Maine BMV Motorcycle Practice Test 58

  • 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 large truck is passing you on a two-lane road. What is the safest thing to do?

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    Answer C: Keep right in your lane and ease off the gas a little

    Staying in your own lane and easing off shortens the pass without forcing you onto a soft shoulder or into the truck's path.

  2. 2. Is it a good idea to shift into neutral and coast down a long hill to save fuel?

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    Answer B: No, you lose engine braking and some control of the vehicle

    In neutral the engine cannot help slow the vehicle, so the brakes do all the work and can overheat. Stay in gear so the drivetrain helps hold your speed.

  3. 3. You are about to pull out from a stop sign. Which scanning habit is correct?

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    Answer A: Look to the left, then to the right, then to the left again before moving

    Traffic from the left reaches you first, and a second look left catches anything that arrived while you were looking right.

  4. 4. Another driver takes a right of way that was legally yours. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Give way to the other driver and avoid the crash, whatever the law says

    Right of way is something you give, not something you take, and being in the right is no protection in a collision.

  5. 5. A driver passes this sign and the signal beyond it is already showing green. What is the safest response?

    A yellow diamond showing a traffic signal with three stacked lights
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    Answer C: Ease off the accelerator and be ready to stop, because an indication that has been showing for a while is about to change

    A signal that has been displaying the same indication for some time is close to changing, so arriving at a controlled speed with the brake covered is safer than accelerating to beat it.

  6. 6. When may a Maine driver use a handheld device despite the general ban?

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    Answer C: To contact law enforcement or emergency services about an immediate threat

    Maine's exception covers communication with a law enforcement agency or an emergency service when the circumstances present an immediate threat to the health or well-being of a person.

  7. 7. You are waiting to turn left and an oncoming vehicle stopped in the near lane to turn left blocks your view of the far lane. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Wait where you are until you can see that the far lane is completely clear

    The lane you cannot see is where the crash comes from, so you hold your position until the view opens up.

  8. 8. You have driven at 70 mph for an hour and then exit onto a town street. What is the common risk?

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    Answer B: Your sense of speed adapts, so 35 mph feels slow and you drive too fast

    After a long stretch at high speed the brain adapts, so town speeds feel unnaturally slow; check the speedometer instead of trusting the feeling.

  9. 9. How should a passenger behave through a turn?

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    Answer B: Look over the operator's shoulder in the direction of the turn and avoid sudden movement

    Looking over the operator's shoulder into the turn keeps the passenger aligned with the motorcycle, and avoiding sudden movement prevents unexpected changes in balance.

  10. 10. When may a driver of a motor vehicle use a marked bicycle lane?

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    Answer C: Only to cross it when turning or entering the road where the markings allow

    A bike lane is a lane for cyclists. Motor vehicles may only cross it to enter or leave the road or to make a turn where the markings permit.

  11. 11. When may you stop on the shoulder of a freeway?

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    Answer A: Only in an emergency, moving completely off the travel lanes and switching on your hazard lights

    The freeway shoulder is reserved for emergencies and for disabled vehicles, and a vehicle stopped there must be clear of the travel lanes with hazard lights on.

  12. 12. The group has become separated and the leader wants to wait for the missing riders. Where should the leader pull in?

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    Answer C: In a parking area or other space that is clear of moving traffic

    Waiting somewhere off the roadway keeps the parked machines and their riders out of traffic and gives the arriving riders room to pull in safely.

  13. 13. What happens when tires are driven underinflated for a long time?

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    Answer D: They wear at the edges, they run hot and they are more likely to fail

    An underinflated tire flexes too much, which wears the shoulders and builds up heat that can destroy the tire.

  14. 14. A driver ignores this sign and passes on the opposite side. What is the main risk?

    A white vertical rectangle with a black border and black legend
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    Answer B: Ending up on the wrong side of a divider, facing traffic coming the other way

    The sign settles which side of a fixed divider is the legal one, so taking the other side sends the vehicle into the opposing stream or straight at the obstruction.

  15. 15. You are traveling beside another vehicle on a multilane highway at nearly the same speed. Why is this a poor position?

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    Answer B: You may be sitting in that driver's blind spot with nowhere to go if they move over

    Driving alongside removes your side escape route and often puts you where the other driver cannot see you. Speed up or drop back to open space beside you.

  16. 16. You expect to be out after dark on a sunny day's ride. What should you plan for eye protection?

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    Answer B: Carry a clear shield to change to when the light drops

    A tint that helps in daylight steals light you need at night, and riding with no eye protection is not the answer, so carry a clear shield and change it at dusk.

  17. 17. What suspension does Maine impose for an OUI conviction with three or more prior convictions within 10 years?

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    Answer B: 8 years

    A fourth or later OUI within 10 years brings an 8 year suspension in Maine, with a minimum fine of 2,100 dollars and 6 months of imprisonment.

  18. 18. What is the only reliable remedy for a driver who is sleepy?

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    Answer A: Sleep

    Caffeine, fresh air and noise may make you feel alert for a few minutes, but they do not remove the need for sleep. Stop somewhere safe and rest.

  19. 19. Besides motorist services and tourist information, a blue sign background is also used for

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    Answer B: evacuation route signing

    Blue is assigned to road user services, tourist information and evacuation routes, so hurricane and other evacuation routes are signed in blue.

  20. 20. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?

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    Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one

    At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.

  21. 21. A traffic signal ahead is showing a flashing red light. What does it require?

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    Answer C: Stop completely, then go when the way is clear, as at a stop sign

    A flashing red light has the same meaning as a stop sign: stop completely, yield to traffic and pedestrians, then proceed when it is safe.

  22. 22. You are waiting to turn and the traffic ahead has stopped. Where must you not come to rest?

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    Answer D: On the crosswalk, which people need in order to cross the street

    Stopping on a crosswalk forces pedestrians out into the traffic lanes to get around you, so you hold back before it instead.

  23. 23. How does Maine mark a REAL ID compliant license, and is holding one compulsory?

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    Answer C: With a gold star on the face of the card, and it is optional

    Maine prints a gold star on a REAL ID compliant card and describes obtaining one as a choice rather than a requirement, since a non compliant card still works for driving.

  24. 24. Visibility drops suddenly and you decide to leave the highway. What is the safest way to do it?

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    Answer A: Take the next exit or a wide pull off, well clear of the traffic lanes

    Get right off the traveled way, and off the shoulder too if you can, because vehicles in poor visibility often drift onto the shoulder.

  25. 25. You want to pass on a two-lane road where several people are walking on the narrow shoulder ahead. What should you consider?

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    Answer D: There is no escape room if the pass goes wrong, so wait for a better place

    A pass depends on having somewhere to go if it goes wrong, and a shoulder occupied by pedestrians removes that option for both vehicles.