Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 21
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. Why is this restriction used so often on a divided road just before a crest or a bend?
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Answer A: Because a vehicle turning across the median there stays hidden from approaching drivers until it is too late
The maneuver needs a long gap and good visibility, and where sight distance is short an approaching driver has no time to react to a vehicle turning across the road.
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2. A pedestrian has stepped into a crosswalk at an intersection ahead of you. What is your obligation?
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Answer C: Yield and let the pedestrian finish crossing before you proceed
Drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, and an intersection has a legal crosswalk whether or not lines are painted on the pavement.
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3. What is the basic rule for entering a roundabout?
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Answer B: Traffic already circulating goes first, and you wait for a gap
Entering traffic yields to vehicles already going around the circle, which is what keeps a roundabout moving instead of locking up.
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4. You are crossing a divided highway with a wide median. How should you treat the two roadways?
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Answer D: As two intersections, waiting in the median only when your vehicle fits
Each roadway of a divided highway is a separate intersection, and you should wait in the median only if it is long enough to hold your vehicle clear of both roadways.
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5. A bicyclist ahead of you puts the left arm straight out to the side. What is being signaled?
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Answer B: A left turn or a move to the left
The left arm held straight out is the bicycle signal for a left turn, so hold back and give the rider room to cross toward the center.
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6. What fine does Maine set for a driver under 18 who breaks the curfew or the passenger restriction on a new license?
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Answer D: A fine of not less than 250 dollars and not more than 500 dollars
Maine makes a violation of the restrictions on a driver under 18 a traffic infraction with a fine between 250 and 500 dollars, on top of the suspension and the extension of the restricted period.
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7. How may a two-way left-turn lane never be used?
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Answer B: As a through travel lane or a passing lane
The lane exists only for turning movements, so traveling or passing along it puts you head-on with vehicles turning from the opposite direction.
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8. Federal law lets a state open its high-occupancy vehicle lanes to certain vehicles carrying only one person. Which of these is covered by that allowance?
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Answer B: Motorcycles
Federal law lets states allow motorcycles into high-occupancy vehicle lanes regardless of the number of occupants, because keeping riders in the flow is safer than the alternative.
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9. How should you handle a prescription or over the counter medicine before driving?
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Answer D: Read the label and ask a pharmacist or doctor whether it affects driving
Many common medicines, including allergy and cold remedies, cause drowsiness or slowed reactions, and the label or a pharmacist can tell you whether driving is safe.
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10. What printed matter may a Maine driver still consult while operating a vehicle?
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Answer D: A map or written directions to a specific location
Maine forbids reading printed material while operating a motor vehicle but excludes a map or written directions to a specific location from that definition.
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11. Why are tall vehicles such as SUVs and vans at extra risk in sudden steering maneuvers?
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Answer B: Their higher center of gravity makes them more likely to roll over
The higher a vehicle's mass sits, the more it leans in an abrupt turn, and a sharp swerve can tip it over. Smooth, gradual steering inputs are essential in tall vehicles.
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12. What happens in Maine if the parent who signed a minor's license application later files a notarized request that the license be suspended?
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Answer C: The Secretary of State suspends the license without a hearing
Whoever signed a minor's application may withdraw that consent by notarized written request, and the Secretary of State then suspends the license without a hearing.
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13. You are approaching the entry of a roundabout and a pedestrian is crossing the marked crosswalk on your approach lane. What must you do?
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Answer D: Stop before the crosswalk and let the pedestrian cross
Roundabout crosswalks sit a short distance back from the yield line, and drivers must yield there before they ever reach the circulating lanes.
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14. Permanent signs must be retroreflective or lighted so that
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Answer A: they show the same shape and color at night as by day
Retroreflective sheeting throws headlight light back to the driver, so a sign keeps its daytime shape and color after dark.
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15. You feel drowsy, so you open a window and turn the radio up. What does that achieve?
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Answer B: Very little, because the drowsiness comes back
Cold air and loud music are not sleep, so the alerting effect lasts a minute or two and the driver is soon just as sleepy and closer to a lapse.
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16. You come around a bend and find loose sand spread across your lane. What should you do?
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Answer D: Ease off the gas, avoid sudden braking or steering, and keep straight
Loose material acts like ball bearings under the tires; smooth inputs preserve what little grip remains, while sudden braking or steering breaks it.
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17. On a street with parking along the curb, the shared lane marking is painted well out from the curb face. What does that placement tell a bicyclist?
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Answer C: To ride clear of the doors of parked cars
The marking is set at least eleven feet from the curb where parking is allowed so that riders are guided outside the reach of an opening door.
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18. You want to turn right from a lane marked for through traffic and right turns, and the driver behind you wants to go straight. What should you do?
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Answer C: Signal, stay in the lane and make the turn when it is safe
A shared lane is the correct place to turn right from, so signal early and turn from the lane; the driver behind must wait or use another lane.
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19. You have a green light and an ambulance with lights and siren enters the intersection against its red. What should you do?
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Answer B: Stop and let the ambulance go through
An emergency vehicle answering a call may cross against a red, and every other driver yields to it whatever their own signal shows.
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20. Which shape is used for the school advance warning sign and the school crossing sign?
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Answer B: An upward-pointing pentagon
The five-sided pentagon with its point up identifies school signing, so the outline alone tells a driver that children may be present.
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21. How long should a young child ride in a rear-facing child seat?
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Answer D: Until the child outgrows the height or the weight limit of the seat
Rear facing is the safest position and should be kept until the child reaches the top height or weight allowed by the seat.
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22. Your road ends at a T-intersection with no signs or signals. Who has the right-of-way?
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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.
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23. What does the implied consent law mean for drivers?
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Answer D: By driving, you have agreed to a chemical test if lawfully arrested for impaired driving
Holding a license and driving on public roads is treated as consent to breath, blood or urine testing when an officer has grounds to arrest you. Refusing normally brings its own license penalties.
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24. A traffic signal is displaying a flashing red light. How must you treat it?
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Answer D: Stop completely, then proceed when the way is clear
A flashing red carries the same meaning as a stop sign: come to a full stop, then go only when it is safe.
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25. Trees block the view along the tracks as a driver approaches this sign. What approach speed is correct?
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Answer B: Slow enough to stop before the nearest rail once a train comes into view
Where the view along the track is obstructed, the only safe speed is one that still leaves stopping distance after a train first becomes visible.
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26. Rain is falling and the outside temperature reads close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is that dangerous?
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Answer A: The rain can freeze on contact and glaze the road with ice
Near freezing, rain landing on cold pavement can turn to a glaze of ice almost at once, so a road that looks merely wet may have no grip at all.
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27. You are stopped in slow traffic and a motorcycle comes up between the lanes. What should you do?
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Answer D: Hold your position and avoid any sudden lane change
The danger to a rider between lanes comes from a vehicle moving sideways without warning, so staying predictable is what protects them.
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28. You have finished parallel parking at the curb. How should the vehicle sit?
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Answer A: Close to the curb, so that it does not stick out into the traffic lane
A parked vehicle must sit close enough to the curb that it does not intrude into the path of passing traffic; the exact maximum distance is set by each state.
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29. Why is it risky to brake hard and steer sharply at the same moment?
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Answer C: The tires have a limited amount of grip that braking and turning must share
Each tire can deliver only so much grip, and asking it to slow the vehicle and change direction at once can exceed that limit and start a skid.
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30. You are about to pass another vehicle at night with your high beams on. What should you do?
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Answer C: Switch to low beams as you come up behind it and while you are alongside
High beams shining into the mirrors of the vehicle ahead blind the very driver whose reaction you depend on during the pass.