Maine BMV Motorcycle Practice Test 43

  • 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. The left-turn signal facing you shows a flashing yellow arrow. What does it mean?

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    Answer C: You may turn left after yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians

    A flashing yellow arrow permits a left turn but gives no protection, so you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to people in the crosswalk.

  2. 2. You have shut the engine off with the kill switch because the throttle stuck open. What comes next?

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    Answer D: Keep the clutch in, brake to a stop off the road, and find the cause

    With the engine off and the clutch pulled in the motorcycle is only coasting, so brake to a stop clear of traffic and inspect the throttle cable and grip before restarting.

  3. 3. A car is waiting at a side street to pull out as you approach the intersection. What speed adjustment helps most?

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    Answer B: Slow enough that you could still stop before reaching the intersection

    Covering the brakes and reducing speed turns a possible collision into a stop the rider can actually make if the driver moves out.

  4. 4. You are riding a shaded back road in autumn and reach a mat of wet leaves covering the pavement. What should you expect?

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    Answer D: Traction can be nearly as poor as ice, so slow down before you reach them

    Wet leaves are slick and they hide whatever is underneath, so reduce speed before the patch and cross it upright without braking or turning.

  5. 5. Your lane is ending ahead in slow, heavy traffic and drivers in the next lane are already bumper to bumper. What is the recommended way to merge?

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    Answer C: Take turns, one vehicle from each lane at the merge point

    Alternating one for one at the merge point keeps both lanes moving and is the safest way to combine slow traffic.

  6. 6. Which circumstance makes imprisonment mandatory on a first Maine OUI conviction?

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    Answer D: The driver had an alcohol level of 0.15 or more

    Maine requires a minimum of 48 hours of imprisonment on a first OUI when the alcohol level was 0.15 or more, when the driver was speeding 30 mph or more over the limit, when the driver eluded an officer, or when a passenger under 21 was in the vehicle.

  7. 7. You are approaching a driveway where a car waits to pull out and the driver is looking your way. What should you assume?

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    Answer D: The driver may not have seen you, so cover the brakes and be ready to slow

    Looking in your direction is not proof that a driver has registered a motorcycle, so cover the brakes and be ready to slow until the car is clearly staying put.

  8. 8. Why should a rider glance down at the sidestand before pulling away?

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    Answer A: A stand left down can catch the road and lever the rear wheel off the ground

    A sidestand that is still down will dig into the pavement in a left turn and can lift the rear tire clear of the road.

  9. 9. Unless a sign says otherwise, what is the maximum speed in Maine outside any business, residential or built-up area?

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    Answer D: 45 mph

    Maine's statutory maximums are 45 mph outside business, residential and built-up areas, 25 mph inside them and 15 mph when passing a school during arrival, recess or dismissal.

  10. 10. What suspension does Maine impose for a second refusal of a chemical test?

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    Answer B: 18 months

    The Maine implied consent schedule sets 18 months for a second refusal, with 4 years for a third and 6 years for a fourth.

  11. 11. You arrive at a four-way stop after two other vehicles have already stopped there. When is it your turn?

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    Answer A: After both of the earlier vehicles have gone

    Vehicles clear a four-way stop in the order they arrived, so the third driver to stop is the third to go.

  12. 12. For an alert driver, about how long is the reaction time once a hazard has been recognized?

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    Answer A: About three quarters of a second

    Reaction alone takes roughly three quarters of a second for an alert driver, and perception takes about as long again, so a second and a half of travel is added before the brakes bite.

  13. 13. Another vehicle is passing you on a two-lane road. What should you do with your speed?

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    Answer A: Hold your speed or ease off slightly to shorten the pass

    Speeding up strands the passing driver in the oncoming lane, while a steady speed or a slight lift lets the pass finish quickly and safely.

  14. 14. On a rural road, the driver of a slow farm tractor ahead of you signals a left turn even though there is no road or driveway in sight. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Stay behind the tractor, because it may be turning into a field entrance

    Farm equipment often turns into fields through gaps you cannot see, and it may swing wide to do so. Passing a vehicle that is signaling a left turn is a common cause of crashes.

  15. 15. You are turning left from a divided highway through a median opening into a business on the other side. Who has the right of way?

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    Answer C: The traffic on the roadway you are crossing

    Turning through a median opening means crossing the opposite roadway, so you yield to all traffic on it before you go.

  16. 16. Lights set into the pavement along both edges of a crosswalk start to flash yellow as you approach. What do they tell you?

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    Answer D: Someone is crossing and has to be given way

    In-roadway warning lights flash only when a pedestrian activates the crossing, so a flashing pattern means somebody is in or entering the crosswalk.

  17. 17. You enter a work zone where the top layer of pavement has been milled off, leaving a grooved surface. How should you ride?

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    Answer B: Hold a relaxed grip and steady speed, and expect the tires to wander

    Milled or grooved pavement makes the tires follow the ridges and the motorcycle feel unsettled, so relax on the bars, keep a constant speed and ride straight through.

  18. 18. You have a green arrow to turn left. What still applies?

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    Answer D: You must yield to any pedestrian or vehicle still inside the intersection

    A green arrow protects your turn from conflicting traffic, but you must still let anyone already in the intersection get clear before you move.

  19. 19. Why do drivers so often misjudge how fast an approaching motorcycle is traveling?

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    Answer C: A narrow vehicle seems to grow slowly, so it appears further away

    A small frontal area changes size slowly as it approaches, so drivers read a motorcycle as further away and slower than it really is. Never assume a waiting driver has judged your speed correctly.

  20. 20. 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.

  21. 21. What is the usual result of driving well above the flow of traffic on a typical trip?

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    Answer B: Very little time saved, with much greater risk

    Signals, traffic and short distances swallow the theoretical gain, while crash risk and crash severity both climb sharply with speed.

  22. 22. How should a rider and passenger arrange to communicate during a ride?

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    Answer A: By agreeing on simple signals or taps before the ride starts

    Wind and engine noise make speech unreliable, so a short set of signals agreed in advance is the dependable way for a passenger to say they need to stop.

  23. 23. A stop sign at a busy corner has a stop line and a crosswalk, but buildings block your view of the cross street. What is the correct sequence?

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    Answer C: Stop at the line first, then edge forward and stop again to see

    The first stop is required at the line or before the crosswalk, and a second stop farther forward is what actually lets you yield safely.

  24. 24. What is the main reason a rider should keep a generous following distance on a rough, broken road?

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    Answer B: So the rider can see and plan for holes and broken pavement in time to react

    The vehicle ahead hides the pavement, so extra space gives you time to spot a hole or a broken edge and to choose a path around it.

  25. 25. Loose gravel has been swept into the middle of your lane on a downhill bend. Which controls are affected most?

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    Answer D: Steering and braking, since the loose stones roll under the tires

    Gravel rolls between rubber and pavement, so the tires can neither turn the vehicle nor slow it as they would on a clean surface.