Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 17

  • Questions30
  • Correct to pass24
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age15 years

Minimum age: 15 years for a learner's permit, 16 years for a license with driver education

30 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 24 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. A short driver cannot get ten inches between the chest and the steering wheel airbag. What is the answer?

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    Answer D: Move the seat back and tilt the wheel downward, or fit pedal extenders

    Distance from the airbag is gained by moving the seat back and aiming the wheel at the chest, using pedal extenders if the pedals are then out of reach.

  2. 2. 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.

  3. 3. A Maine juvenile provisional licensee is convicted of a second moving violation committed within 2 years of issue. How long is the suspension?

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    Answer B: 180 days

    Maine suspends a juvenile provisional license for 30 days on a first moving violation, 180 days on a second and one year on a third or subsequent one.

  4. 4. You approach a one-lane bridge and there is a yield sign facing your side of it. What does that mean?

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    Answer B: Oncoming traffic crosses the bridge first and you wait at the approach

    At a one-lane bridge the yield sign tells one direction to give way, so you wait clear of the bridge until oncoming traffic has crossed.

  5. 5. The vehicle ahead of you has pulled out to pass a truck. May you follow it out and pass as well?

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    Answer B: No, wait until it is done and judge the road for yourself

    You cannot see past the vehicle ahead of you, and if it has to abort the pass there is nowhere for either of you to go.

  6. 6. You are about to pass a large truck on a two-lane highway. Which practice is correct?

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    Answer A: Finish the pass without delay and expect wind turbulence beside the truck

    Lingering beside a truck keeps you in its blind spot and exposes you to air turbulence. Pass on the left, keep moving, and move back only when you can see the whole truck in your mirror.

  7. 7. You are the first to arrive at a crash on a rural road. What should you do first?

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    Answer C: Park well clear of the scene, put on your hazard lights and call for help

    Getting trained help on the way and keeping the scene visible does more good than anything an untrained bystander can do.

  8. 8. When does Maine's 15 mile per hour school zone limit apply?

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    Answer A: During recess and for half an hour before and after school opens and closes

    Maine applies the 15 mph school limit during recess, within half an hour of the school opening and closing, and whenever the zone signs are flashing.

  9. 9. You have a green light and are turning right while people are crossing the street you want to enter. Who goes first?

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    Answer B: The pedestrians, and you wait until they are clear of your path

    A green light permits the turn but does not remove the duty to yield to pedestrians already crossing the street you are turning into.

  10. 10. A deer suddenly steps onto the road ahead of you at night. What is the safest response?

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    Answer C: Brake firmly and stay in your lane rather than swerving

    Swerving at speed often leads to a rollover or a head-on crash that is far worse than hitting the animal. Brake hard, hold your lane and expect more deer to follow.

  11. 11. You have driven at 70 mph for an hour and then exit onto a town street. What is the common risk?

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    Answer B: Your sense of speed adapts, so 35 mph feels slow and you drive too fast

    After a long stretch at high speed the brain adapts, so town speeds feel unnaturally slow; check the speedometer instead of trusting the feeling.

  12. 12. It is cold and the road looks wet, but you notice the tires of vehicles ahead are throwing up no spray. What does this suggest?

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    Answer B: The surface has frozen and is probably icy

    Water throws spray, but ice does not. A shiny road with no spray in freezing temperatures is a strong sign of black ice, so slow down and avoid sudden inputs.

  13. 13. You back into an unattended parked car in a lot and cause visible damage. What must you do?

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    Answer A: Try to find the owner, or leave a note with your name and contact details, and report the crash

    Hitting an unattended vehicle carries the same duties as any crash. Leaving without identifying yourself is a hit-and-run offense.

  14. 14. The divided highway ends warning sign means that

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    Answer D: the median separating the directions ends and the road returns to two-way operation

    Beyond this sign opposing traffic is no longer separated by a median, so the driver must keep right and expect vehicles approaching in the adjacent lane.

  15. 15. May you stop briefly across the sloped ramp that joins the sidewalk to the street at a corner?

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    Answer B: No, that ramp must stay clear for people using wheelchairs

    A curb ramp is the only way many people can get from the sidewalk to the crosswalk, so blocking it even briefly is prohibited.

  16. 16. Driving at night you notice that the raised markers along the line beside you are throwing back red light. What does that tell you?

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    Answer C: You are facing traffic and must get off that roadway

    Red retroreflection is shown only toward traffic that should not be there, so a red return means the vehicle is heading the wrong way.

  17. 17. A motorcycle ahead of you has its turn signal blinking but continues straight through several intersections. What is the likely explanation?

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    Answer D: Motorcycle signals often do not cancel themselves after a turn

    Many motorcycle turn signals are not self-cancelling, so a rider may leave one on by mistake. Wait until the rider actually starts to turn before you act on the signal.

  18. 18. In which crash must the police always be notified?

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    Answer D: Any crash in which somebody has been injured or killed, whatever the damage

    Injury or death always makes a crash reportable, whatever the amount of vehicle damage or the opinions of the drivers.

  19. 19. You are leaving a freeway on an exit ramp posted with an advisory speed of 25 mph. Where should you slow to that speed?

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    Answer A: In the deceleration lane, before you reach the curve of the ramp

    Slowing belongs in the deceleration lane so you arrive at the curve already at the advisory speed and do not hold up traffic still in the through lanes.

  20. 20. 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.

  21. 21. You must slow suddenly on a highway and a vehicle is following close behind you. What helps prevent a rear-end collision?

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    Answer D: Tapping the brake pedal early so your brake lights flash a warning

    Early brake light flashes give the driver behind more time to react, and slowing gradually instead of suddenly reduces the chance of being struck.

  22. 22. When must a Maine driver produce evidence of insurance or financial responsibility?

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    Answer D: When stopped for a moving violation or involved in a reportable accident

    Maine requires evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility on a stop for a moving violation and in a reportable accident, and the evidence may be an image on a portable electronic device.

  23. 23. A driver sees this sign on a quiet road with no other traffic in either direction. What is the correct response?

    A yellow circle showing a black cross and the letters R R in the side quarters
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    Answer C: Slow down, look and listen for a train, and be ready to stop

    The sign gives advance notice of a highway-rail grade crossing, so the driver reduces speed, checks both directions along the tracks and keeps enough room to stop short of the rails.

  24. 24. About how much alcohol can the body eliminate per hour?

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    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.

  25. 25. Which warning sign keeps its yellow background even when it is used inside a work zone?

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    Answer D: The grade crossing advance warning sign

    The round grade crossing advance warning sign keeps its black legend on yellow inside temporary traffic control zones because the railroad hazard it describes is not temporary.

  26. 26. A Maine driver whose license was suspended for OUI is caught driving. What is the mandatory sentence for a first such offense?

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    Answer C: A 600 dollar fine and 7 consecutive days of imprisonment

    When the suspension arose from an OUI offense, Maine sets a minimum fine of 600 dollars and 7 consecutive days of imprisonment for a first violation.

  27. 27. What alcohol level may the holder of a Maine juvenile provisional license not exceed?

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    Answer C: 0.00 grams per 100 milliliters of blood or per 210 liters of breath

    Maine allows a driver under 21 no measurable alcohol at all, so a reading above that figure brings a suspension separate from the criminal OUI threshold.

  28. 28. A speed limit sign carries a second panel reading TRUCKS 55. What does that panel do?

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    Answer B: It sets a lower legal limit for trucks

    A truck speed limit panel is regulatory, so trucks are bound by the lower figure while other traffic keeps to the main limit.

  29. 29. You leave a brightly lit service area onto a dark rural road. Why should you slow down for a while?

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    Answer C: Your eyes need time to adjust, so at first you see less

    Eyes take a few minutes to adapt from bright light to darkness, and during that time you can see much less than your headlights actually show.

  30. 30. 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.