Maine BMV Permit Practice Test 45
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. You turn left onto a road that has a center two-way left-turn lane. In which lane should you be traveling once the turn is finished?
Show answer
Answer D: The first through lane to the right of the center turn lane
The shared center lane is only for turning movements, so even where a state lets you pause in it to merge you must end up in the first ordinary travel lane beside it.
-
2. Besides a chemical test, what else supports an impaired driving charge?
Show answer
Answer B: The officer's observations of the driving and the driver
Weaving, slow responses, speech and balance observed by the officer are evidence in their own right, which is why a driver can be charged on behavior alone.
-
3. Your passengers are being noisy and you are losing concentration. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Ask them to settle down, or pull over safely until they do
The driver is responsible for the conditions inside the vehicle, and stopping is always better than driving distracted.
-
4. You are about to drive a rental car that you have never driven before. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Adjust the seat and the mirrors and find the controls before moving off
Hunting for the wipers or the lights in traffic is a distraction, so learn the layout while the vehicle is stopped.
-
5. You have a green left-turn arrow but a pedestrian is still walking in the crosswalk you must cross. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Wait until the crosswalk is clear before turning
A green arrow protects you from other vehicles, but it never removes the duty to yield to a person already in the crosswalk.
-
6. You stop at the curb on a busy street to let passengers out. What should you tell them?
Show answer
Answer A: To get out on the curb side, away from traffic
Passengers should always leave on the side away from moving traffic, which keeps both them and the door out of the travel lane.
-
7. Besides extending the restricted period, what suspension does Maine impose on a driver under 18 for a first violation of the license restrictions?
Show answer
Answer B: 60 days
A first violation of the restrictions costs a driver under 18 a 60 day suspension, rising to one year for a third or subsequent violation.
-
8. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?
Show answer
Answer C: Well before the maneuver, so other drivers have time to react
A signal is a warning to others, so it has to be given far enough ahead of the maneuver that drivers and pedestrians can adjust.
-
9. A yellow diamond showing a bicycle is posted on a rural road. What should a driver expect?
Show answer
Answer A: Bicyclists crossing or riding along the roadway there
The bicycle warning sign is used where a bikeway crosses the road or where riders are likely to be in the traffic lanes, so drivers should look carefully and pass wide.
-
10. What injury does a correctly set head restraint help prevent?
Show answer
Answer A: A neck injury of the kind caused when your vehicle is struck from behind
In a rear impact the body is pushed forward and the head restraint stops the head from whipping backward.
-
11. A vehicle coming toward you has drifted into your lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow down, sound the horn, flash your lights and steer to the right if possible
Moving right gives the other driver space to recover and keeps you out of the lane they are most likely to return to. Braking reduces the force of any impact.
-
12. You are driving on a rural road with no sidewalk. Where should you expect to meet pedestrians?
Show answer
Answer A: Walking toward you on your side of the road
Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians are taught to walk facing traffic, so they appear on your side of the road coming toward you.
-
13. A white arrow painted in your lane points only to the right, and a sign above the lane shows the same movement. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Turn right from that lane
Pavement arrows used with lane-use signs are regulatory, so a driver occupying that lane must make the movement shown.
-
14. The lane you are in is marked with a straight arrow and a right-turn arrow together. What does that mean?
Show answer
Answer D: Drivers in that lane may either go straight or turn right
A lane marked with two arrows serves both movements, so a driver in it may take either one.
-
15. Which color scheme is standard for the drums and barricades that channel traffic through a work zone?
Show answer
Answer C: Alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes
Drums and barricades carry alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes, and the traffic cones used in the same zones are predominantly orange.
-
16. A wasp flies in through the open window while you are driving. What is the safest reaction?
Show answer
Answer B: Stay calm, slow down and stop somewhere safe
Far more crashes come from the driver's reaction to an insect than from the insect, so keep your eyes forward, slow down and deal with it stopped.
-
17. A city transit bus at a stop ahead of you switches on its left signal. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow and let the bus pull back into traffic
A bus needs a long gap to rejoin traffic, and yielding to a signaling transit bus keeps the whole line of traffic moving safely.
-
18. What should you do with the key and your belongings when you leave the vehicle in a public lot?
Show answer
Answer D: Take the key with you, lock up and put valuables out of sight
Most vehicle thefts are opportunistic: a key left behind or a bag in plain view is the invitation.
-
19. What is the shortest license suspension a Maine court may impose for a conviction of driving to endanger?
Show answer
Answer B: 30 days
Driving to endanger carries a suspension of not less than 30 days and not more than 180 days, and the minimum may not be waived by the court.
-
20. Where is the best place in the car for a child safety seat?
Show answer
Answer A: In the rear seat, secured either with the belt or with the lower anchors
The rear seat is furthest from most impacts and from the front airbags, and the seat must be locked in with the belt or the anchors.
-
21. In Maine, what suspension may follow a conviction for driving 30 miles per hour or more over the speed limit?
Show answer
Answer D: A 30 day suspension
Maine lists speeding by 30 mph or more among the offenses that may bring a 30 day license suspension, alongside offenses such as passing a stopped school bus.
-
22. Your power steering fails while you are driving. What happens and what should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Steering becomes much harder but still works, so slow down and pull off the road
Without power assistance the steering still works, but it takes much more effort, especially at low speed. Keep both hands on the wheel and get off the road.
-
23. What is the proper use of the horn?
Show answer
Answer C: To give a brief warning when another road user may not have seen you
The horn is a warning device meant to alert someone to your presence when a collision is possible, and using it in anger tends to escalate conflict rather than prevent crashes.
-
24. A center lane is marked with a broken yellow line on each side and is controlled by overhead lane signals. How is that lane used?
Show answer
Answer A: It carries traffic one way or the other according to the signals
A reversible lane is marked with broken yellow lines on both sides and its direction of travel is set by the lane control signals above it.
-
25. At an intersection where turning on a red arrow is not permitted, the signal shows a red left arrow next to a steady green ball. What may you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Go straight or turn right if permitted, but not left
An arrow controls only the movement it points to, so here the red arrow stops the left turn while the green ball still allows the other movements.
-
26. A shared-use path crosses the road ahead at a marked crossing and people are already crossing on it. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Yield and let them finish crossing the road
People already crossing at a marked crossing have the right of way, and a path crossing is a crossing of the roadway like any other.
-
27. You are stopped inside an intersection waiting for a gap to turn left. How should your front wheels be positioned?
Show answer
Answer C: Pointing straight ahead until you actually begin the turn
If your wheels are already turned left and another vehicle strikes you from behind, you would be pushed into oncoming traffic.
-
28. Where do you find how much weight your vehicle may carry?
Show answer
Answer C: On the placard in the driver door opening
The certification placard in the driver door opening gives the load limit and the recommended cold tire pressures for the vehicle as built.
-
29. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you proceed?
Show answer
Answer C: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop
When a signal shows no indication at all, drivers on every approach must stop and then take turns, exactly as at an all-way stop.
-
30. You have passed a large truck and want to move back into its lane. What should you see first?
Show answer
Answer B: Both of its headlights in your rear-view mirror
Seeing both headlights in your mirror means you are far enough ahead to be out of the truck's front no-zone before you move over.