Alaska DMV Permit Practice Test 30

  • Questions20
  • Correct to pass16
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age14 years

20 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 16 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. Why should you set the parking brake even when an automatic transmission is in Park?

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    Answer B: Because it takes the strain off the transmission and holds the vehicle

    The parking pawl is a small part carrying the whole vehicle; the parking brake shares that load and holds the vehicle if the pawl fails.

  2. 2. A flagger turns the paddle to the orange face reading SLOW. What does that tell approaching drivers?

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    Answer D: Reduce speed and continue through the work area with care

    The SLOW face keeps traffic moving at a reduced speed while workers or equipment are close to the travel lanes.

  3. 3. It is dusk and a jogger in dark clothing is running along the edge of the road. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Slow down and scan the edges of the road

    Dusk is the hardest light for spotting people, and dark clothing removes most of your warning, so lower speed and a careful scan of the roadsides are the answer.

  4. 4. A curb sign reads No Standing. What does it allow you to do?

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    Answer B: Stop only long enough to pick up or drop off passengers

    No Standing bars waiting for any purpose except the brief moment needed to let passengers in or out, which is stricter than No Parking.

  5. 5. You pull onto a soft grass verge to park. What is the main risk?

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    Answer A: The wheels can sink and the car can slide toward the ditch

    Soft ground gives way under the weight of a vehicle, and a car that settles or slides sideways can end up stuck or in the ditch.

  6. 6. On a regulatory sign, what does a red circle with a diagonal slash drawn over a symbol mean?

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    Answer D: The movement or action shown by the symbol is prohibited

    A red circle with a diagonal slash is the standard way of showing that the movement pictured inside it, such as a U-turn or a right turn, is not allowed.

  7. 7. The vehicle you have borrowed is larger and heavier than your own. How should you drive it?

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    Answer B: Allow more room for stopping and for turns until you are used to it

    Extra weight and length mean longer stopping distances and wider turns, so give yourself more room until you are used to it.

  8. 8. You are using the parking brake to slow a vehicle whose brakes have failed. How should you apply it?

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    Answer D: Gradually, holding the release so you can let it off if the rear slides

    The parking brake works on two wheels only, so applying it hard can lock them and spin the vehicle. Keep the release held so you can back it off instantly.

  9. 9. At many crossings the walk indication appears only after a button is pressed. What happens if a pedestrian does not press it?

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    Answer B: The signal may cycle without showing a walk indication

    An actuated pedestrian phase is called in by the pushbutton, so without it the controller may serve the vehicle movements alone.

  10. 10. When is switching traction control off sometimes useful?

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    Answer A: When you need spinning wheels to rock out of deep snow or mud

    Rocking a stuck vehicle free needs the wheel spin that the system normally prevents. Switch it back on as soon as you are moving again.

  11. 11. Your car is sinking after leaving the road into deep water and two children are in the back. In what order should you act?

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    Answer D: Free yourself from the belt first, then release the children, the oldest one first

    You cannot help anyone while you are still belted in, and the oldest child released first needs the least help getting out.

  12. 12. You are on a two-lane road where a broken yellow line runs on your side of the center. What does that pattern allow?

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    Answer C: Passing when the way ahead is clear and it is otherwise legal

    A broken yellow center line marks a stretch where passing is permitted for traffic on that side when it can be completed safely.

  13. 13. A pedestrian with a white cane draws the cane back and steps away from the curb as you approach. What does that usually mean?

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    Answer B: They are signaling you to go ahead and drive on

    Pulling the cane in and stepping back from the curb is the customary way a blind pedestrian tells drivers to proceed.

  14. 14. You are driving slower than the general flow on a multilane highway. Which lane should you use?

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    Answer D: The right lane, keeping the left lanes free for faster traffic and passing

    Slower traffic must keep right so that faster vehicles and overtaking traffic can use the left lanes without weaving between lanes.

  15. 15. A sign with a black legend on a fluorescent pink background is used for

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    Answer A: traffic incident management

    Fluorescent pink is set aside for signing that manages traffic around a crash, a spill or another unplanned incident, so it stands apart from routine work zone orange.

  16. 16. Your vehicle has daytime running lights. Why should you still switch on the headlights at dusk?

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    Answer B: Daytime running lights usually do not light the tail lights, so you are hard to see from behind

    On many vehicles the daytime running lights illuminate only the front. Without the headlight switch on, the rear of the vehicle stays dark and the dash may still look lit.

  17. 17. May you park at the curb immediately next to a railroad crossing?

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    Answer A: No, you must leave the crossing and its approach clear

    Parking beside a crossing hides the tracks and the signals from approaching drivers and leaves no room for a vehicle that has to clear the rails.

  18. 18. Red pavement markings are used on a roadway to show that

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    Answer A: it must not be entered from that direction

    Red markings identify a roadway that is not to be entered or used, and they also mark the pavement of truck escape ramps.

  19. 19. You are following a tractor-trailer so closely that its rear doors fill your windshield. What is the main problem?

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    Answer D: You cannot see the road ahead and the truck driver cannot see you

    A truck has a deep blind spot directly behind it, and tailgating also hides everything in front of the truck from you. Drop back so you can see and be seen.

  20. 20. Which color scheme is standard for the drums and barricades that channel traffic through a work zone?

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    Answer C: Alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes

    Drums and barricades carry alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes, and the traffic cones used in the same zones are predominantly orange.