Maine BMV Motorcycle Practice Test 28

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

Minimum age: 16 years, with an 8 hour motorcycle education program required of every applicant

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. A flagger turns the paddle to the orange face reading SLOW. What does that tell approaching drivers?

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    Answer D: Reduce speed and continue through the work area with care

    The SLOW face keeps traffic moving at a reduced speed while workers or equipment are close to the travel lanes.

  2. 2. When should you move into the lane you need for a turn?

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    Answer D: Well before the intersection, as soon as you know your route

    Getting into the correct lane early lets other drivers read your intentions and keeps you from making a sudden lane change at the corner.

  3. 3. How long can cannabis affect a driver?

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    Answer A: For hours after the strongest effects have passed

    Slowed reactions, poor tracking and weak judgment of distance can last for hours, well beyond the point where the user believes the effects are over.

  4. 4. A driver who has been drinking has two cups of strong coffee. What has changed?

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    Answer D: The driver is more awake but just as impaired

    Coffee can make a drinker feel alert, but nothing except time removes alcohol from the blood, so a wide awake drinker is still an impaired driver.

  5. 5. Which statement best describes what the basic speed law requires of you?

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    Answer C: That you never drive faster than is reasonable and safe for the conditions

    Nearly every state has a basic speed law that makes the conditions the real limit: weather, traffic, light and road surface can all require a speed well below the posted number.

  6. 6. You notice that the driver ahead of you is holding a phone to the ear. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Assume slower reactions and leave extra space, or else hold back

    A driver on the phone reacts late and misses things, so the safe response is distance rather than a lesson.

  7. 7. When is a driver at the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel?

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    Answer B: Late at night, early morning and mid afternoon

    The body clock produces its deepest dips in alertness in the small hours and again in the middle of the afternoon, and crash records follow those dips.

  8. 8. A person with a guide dog is standing at the corner facing the street you are about to cross. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Stop well back and wait quietly for them to decide

    Blind pedestrians rely on engine sound to judge traffic, so stop back from the crossing and avoid the horn, which only confuses them.

  9. 9. You are about to pull out of a driveway when someone on the sidewalk is walking toward it. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Wait, because traffic on the sidewalk has the right-of-way

    A vehicle entering the roadway from a driveway yields to people on the sidewalk as well as to traffic on the street.

  10. 10. You are following a tractor-trailer so closely that its rear doors fill your windshield. What is the main problem?

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    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. 11. The neutral light is on, but you are not sure the transmission is really out of gear. How can you confirm it?

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    Answer B: Release the clutch and rock the motorcycle to see whether it rolls freely

    A machine that rolls without resistance while the clutch is released is genuinely in neutral, which a burnt out or faulty neutral switch cannot tell you.

  12. 12. A driver's destination lies along the street to the right, and this sign stands at that corner. How should the driver reach it?

    A white square showing an arrow turning right inside a red circle with a red diagonal line through it
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    Answer D: By going on and using a later intersection where turning is allowed

    When a movement is barred at one corner the driver has to reroute, normally by continuing and coming back to the destination from a permitted approach.

  13. 13. You are in the right-hand of two left-turn lanes and the vehicle beside you starts to drift toward your lane during the turn. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Slow slightly, keep to your own lane and give the other vehicle room

    Drivers commonly drift wide in dual turn lanes, so hold your own line, ease off and leave space rather than racing or crowding the other vehicle.

  14. 14. A yellow diamond showing two vertical arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down, warns that

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    Answer A: the road ahead carries traffic in both directions

    The two-way traffic sign warns that the roadway ahead is not divided and that vehicles will be coming from the opposite direction.

  15. 15. What is the function of a regulatory sign?

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    Answer A: To inform road users of traffic laws or regulations that apply at that location

    Regulatory signs state requirements that carry the force of law where they are posted, so disregarding one is a violation rather than a lapse of judgment.

  16. 16. How much should you normally reduce your speed on a road covered with packed snow compared with dry conditions?

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    Answer C: By about half

    Packed snow roughly doubles the distance needed to stop, so a common guideline is to cut speed by about half. On ice, slow to a crawl.

  17. 17. Is it safe to check your phone while stopped at a red light?

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    Answer B: No, you may miss the signal change and hazards around you

    Attention does not return instantly when the light changes, and emergency vehicles, pedestrians or a rear-end threat can appear while you are stopped. Stay focused on the road.

  18. 18. 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?

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    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.

  19. 19. How is a wheel bearing checked during an inspection?

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    Answer A: Raise the wheel clear of the ground and rock it side to side to feel for play

    A worn bearing shows itself as side to side play in a raised wheel, and it may also feel rough or notchy when the wheel is spun.

  20. 20. A deer crosses the road ahead of you and disappears into the trees. What should you expect?

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    Answer A: More animals may follow, since deer usually move in groups

    Deer commonly travel in groups, so one animal crossing is a warning that others are close by. Slow down and stay ready to stop well past the point where it crossed.

  21. 21. A sign at the intersection prohibits U-turns, but the opening looks wide and clear. What may you do?

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    Answer B: Obey the sign and turn around somewhere else

    A prohibition applies whatever the traffic looks like at that moment, usually because of sight distance or conflicts you cannot see from the lane.

  22. 22. A dog runs out and chases your motorcycle. What is the recommended response?

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    Answer D: Downshift and approach slowly, then accelerate away as you reach the animal

    Approaching slowly keeps the dog aiming at where you are now, and accelerating as you reach it leaves the animal behind without a sudden swerve.

  23. 23. An overhead lane-use control signal shows a steady red X above your lane. What does it mean?

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    Answer B: You may not use that lane and must move out of it

    A steady red X means the lane below it is closed to you, while a steady yellow X is the warning to prepare to vacate the lane and a downward green arrow means the lane is open.

  24. 24. At night you are waiting to turn left and can see only the headlights of an approaching vehicle. Why should you allow a bigger margin?

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    Answer D: Because lights alone make speed and distance hard to judge

    With no other visual cues, two points of light give you very little information about how fast the vehicle is closing, so leave extra margin.

  25. 25. You have stopped after a crash. Why should the engines of the vehicles involved be switched off?

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    Answer A: To reduce the risk of a fire starting around any fuel that has spilled

    Crashes often break fuel lines, and a running engine is a source of ignition, so switching off lowers the risk of fire.