Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 32
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. You are parked legally, but a police officer tells you to move the vehicle. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Move it as directed, because an officer overrides the signs
Directions from a police officer or a firefighter take precedence over signs and markings, whether they are directing traffic or clearing a street.
-
2. When may a Maine driver drive over an unprotected fire hose laid across a way?
Show answer
Answer B: Only with the consent of the police or fire official in command
Maine forbids driving over an unprotected fire department hose laid on a way for a fire or alarm without the consent of the police or fire department official in command.
-
3. The center line beside your lane is solid yellow while the opposite side has a broken yellow line. What does this mean?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not pass, but traffic in the other direction may
A solid yellow line on your side of the center marks a no-passing zone for your direction only, while the broken line grants the opposing direction a passing zone.
-
4. You are driving through a neighborhood where several children are riding bicycles. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down and expect sudden, unpredictable moves
Young riders lack the judgment and the mirror habits of adults and may swerve or cross without looking, so lower speed is your only reliable margin.
-
5. A pedestrian near the curb is staring at a phone and not looking at traffic. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down and be ready to stop, because the pedestrian may step out without looking
Distracted pedestrians step into the street without checking. Assume they have not seen you and give yourself time and space to stop.
-
6. You are stopped at the yield line of a roundabout when an emergency vehicle comes up behind you with lights and siren. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stay out of the roundabout and pull over to the right of your lane if there is room
Never enter a roundabout ahead of an emergency vehicle and never stop inside one; wait clear of the entry so the crew can get through.
-
7. Where is the no passing zone pennant sign installed?
Show answer
Answer A: On the left side of the roadway
The pennant is placed on the left side of the roadway at the beginning of the no-passing zone, in the field of view of a driver who is thinking about overtaking.
-
8. What is the benefit of looking far down the road rather than just ahead of the hood?
Show answer
Answer A: You steer with smaller corrections and you see trouble in plenty of time
A distant view steadies your steering and gives you time to plan, because you meet hazards after you have already seen them.
-
9. Why should the shoulder belt never be worn under the arm or behind the back?
Show answer
Answer C: In a crash it could not hold your upper body and could cause severe injury
The shoulder belt restrains your chest and head. Placed under the arm it concentrates crash force on the ribs and organs; behind the back it does nothing at all.
-
10. Two drivers each have three drinks, one over three hours and one in half an hour. What is the difference?
Show answer
Answer C: The fast drinker reaches a higher peak level
The liver removes alcohol at a steady rate, so drinking faster than the body can clear it pushes the blood alcohol level much higher.
-
11. Freeway traffic ahead of you has come to a stop. Besides braking early, how can you warn the drivers behind you?
Show answer
Answer B: By switching on the hazard lights for a few seconds
A short burst of hazard lights is a recognized way to tell following traffic that the queue ahead has stopped, and it carries much further back than brake lights. Some states restrict hazard lights on a moving vehicle, so use them only for the moment you are slowing.
-
12. You are traveling at 55 mph and see a vehicle ahead moving at about 15 mph. What is the hazard?
Show answer
Answer A: You reach it far sooner than you expect
At a 40 mph difference you cover the gap in a few seconds, which is why drivers strike slow vehicles they saw in plenty of time.
-
13. At roughly what speed can hydroplaning begin when a lot of water is lying on the road?
Show answer
Answer C: At speeds as low as about 35 mph
With enough water and less than perfect tread, a tire can start to ride on the water at around 35 mph, well below normal highway speeds.
-
14. You are already inside an intersection when you realize you should be in the lane beside you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stay in your lane through the intersection and change lanes afterwards
Drivers in an intersection are watching for cross traffic and turning vehicles, so an unexpected sideways move there is easily missed.
-
15. You have just merged onto a freeway from an entrance ramp. What should you do next?
Show answer
Answer C: Settle into the right lane and build up speed before changing lanes
Crossing lanes while you are still below the speed of the traffic forces other drivers to brake, so the speed comes first and the lane change second.
-
16. You park in your own driveway and the rear of the vehicle sticks out over the sidewalk. What is wrong with that?
Show answer
Answer C: It blocks the sidewalk and forces people into the street
A vehicle overhanging the sidewalk pushes pedestrians, wheelchair users and strollers into the roadway, and blocking a sidewalk is prohibited.
-
17. Why is smooth, early braking better than hard, late braking?
Show answer
Answer D: It keeps you in control and gives the driver behind more warning
Braking early and gently keeps the tires well within their grip and gives following drivers time to react to your brake lights.
-
18. A single solid white line separates two lanes running in the same direction. What is it telling drivers?
Show answer
Answer A: Changing lanes there is discouraged
A solid white lane line discourages lane changing, typically where merging or weaving would create a hazard.
-
19. You are backing out of a home driveway onto a street with a sidewalk. Who must you yield to?
Show answer
Answer D: All traffic on the street and everyone on the sidewalk
A driver entering the roadway from private property yields to everyone already using the sidewalk and the street.
-
20. You are approaching a marked school crossing and children have started to cross the roadway. What is required?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop and let the children finish crossing the roadway
Drivers give way to people in a marked crossing, stopping if that is what it takes, and children in particular may change direction without warning.
-
21. Along a highway the reference markers count upward as you travel. Where does the numbering normally begin?
Show answer
Answer C: At the southern or western edge of the state
Mileage numbering starts where the route enters the state from the south or the west, so rising numbers tell a driver which way they are heading.
-
22. You notice at night that one of your headlights has burned out. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Get it replaced promptly, because other drivers may take you for a motorcycle
A single light makes your vehicle look narrower and further away, so other drivers misjudge you, and one light is also illegal.
-
23. You are backing a trailer and want its rear to move to the left. Which way should you turn the steering wheel?
Show answer
Answer A: Move the bottom of the wheel to the left, which turns the top to the right
A trailer moves opposite to the tow vehicle's steering when backing. Holding the wheel at the bottom and moving your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go makes this easier.
-
24. You are ready to pull out of a parallel parking space into the traffic lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Signal, check the mirror and blind spot, and wait for a gap
A driver leaving a parking space must yield to traffic already in the lane, so signal, look for the gap and only then move out.
-
25. You leave your car so that its rear overhangs a marked crosswalk. What is wrong with that?
Show answer
Answer B: Pedestrians must step around it into the traffic lane
A crosswalk has to stay completely clear; anything sticking into it pushes people on foot out into the path of moving vehicles.
-
26. A driver in the leftmost lane reaches this sign at an intersection. What must the driver do?
Show answer
Answer B: Go straight on or turn right, and reach the destination another way
The restriction holds whatever the traffic or the signal is doing, so the driver has to pass the intersection and plan a different route.
-
27. After a crash your door will not open and you need to get out of the car. What should you try?
Show answer
Answer B: Try another door of the vehicle, or a window that will still open properly
A jammed door is common after an impact, and the simplest escape is a different door or a window rather than forcing the damaged one.
-
28. Why does the situation ahead of this sign deserve extra care from a motorcyclist?
Show answer
Answer C: Because a narrow machine is easy to overlook in a mirror or a blind spot
A motorcycle fills very little of a mirror and disappears easily into a blind spot, so the rider should adjust speed and lane position to stay visible where the streams come together.
-
29. A sign at the signal reads LEFT TURN ON GREEN ARROW ONLY. The ball turns green but no arrow appears. What may you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Wait, because your turn is allowed only while the arrow is showing
The sign removes the permissive turn, so the left is legal only during the green arrow and you must wait behind the line until it appears.
-
30. You brake hard in a vehicle with antilock brakes and feel the pedal pulsing under your foot. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Keep firm, steady pressure on the pedal and steer where you need to go
The pulsing is the system releasing and reapplying the brakes so the wheels keep rolling, which is what lets you steer while braking. Pumping the pedal defeats it.