New Hampshire NH DMV Permit Practice Test 13
- Questions40
- Correct to pass32
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. A driver ahead of you extends the left arm straight out horizontally through the window. What is being signaled?
Show answer
Answer C: A left turn
The left arm held straight out is the standard hand signal for a left turn.
-
2. A signal on an entrance ramp changes from red to green and lets one vehicle at a time onto the highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop on the red and go on the green, one vehicle for each green
A ramp meter spaces vehicles out so they join the highway one at a time instead of arriving as a group, and it is a traffic signal like any other.
-
3. A person in a wheelchair is traveling in the roadway because the sidewalk is blocked by construction. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Pass slowly with plenty of room, or wait
A blocked sidewalk leaves the person no choice but the road, and a chair cannot move aside quickly, so pass wide and slow or wait for room.
-
4. Why is the road often most slippery during the first few minutes of rain after a long dry spell?
Show answer
Answer C: Oil and dust on the surface mix with the water into a slick film
Oil drippings and road dust build up on dry pavement, and the first light rain lifts them into a slippery film before heavier rain washes it away.
-
5. As a center two-way left-turn lane reaches an intersection, the markings change into a single left-turn lane. What does that mean for you?
Show answer
Answer D: From that point it serves one direction only, so use it just to turn left
Where the shared lane becomes a marked turn bay it belongs to one direction of travel, and only vehicles making that left turn may occupy it.
-
6. Your vehicle has daytime running lights. Why should you still switch on the headlights at dusk?
Show answer
Answer B: Daytime running lights usually do not light the tail lights, so you are hard to see from behind
On many vehicles the daytime running lights illuminate only the front. Without the headlight switch on, the rear of the vehicle stays dark and the dash may still look lit.
-
7. A law enforcement officer is directing traffic and waves you forward while the signal facing you shows red. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Follow the officer's direction and proceed
Directions given by an officer controlling traffic take priority over signals, signs and pavement markings.
-
8. A parking space is marked with the international symbol of access. Who may use it?
Show answer
Answer A: Only a vehicle displaying the required placard or plate
Accessible spaces may be used only by a vehicle that displays a valid disability placard or plate, no matter how short the stop would be.
-
9. You are about to pass a bicyclist on a narrow two-lane road. What is the correct way to do it?
Show answer
Answer A: Wait for a clear gap and move well left, giving the rider wide space
Pass a cyclist as you would a car: wait for clear road, change lane position to leave generous clearance, and return only when the rider is well behind you.
-
10. You are entering a freeway using an on-ramp with an acceleration lane. What is the correct technique?
Show answer
Answer C: Use the acceleration lane to reach the speed of traffic, then merge into a gap while yielding to traffic already on the freeway
The acceleration lane exists so you can match the speed of freeway traffic before merging, and drivers already on the freeway have the right-of-way.
-
11. How far ahead should you normally be looking while driving?
Show answer
Answer D: About 12 to 15 seconds of travel ahead
Looking that far ahead, roughly a block in town and much farther on a highway, gives you time to see a problem developing and adjust before it becomes an emergency.
-
12. You are about to pass a long tractor-trailer on a two-lane road. What should you expect?
Show answer
Answer B: You will need more clear road, since the vehicle is much longer
A tractor-trailer can be 70 feet long, so passing it takes more distance and more time than passing a car at the same speed difference.
-
13. How does a NO OUTLET sign differ from a DEAD END sign?
Show answer
Answer B: It warns that a whole group of streets has no way out
No Outlet is posted where the road leads into a network of streets from which there is no through route, while Dead End refers to the single street itself.
-
14. A yellow diamond showing a truck is posted beside a quarry entrance. What is it warning about?
Show answer
Answer A: Trucks turning onto the highway from that entrance
A truck crossing or trucks entering sign is used where heavy vehicles pull onto the road from a site, and they accelerate slowly once they are on it.
-
15. You have begun to move into the next lane when the gap you were aiming for closes. What is the safest action?
Show answer
Answer C: Return to your own lane, cancel the signal and wait for a better gap
An unfinished lane change leaves you in a space that no longer exists, and the lane you came from is still yours.
-
16. Your left-turn lane shows a flashing yellow arrow. What does that indication allow?
Show answer
Answer B: A left turn after yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians
A flashing yellow arrow marks a permissive left turn: the movement is allowed, but oncoming vehicles and pedestrians keep the right-of-way.
-
17. Traffic is backed up on the far side of a railroad crossing. What should you do before driving onto the tracks?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait behind the tracks until there is room to clear them completely
Never enter a crossing until you are certain you can drive completely across without stopping, because a vehicle trapped on the tracks cannot get out of a train's way.
-
18. At a freeway exit ramp, this sign normally backs up which other regulatory sign posted nearer to the ramp terminal?
Show answer
Answer D: The sign that forbids entering that roadway at all
The two work as a pair at ramp terminals: one keeps drivers from turning in, and this one sits farther along to catch a driver who has already entered.
-
19. Which family of signs normally uses a rectangle that is wider than it is tall?
Show answer
Answer B: Guide signs, which name routes and destinations
Guide signs are laid out as horizontal rectangles because they have to carry route numbers, place names and distances side by side.
-
20. A flagger in a work zone turns a paddle so that the red octagonal face reading STOP is toward you. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop completely and wait for the flagger to signal you forward
The STOP face of a flagger paddle requires a complete stop, and you may move again only when the flagger directs you to.
-
21. Another driver takes a right of way that was legally yours. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
22. A blue motorist service sign showing a fuel symbol and an arrow means that
Show answer
Answer D: fuel is available in the direction shown, and the sign imposes no obligation
Service signs are informational: they tell the driver what is available and in which direction, but they create no requirement.
-
23. The circular sign shape is reserved for which warning?
Show answer
Answer C: Advance warning of a highway-rail grade crossing
A round yellow sign with a black X and the letters RR is the grade crossing advance warning sign, and the circular outline is used for no other message.
-
24. The sun is low behind you and shining into the eyes of oncoming drivers. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Turn on your headlights and expect oncoming drivers not to see you
Drivers facing the low sun may not see you at all, so make yourself as visible as possible and give way rather than insisting on your right of way.
-
25. A warning sign showing two children on a see-saw is posted beside a residential street. What does it mean?
Show answer
Answer D: A play area lies beside the road and children may run out
The playground sign warns that children are present next to the roadway and may enter it without looking, so drivers should cover the brake and slow down.
-
26. A school crossing guard steps into the roadway and holds up a stop paddle. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop and stay stopped until the guard and the children have left the road
A crossing guard directs traffic with legal authority; you must remain stopped until both the guard and the children are clear of the roadway.
-
27. In a work zone, the flagger's instructions conflict with the pavement markings still visible on the road. Which do you follow?
Show answer
Answer B: The flagger, because a person directing traffic outranks the markings
An authorized flagger controlling a temporary traffic control zone overrides signs, signals and markings, and drivers must obey the flagger's signals.
-
28. Can a driver be charged with impaired driving after taking a legal over the counter medicine?
Show answer
Answer C: Yes, if the medicine impairs the ability to drive safely
Impaired driving laws cover any substance that affects driving, including cold remedies, allergy pills and sleep aids sold without a prescription.
-
29. In a work zone one lane sits an inch or two lower than the lane beside it. How should you change lanes?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down and cross the edge at a shallow angle, holding the wheel firmly
A vertical edge between lanes can catch a tire and jerk the steering. Crossing slowly at a shallow angle lets the wheel climb without grabbing.
-
30. Why should you not switch the engine off while the vehicle is still moving fast?
Show answer
Answer B: You lose power steering and the steering may lock
With the engine off the steering becomes very heavy and on many vehicles the column can lock, so shift to neutral first and only shut down once stopped.
-
31. Why is this restriction used so often on a divided road just before a crest or a bend?
Show answer
Answer A: Because a vehicle turning across the median there stays hidden from approaching drivers until it is too late
The maneuver needs a long gap and good visibility, and where sight distance is short an approaching driver has no time to react to a vehicle turning across the road.
-
32. You are towing a trailer and turning right at an intersection. What must you allow for?
Show answer
Answer D: The trailer cuts the corner, so swing wider than usual
A trailer follows a shorter path than the towing vehicle, so its wheels track inside your line and can mount the curb unless you take the turn wide.
-
33. A yellow sign ahead of an underpass reads LOW CLEARANCE 12 FT 6 IN. What does the figure tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: The greatest height that can pass beneath the structure
The figure is the actual clearance available, so a vehicle taller than that must leave the road and take a marked alternative route.
-
34. The center line beside your lane is solid yellow while the opposite side has a broken yellow line. What does this mean?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not pass, but traffic in the other direction may
A solid yellow line on your side of the center marks a no-passing zone for your direction only, while the broken line grants the opposing direction a passing zone.
-
35. Children are playing close to the edge of a residential street. What is the right speed choice?
Show answer
Answer D: Well below the limit, slow enough to stop for a sudden dash
Children can step out without warning, so the safe speed is the one that lets you stop within the distance you can see to be clear.
-
36. What does New Hampshire law presume about a driver holding a phone close to the ear while the vehicle is moving?
Show answer
Answer C: That the driver is engaging in a call within the meaning of the statute
RSA 265:79-c presumes that an operator holding a telephone or other voice-capable device in the immediate proximity of the ear while the vehicle is in motion is engaging in a call.
-
37. The vehicle you want to pass is traveling close to the speed limit. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
38. A pedestrian has stepped into a crosswalk at an intersection ahead of you. What is your obligation?
Show answer
Answer C: Yield and let the pedestrian finish crossing before you proceed
Drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, and an intersection has a legal crosswalk whether or not lines are painted on the pavement.
-
39. Your light turns green, but a vehicle is still in the middle of the intersection. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait until the intersection is clear before you move ahead
A green light means go only when the way is clear. Drivers already inside the intersection must be allowed to finish crossing.
-
40. On a highway with mileage-based exit numbering, you have just passed exit 42 and are looking for exit 55. About how far is it?
Show answer
Answer B: Thirteen miles
With mileage-based numbering each exit takes the number of the nearest milepost, so subtracting one exit number from another gives the distance in miles.