Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 16
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. The sun is low behind you and shining into the eyes of oncoming drivers. What should you do?
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Answer C: Turn on your headlights and expect oncoming drivers not to see you
Drivers facing the low sun may not see you at all, so make yourself as visible as possible and give way rather than insisting on your right of way.
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2. Your parking brake no longer holds the car on a slope. What should you do?
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Answer D: Have it repaired, and until then park only on level ground
A parking brake that will not hold is a defect to be fixed; avoiding grades in the meantime keeps the vehicle from rolling away.
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3. Your vehicle has a backup camera. What is the right way to use it?
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Answer C: Use it as an aid, but still turn and look behind you
A camera has a limited field of view and can be dirty or wet, so it supplements looking over your shoulder and using the mirrors rather than replacing them.
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4. Your right wheels drop off the edge of the pavement onto a soft shoulder. What should you do?
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Answer C: Ease off the accelerator, hold the wheel straight and steer back gently once you have slowed
Yanking the wheel while the tires are pressed against a pavement lip can throw the vehicle across the road, so slow down first and then make a gentle correction.
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5. Crossing a parking lot on a hot day, you see a young child alone in a locked car. What should you do?
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Answer A: Call 911 right away and stay with the vehicle
The inside of a parked car can reach lethal temperatures within minutes, so a child left alone in one is an emergency.
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6. What is the mandatory fine for driving to endanger in Maine?
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Answer C: 575 dollars, which the court may not suspend
Maine requires a fine of not less than 575 dollars for driving to endanger and forbids the court from suspending it.
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7. A sign warns that your exit leaves from the left side of the freeway. What should you do?
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Answer D: Move into the left lane in good time before you reach the exit
Left-hand exits are unusual, which is exactly why they are signed well in advance and why the lane changes should be finished early.
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8. Why must you never leave the engine running in a closed garage?
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Answer B: Because carbon monoxide builds up and can kill within minutes
Exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, which has no smell or color and can reach fatal levels in an enclosed space very quickly.
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9. A tractor-trailer is backing slowly across the roadway to enter a loading dock. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stop and wait until the truck has finished the maneuver
A backing truck driver has a very limited view and the trailer can swing unexpectedly. Trying to squeeze past in either direction risks being crushed.
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10. What does Maine require of a licensee stopped by a law enforcement officer while driving?
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Answer D: That the license be in immediate possession and produced on demand, on paper or electronically
Maine requires a licensee, including a temporary licensee or a permit holder, to have the license in immediate possession and to produce it on demand, and an electronic version on a portable device is accepted.
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11. A small signal face beside a bikeway shows red, yellow and green lenses that each carry a bicycle symbol. Whom does it control?
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Answer C: Bicyclists using that crossing or bikeway
A bicycle signal face governs bicycle movements only, and people on foot at the same corner still follow the pedestrian signal.
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12. The electric windows will not work as your vehicle sinks in water. What is the best option?
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Answer C: Break a side window with a hard, pointed object and climb out through it
Side windows are tempered glass and can be broken, while the laminated windshield cannot, and water pressure holds the doors shut.
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13. Why does a heavier vehicle need more room to stop than a light one from the same speed?
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Answer B: Because there is more mass in motion for the tires to slow down
More mass means more energy at the same speed, and the brakes and tires need more distance to get rid of it.
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14. A person with a guide dog is standing at the corner facing the street you are about to cross. What should you do?
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Answer D: Stop well back and wait quietly for them to decide
Blind pedestrians rely on engine sound to judge traffic, so stop back from the crossing and avoid the horn, which only confuses them.
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15. You are turning left from a one-way street onto another one-way street. Which lane should you use?
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Answer B: Turn from the far left lane into the far left lane of the new street
The general turning rule is to turn from the lane nearest the direction of the turn into the nearest lane of the new roadway, which on a one-way to one-way left turn means far left to far left.
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16. You are on an entrance ramp merging onto a freeway. Who has to give way?
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Answer B: You must yield and fit into a gap in the traffic already on the freeway
Traffic entering a highway must yield to traffic already on it. Use the acceleration lane to match speed and merge into a gap.
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17. A driver who has been drinking has two cups of strong coffee. What has changed?
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Answer D: The driver is more awake but just as impaired
Coffee can make a drinker feel alert, but nothing except time removes alcohol from the blood, so a wide awake drinker is still an impaired driver.
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18. Another driver has pulled out to pass you. What should you do?
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Answer A: Stay in your lane, keep your speed steady or ease off, and let the pass finish
Accelerating while being passed forces the other driver to stay in the opposing lane longer, so the safe response is to hold or slightly reduce speed and stay right.
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19. You are already inside a roundabout when an emergency vehicle approaches with lights and siren. What should you do?
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Answer B: Continue to your exit, leave the roundabout, then pull over and stop
Stopping inside a roundabout blocks the circulating roadway, so you should exit first and then pull over clear of the intersection.
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20. Loose gravel has been swept into the middle of your lane on a downhill bend. Which controls are affected most?
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Answer D: Steering and braking, since the loose stones roll under the tires
Gravel rolls between rubber and pavement, so the tires can neither turn the vehicle nor slow it as they would on a clean surface.
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21. What will the driver have to do at the point this sign refers to?
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Answer C: Slow down and let conflicting traffic go first, stopping if that is what it takes
Further along, the driver has to let conflicting traffic and pedestrians go first, reducing speed and stopping whenever that is necessary to avoid interfering with them.
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22. You enter a corner faster than the turn can be taken. What is the most likely result?
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Answer A: The vehicle runs wide and may cross into another lane
Excess speed uses up the available grip, so the vehicle follows a wider arc than intended and drifts out of its lane.
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23. A yellow pennant, an isosceles triangle with its long axis horizontal, is reserved for which message?
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Answer D: No passing zone
The pennant shape is used only for the no passing zone sign, which marks the point where overtaking is no longer allowed.
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24. The lights at a highway-rail grade crossing begin to flash red as you approach. What must you do?
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Answer B: Stop short of the tracks and wait until the lights stop and no train is near
Flashing red lights at a crossing require a stop clear of the tracks, and you may proceed only once the lights have stopped, any gates are fully raised and no train is approaching.
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25. A driver stopped at a red signal wants to turn right and this sign is posted at the corner. What is permitted?
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Answer A: Nothing: the turn is barred whether the signal is red or green
The restriction works independently of the signal, so the usual permission to turn right after stopping at a red light does not exist where this sign is posted.
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26. A driver moves into the space you were keeping ahead of you. What should you do?
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Answer D: Ease off and rebuild the gap in front of you
Losing a following gap is common in traffic; the answer is simply to drop back and recreate it rather than drive too close.
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27. Why is following distance measured in seconds rather than in car lengths?
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Answer A: Because a time gap automatically grows with speed, while a fixed number of car lengths does not
A gap counted in seconds keeps the same margin of reaction time at any speed, whereas a fixed number of car lengths becomes far too small as speed rises.
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28. How does alcohol affect a driver's ability to handle several things at once?
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Answer B: It cuts the ability to divide attention between tasks
Driving means watching the road, the mirrors and the instruments together, and alcohol narrows attention so that one of those tasks is dropped without the driver noticing.
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29. Where is signing of this kind normally placed along a freeway?
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Answer D: Ahead of the interchange and again at the exit, so a driver can reach the correct lane in time
Guide information for an interchange is repeated on the approach and at the ramp, because a driver who learns about the exit only at the last moment has no room left for a safe lane change.
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30. A child seat was in the car during a moderate crash. What should be done with it?
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Answer A: Replace it, because a seat that has been through a crash may be weakened
Crash forces can damage a seat in ways you cannot see, so a seat involved in anything but the mildest crash is replaced.