Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 43
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. The tire pressure monitoring symbol lights up on your dashboard. What is the system telling you?
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Answer A: At least one tire is significantly underinflated
The system warns when a tire falls well below the recommended pressure. Check all four with a gauge and inflate to the placard figure while they are cold.
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2. Beside an accessible parking space there is an area painted with diagonal stripes. What is it for?
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Answer C: It is an access aisle for wheelchairs and lifts, and no vehicle may park or stop in it
The striped access aisle gives the room a ramp or lift needs to deploy, so blocking it makes the adjacent accessible space unusable.
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3. The vehicle you want to pass is traveling close to the speed limit. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stay behind, because a pass may not take you over the limit
The speed limit applies while passing too. If you cannot complete the pass without exceeding it, do not start the pass.
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4. Which of these would appear as a symbol on a blue general service sign?
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Answer A: A hospital
General service signs cover facilities such as hospitals, fuel, food, lodging, camping, telephones and rest areas, all shown in white on blue.
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5. You are at a red light where right turns on red are allowed, you cannot see clearly, and the driver behind sounds the horn. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stay stopped until you can see that the turn is safe
Turning right on red is permitted, never required, so you wait until you can see that the way is clear no matter what the driver behind does.
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6. Why can an oncoming vehicle that looks comfortably far away leave you far less room than you expect?
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Answer D: You and that vehicle close the gap at the sum of both your speeds
Two vehicles approaching at 55 mph each close the distance between them at about 110 mph, so the gap disappears in half the time you would expect.
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7. Someone stops drinking heavily at two in the morning and drives to work at eight. What is true?
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Answer A: They may still be impaired and over the limit
The body removes alcohol at a slow, fixed rate, so a heavy night can leave a driver impaired well into the next morning no matter how they feel.
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8. On a multi-lane street, a yield line is painted well back from an unsignalized crosswalk rather than right at it. Why?
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Answer D: So drivers in the other lanes can see the pedestrian
Setting the yield line back keeps a stopped vehicle from hiding a crossing pedestrian from drivers in the next lane, which is a common cause of these crashes.
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9. When should you arrange your way home if you plan to drink?
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Answer C: Before the first drink
Judgment is the first thing alcohol weakens, so the plan has to be made while you can still make a good one.
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10. What is the correct relationship between air bags and seat belts?
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Answer B: Air bags are designed to work together with seat belts, not instead of them
An air bag is a supplemental restraint that cushions one impact, while the belt keeps you in position so the bag can work and protects you in rollovers and secondary impacts.
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11. What does a steady yellow traffic light tell the driver facing it?
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Answer A: The green movement is ending and a red indication is about to appear
A steady yellow warns that the related green movement is being terminated and that red will follow, so you should stop if you can do so safely.
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12. A turn restriction sign at the corner shows a range of times below the symbol. What does that mean?
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Answer A: The turn is banned only during the hours shown on the sign
Times posted under a regulatory symbol set the period during which the restriction applies; outside those hours the movement is permitted.
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13. Yellow signs each showing one large black arrowhead, installed in a row along the outside of a curve, are
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Answer D: chevron alignment signs marking the change of direction of the curve
Chevron alignment signs are placed on the outside of a curve so that several are in view at once, letting the driver judge how sharply the road turns.
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14. You are driving through a residential area where parked cars hide the side streets. What is the safest approach?
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Answer C: Slow down and cover the brake as you pass each opening
Where parked vehicles hide side streets and driveways, lower speed and a covered brake buy the time you lose in sight distance.
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15. The gates at a railroad crossing begin to come down as you approach. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stop and wait until the gates are fully raised and the lights stop flashing
Once the gates start down you must stop clear of the tracks and wait until they are fully raised and the warning lights have stopped.
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16. A hands free phone conversation is which kind of distraction?
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Answer C: Cognitive, because your mind leaves the road
Hands free equipment removes the manual and visual parts of a call but not the mental load, and it is the mental load that makes a driver miss hazards.
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17. Why are sign shapes and colors standardized across the whole country?
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Answer D: So a driver knows the kind of message before reading it
Uniform shapes and colors let a driver classify a sign as regulatory, warning or guide from a distance, before the legend can be read.
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18. A white diamond symbol is painted in a highway lane. What does it identify?
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Answer C: A lane reserved for high-occupancy vehicles
The diamond symbol marks a preferential lane, most often one reserved for vehicles carrying a minimum number of occupants.
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19. Your vehicle is stuck in deep snow and you run the engine for heat while waiting for help. What must you check?
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Answer C: That the exhaust pipe is clear of snow
Snow packed around the tailpipe pushes exhaust back into the cabin, and carbon monoxide can kill without warning. Clear the pipe and crack a window open.
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20. Approaching the point this sign refers to, which hazard is most likely?
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Answer A: A vehicle pulling out from the entering road into the driver's path
The main risk is a driver on the entering road who misjudges the gap and pulls out, so covering the brake and being ready to slow is the sensible response.
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21. Besides school signing, which warning signs may also use a fluorescent yellow-green background?
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Answer C: Pedestrian and bicycle warning signs
Pedestrian crossing, bicycle and playground warning signs may use either the standard yellow or the fluorescent yellow-green background, which draws extra attention where people outside vehicles are present.
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22. You cannot avoid a wide puddle that covers only the right half of your lane. What should you expect?
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Answer D: The water can tug the vehicle toward that side, so slow before it and grip the wheel
Water dragging on the tires of one side only pulls the vehicle that way. Reduce speed before you reach it and hold the wheel firmly.
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23. Cannabis is legal for adults in some states. What does that mean for driving?
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Answer C: Driving while impaired by it is still an offense
Legal possession has nothing to do with driving law, and every state treats driving while impaired by cannabis as an offense.
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24. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signals are completely dark after a power failure. What should you do?
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Answer A: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop and take turns
When a signal is dark or out of order, drivers on every approach must stop and proceed in turn, exactly as at a four-way stop.
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25. In a normal signal cycle, what comes after a steady red indication?
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Answer A: A green indication that starts the next movement
Yellow is a warning that a movement is ending, so it never precedes a green; a red is followed by a green or a green arrow.
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26. How does a lap and shoulder belt protect you in a crash?
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Answer B: It holds you to the seat and spreads the force over the strong bones
The belt keeps you with the vehicle as it slows and puts the load on the hips and the chest rather than on soft tissue.
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27. You are hosting a party and a guest who has been drinking wants to drive home. What should you do?
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Answer D: Stop serving and arrange a ride or a bed
Only time removes alcohol, so a host who wants to prevent a crash has to remove the driving, not try to speed up sobering that cannot be sped up.
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28. You get into a heated argument with a passenger while driving. What should you do?
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Answer D: End the discussion or pull over to finish it
Anger narrows attention and encourages risk, and a conversation you cannot let go of is a passenger you should be parked to talk with.
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29. How do worn tires and worn brakes affect your ability to stop?
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Answer C: They lengthen the stopping distance, especially on a wet road
Worn tread cannot clear water and worn brakes cannot produce full force, so both stretch the distance needed to stop.
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30. The vehicle in front of you has stopped and is waiting to turn left, and there is a paved shoulder to the right. May you use it to get by?
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Answer D: No, in most states a pass may not be made by leaving the paved travel lanes
Passing on the right is normally lawful only inside the marked travel lanes, and most states prohibit driving onto the shoulder to get around a turning vehicle; the few states that allow it attach strict conditions.