Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 19
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. Unless a sign says otherwise, what is the maximum speed in Maine outside any business, residential or built-up area?
Show answer
Answer D: 45 mph
Maine's statutory maximums are 45 mph outside business, residential and built-up areas, 25 mph inside them and 15 mph when passing a school during arrival, recess or dismissal.
-
2. May you exceed the posted speed limit in order to complete a pass?
Show answer
Answer C: No, the posted limit applies while you are passing too
The limit does not lift for passing; if you cannot complete the pass within it, there is not enough room and you should stay back.
-
3. Some drivers believe they can multitask while driving. What does research show?
Show answer
Answer C: The brain switches rapidly between tasks and driving performance suffers
The brain does not truly do two attention-demanding tasks at once; it alternates between them, and the driving task gets less attention each time.
-
4. On a divided highway you see a median opening marked for authorized vehicles only. May you use it to turn around?
Show answer
Answer D: No, those openings are for emergency and maintenance vehicles
Official crossovers are reserved for emergency and highway maintenance use; turning there puts a slow vehicle across high-speed traffic.
-
5. You arrive at a four-way stop after two other vehicles have already stopped there. When is it your turn?
Show answer
Answer A: After both of the earlier vehicles have gone
Vehicles clear a four-way stop in the order they arrived, so the third driver to stop is the third to go.
-
6. Which circumstance makes imprisonment mandatory on a first Maine OUI conviction?
Show answer
Answer D: The driver had an alcohol level of 0.15 or more
Maine requires a minimum of 48 hours of imprisonment on a first OUI when the alcohol level was 0.15 or more, when the driver was speeding 30 mph or more over the limit, when the driver eluded an officer, or when a passenger under 21 was in the vehicle.
-
7. A sign beside the signal reads STOP HERE ON RED. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: Stop at that point on red, not closer to the intersection
The sign marks the required stopping point, which is set back from the corner so that turning vehicles and sight lines are not blocked.
-
8. Why is passing on a curve prohibited even when the traffic seems light?
Show answer
Answer C: You cannot see far enough around it to know the lane is clear
A pass is only as safe as the distance you can see, and a curve hides the very lane the maneuver uses.
-
9. Which statement about standard drinks is correct?
Show answer
Answer C: A standard serving of beer, of table wine and of distilled spirits each contain about the same amount of pure alcohol
Roughly 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of table wine and 1.5 ounces of 80 proof spirits each contain about the same amount of pure alcohol, so the type of drink does not change the effect.
-
10. You are following a tractor-trailer so closely that its rear doors fill your windshield. What is the main problem?
Show answer
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.
-
11. What most often starts a rear wheel skid?
Show answer
Answer A: Too much speed, braking or acceleration for the grip available
A skid begins when what you ask of the tires exceeds what the surface can give, which is usually a matter of speed and of how abruptly you use the controls.
-
12. What is the safest way to pass a bicyclist on a road with two lanes going your way?
Show answer
Answer D: Change lanes completely, as you would for a car
A bicycle is entitled to the room a vehicle needs, and moving into the next lane gives the rider space to swerve around a drain or a pothole.
-
13. You are backing straight down a driveway while looking over your right shoulder. Where should your left hand be?
Show answer
Answer C: At the top of the steering wheel, holding it with a firm grip
With one hand at the top of the wheel you can hold a straight course and make small corrections while your body is turned to look behind.
-
14. A sign on a divided highway reads Keep Right Except to Pass. What does it require of you?
Show answer
Answer A: Use the left lane only to overtake, then return to a lane on the right
The left lane on such a highway is reserved for overtaking, so a driver who has finished a pass must move back to the right.
-
15. A yellow diamond shows an arrow that doubles back on itself. What kind of curve lies ahead?
Show answer
Answer C: A turn of 135 degrees or more, nearly doubling back
The hairpin curve sign is used where the road changes direction by 135 degrees or more, and it is normally backed up by chevrons or a large arrow through the bend.
-
16. On a school speed limit sign, the part carrying the word SCHOOL is shown
Show answer
Answer A: in black on a fluorescent yellow-green background
The SCHOOL portion of the school speed limit sign uses the same fluorescent yellow-green background as school warning signs, while the speed portion keeps the standard regulatory appearance.
-
17. When should headlights be switched on besides during the hours of darkness?
Show answer
Answer C: Whenever rain, fog, snow or dust makes it harder to see or to be seen
Headlights are as much about being seen as about seeing, so they go on whenever visibility drops.
-
18. You are passing a crash on the other side of a divided highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Keep your eyes on your own lane and the traffic around you
Staring at a crash scene, often called rubbernecking, causes sudden slowing and secondary collisions. Your attention belongs on the traffic in front of you.
-
19. You are turning right on a red light where that is permitted. What does the law require first?
Show answer
Answer B: A full stop, then yielding to traffic and pedestrians
A right turn on red is allowed only after stopping completely and giving way to everyone who has the green, including people in the crosswalk.
-
20. Alcohol is classified as which kind of drug?
Show answer
Answer B: A depressant that slows the central nervous system
As a depressant, alcohol slows the brain and nervous system, which lengthens reaction time and dulls the coordination that driving depends on.
-
21. A broken white line separates your lane from the lane on your right. What does it permit?
Show answer
Answer C: Changing lanes when it is safe to do so
A normal broken white line marks a boundary between lanes traveling the same way that road users may cross when it is safe.
-
22. You are the second vehicle waiting to turn left on a green ball. Where should you wait?
Show answer
Answer A: Behind the stop line, until the first vehicle has actually turned
Only the lead vehicle should move into the intersection to wait; a second vehicle inside it is likely to be stranded there when the light changes.
-
23. You are approaching a yield sign on a ramp that joins a busy street. What does the sign require?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down, be ready to stop, and let the other traffic go first
A yield sign means you must slow, be prepared to stop and give way to traffic on the road you are entering; a full stop is required only when traffic makes it necessary.
-
24. After turning right you see a sign showing that your lane ends a short way ahead. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Signal and merge into the next lane while there is still room
Merge early and smoothly while a gap is still available, rather than running out of pavement or forcing your way in at the last moment.
-
25. What suspension does Maine impose on a conditional license holder who refuses a chemical test?
Show answer
Answer D: Not less than 2 years
A conditional license holder found to have operated with any alcohol faces a suspension of at least one year, and refusing the test raises that to not less than 2 years.
-
26. Why is a U-turn on a one-way street a problem?
Show answer
Answer A: You would end up facing the wrong way against all the traffic
Every lane of a one-way street runs the same way, so turning around leaves you driving head-on against all of the traffic.
-
27. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
Show answer
Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
-
28. You are very angry after an argument and about to drive. What should you know?
Show answer
Answer A: Strong emotions can impair judgment and attention much like alcohol
Anger, grief and stress pull attention inward and encourage risk taking. Give yourself time to settle down before getting behind the wheel.
-
29. You come up behind a bicyclist who is descending a steep hill in the middle of the traffic lane. What should you take into account?
Show answer
Answer D: The rider may be moving at close to the speed of the traffic
A bicycle can reach the speed of traffic on a descent, so there is little to gain from a pass and the rider needs the whole lane to steer around surface hazards.
-
30. You must cross a stretch of water lying across the road that you know is shallow. What is the right technique?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down before you reach it and cross steadily in a low gear
Slow before the water, then keep a steady low speed so you do not throw water over the engine or lose steering. Test the brakes gently once you are through.