proceed when it is safe.
-
18. While you wait for the ambulance at a crash, what is the most useful help you can give?
Show answer
Answer C: Keep the person still and warm, and press down firmly on any heavy bleeding
Keeping an injured person still and warm and controlling bleeding are among the few things a bystander can safely do.
-
19. What is the safest way to deal with a vehicle sitting in your blind spot?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow a little or move ahead so that it is no longer beside you
You cannot control the other driver, but you can change your own speed so that the vehicle is no longer hidden beside you.
-
20. Many signs use a symbol instead of words. The main advantage is that a symbol
Show answer
Answer C: can be read from farther away and by more people
A symbol is recognized at greater distance than a line of text and does not depend on the reader knowing English.
-
21. You want to turn right at a steady red light and no sign prohibits the turn. What is required?
Show answer
Answer B: Come to a complete stop, then yield to traffic and pedestrians before turning
A right turn on a steady red is permitted only after a complete stop and only after yielding to cross traffic and to pedestrians, and a posted sign can prohibit it entirely.
-
22. A pedestrian is waiting to cross ahead of you and you have slowed down. What helps most?
Show answer
Answer D: Making eye contact, so that you both know you have seen each other
Eye contact confirms that you have seen each other; waving someone across can send them into the path of another vehicle.
-
23. A small yellow plaque showing a speed number below a curve warning sign gives
Show answer
Answer C: the speed recommended for the condition being warned about
The advisory speed plaque belongs to the warning series and states the speed judged safe for the condition ahead under good circumstances, not a regulatory limit.
-
24. A pedestrian near the curb is staring at a phone and not looking at traffic. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down and be ready to stop, because the pedestrian may step out without looking
Distracted pedestrians step into the street without checking. Assume they have not seen you and give yourself time and space to stop.
-
25. On an overhead guide sign, the small exit number panel sits above the left-hand end rather than the right. What does that placement tell you?
Show answer
Answer A: The exit leaves from the left side of the roadway
The exit number plaque is placed on the side from which the ramp leaves, which gives advance notice of the unusual left-hand exit.