New Hampshire NH DMV Permit Practice Test 18
- Questions40
- Correct to pass32
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. The road ahead is broken up with potholes and rough patches. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down, since a hole hit at speed can wreck a tire or wheel
A lower speed cuts the impact on tires, wheels and suspension and gives you time to choose a line through the rough surface.
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2. Which common non-prescription medicine is most likely to make a driver drowsy?
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Answer C: A cold or allergy remedy containing an antihistamine
Antihistamines in cold and allergy remedies are a leading cause of drowsiness behind the wheel, which is why the label carries a warning.
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3. What does New Hampshire law say about using an amateur or citizens band radio while driving?
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Answer A: It is lawful, notwithstanding any other provision of law
RSA 265:105 expressly makes it lawful to use an amateur or citizens band radio, radio telephone, radio telegraph equipment or other electronic receiving device while driving.
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4. The brake warning light stays on even though the parking brake is fully released. What does it indicate?
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Answer B: A possible brake system problem, so have the brakes checked promptly
The brake warning light also signals low brake fluid or a failure in one part of the hydraulic system. Do not ignore it, because braking may be reduced.
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5. How long does a parallel parking space need to be for the car you are driving?
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Answer D: About five or six feet longer than your vehicle
A few extra feet at each end give you the room to swing in and to straighten up without touching the vehicles in front or behind.
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6. In normal operation, which indication always comes between a green and a red on the same signal face?
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Answer C: A steady yellow
The yellow change interval must follow every green or green arrow, so a signal can never jump straight from green to red.
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7. 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.
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8. You are waiting to turn left and a motorcycle is approaching from the opposite direction. Why should you take extra care judging its speed and distance?
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Answer A: Its small size makes it look farther away and slower than it really is
A motorcycle's narrow profile fools the eye, so drivers often misjudge how soon it will arrive. Left turns across an oncoming motorcycle are a leading cause of rider deaths.
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9. You are traveling beside a solid white lane line. What does it tell you?
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Answer B: Crossing it is discouraged or prohibited, so stay in your lane
A solid white line separates lanes going the same direction where lane changing is discouraged or prohibited, such as where a through lane meets a mandatory turn lane.
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10. You are driving forward into a perpendicular space with a large pickup parked on the right of it. How should you take it?
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Answer D: Stay wide, turn in late and keep clear of the pickup
Starting the turn later keeps the rear of your car away from the vehicle beside the space, which is exactly what a tight early turn clips.
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11. You are driving at night on an unlit road using low beams. How should you choose your speed?
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Answer C: So you could stop within the distance your headlights light up
Driving faster than you can stop within the lit area is called overdriving your headlights. Anything beyond the beam is invisible until it is too late to react.
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12. When may New Hampshire license a 16-year-old who has not completed an approved driver education course?
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Answer A: When no transport to school is readily available, on a license limited to school travel
RSA 263:21 lets the director issue a license limited to travel to and from school and school assignments when no readily available transport exists and driver education would cause undue hardship.
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13. A New Hampshire vehicle is parked partly on a way at night under a street light that leaves it plainly visible. What does the parking light rule require?
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Answer B: No parking lights, because the vehicle is plainly visible from other lighting
RSA 265:112 requires parking lights on vehicles parked wholly or partly on a way from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise and whenever rain, snow or fog interferes with clear vision, unless the vehicle is plainly visible because of street or other lights.
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14. A driver is following you far too closely and you have a turn coming up. How should you slow down for it?
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Answer B: Signal early and slow gradually well before the turn
Early signals and gentle braking give a tailgater the time and distance they have failed to leave for themselves.
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15. A driver hunting for an on-ramp meets this sign at the mouth of the pavement ahead. What is the correct action?
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Answer C: Keep out of that roadway and look for the proper approach elsewhere
The restriction is absolute and does not depend on how much traffic is present, so the driver has to reach the highway by an approach built for entering vehicles.
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16. Rain is falling and the outside temperature reads close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is that dangerous?
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Answer A: The rain can freeze on contact and glaze the road with ice
Near freezing, rain landing on cold pavement can turn to a glaze of ice almost at once, so a road that looks merely wet may have no grip at all.
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17. You have just merged onto a freeway from an entrance ramp. What should you do next?
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Answer C: Settle into the right lane and build up speed before changing lanes
Crossing lanes while you are still below the speed of the traffic forces other drivers to brake, so the speed comes first and the lane change second.
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18. In most states, how far before a turn must your signal already be on in city traffic?
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Answer B: At least 100 feet, roughly the length of six or seven cars
Most states require the signal for at least 100 feet before a turn in city driving, which gives drivers behind you time to react before you slow; several require more at higher speeds.
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19. Where are children in the greatest danger around a school bus?
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Answer B: In the roadway right around the bus, especially in front
The danger zone is the band of roadway around the bus where the driver's view is poorest, and children crossing in front of the bus are hardest to see.
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20. 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.
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21. Should you drive with your hazard lights flashing while moving in fog?
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Answer A: No, they hide your turn signals and suggest you are stopped
Hazard lights on a moving vehicle tell other drivers you are stopped or disabled, and they cancel out your turn signals just when clarity matters most.
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22. Who may not practice driving under the New Hampshire exception for persons learning to drive?
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Answer C: Anyone whose license or driving privileges are suspended or revoked for cause
RSA 263:25 withholds the learning-to-drive exception from anyone under 15 and a half and from anyone whose license or driving privileges have been suspended or revoked for cause.
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23. A crossing guard steps into the roadway ahead of this sign with one hand raised. What must the driver do?
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Answer B: Stop and stay stopped until the guard waves traffic on
An adult guard is controlling traffic at that crossing, so the instruction given by that person governs and the driver waits to be released.
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24. On a clear day with light traffic, a driver stays far below the maximum this sign sets. What can that cause?
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Answer B: Obstruction of the normal flow of traffic, which is prohibited in itself
Driving so slowly that other traffic is impeded is an offense in its own right when nothing about safety, weather or the road calls for it.
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25. You are waiting to enter a two-lane roundabout and traffic is circulating in both lanes. What must you do?
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Answer A: Yield to traffic in both circulating lanes before you enter
Every entry to a roundabout is a yield point, and at a two-lane roundabout that means giving way to vehicles in either circulating lane.
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26. You have a green light and are turning right. Pedestrians are stepping off the curb into the crosswalk you are about to cross. What should you do?
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Answer B: Wait and let them cross before completing your turn
A green light does not release a turning driver from yielding to pedestrians already in the crosswalk of the street being entered.
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27. The engine dies at speed and the dashboard lights go out on a dark road. What should you do?
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Answer C: Hold the wheel firmly, steer over to the shoulder and use the hazard lights
Never switch the ignition to lock, because the steering can lock; steer to the shoulder and warn traffic with the hazard lights.
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28. A bicyclist stops at a four-way stop just before you do. Who goes first?
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Answer B: The bicyclist, who reached the intersection and stopped there before you did
A bicyclist on the roadway follows the same right of way rules as a driver, so arrival order decides the turn.
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29. You want to turn left at an intersection with no signs or signals and a vehicle is coming straight toward you from the opposite direction. What must you do?
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Answer C: Yield and turn after the oncoming vehicle has passed
A driver turning left always gives way to oncoming traffic that is close enough to be a hazard, whether or not the intersection is controlled.
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30. How does a person practice driving in New Hampshire before getting a license?
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Answer A: New Hampshire issues no car learner permits; a person at least 15 and a half may drive accompanied by a parent, guardian or licensed adult aged 25 or older
New Hampshire does not issue learner permits for cars; state law lets a person at least 15 and a half practice while accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or a licensed responsible adult aged 25 or older.
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31. You are traveling a long distance on a highway with three lanes in your direction, at about the speed of the surrounding traffic. Which lane is generally the best choice?
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Answer C: The center lane, which keeps you clear of merging traffic and of overtaking traffic
On a three-lane roadway the center lane avoids both the ramp traffic on the right and the overtaking traffic on the left, so it usually has the steadiest flow.
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32. What should you avoid when a hostile driver pulls alongside you?
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Answer A: Making eye contact, or answering the gestures in any way at all
Any response, including a look, encourages an aggressive driver, so give none and let the vehicle go.
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33. You see smoke coming from under the hood while driving. What should you do?
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Answer D: Signal, pull well off the road, shut off the engine and move everyone away from the vehicle
Stopping and shutting off the engine cuts the fuel supply to a possible fire, and distance protects you if it spreads. Raising the hood can feed the fire a rush of air.
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34. You are traveling in the same direction as a funeral procession and want to get ahead of it. What should you not do?
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Answer B: Driving in between the vehicles of the procession
Most states prohibit driving into or through a funeral procession, and cutting into the line leaves the drivers behind with no lead vehicle to follow, so go around only where passing is permitted.
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35. What must a driver be prepared to do at the point this sign refers to?
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Answer D: Turn left or right, because the road being traveled ends there
The road ends at another roadway, so the driver must slow, give way to traffic on the through road and turn in one direction or the other.
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36. What penalty does New Hampshire attach to overtaking a stopped school bus on the right when a stop was required?
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Answer D: A $500 fine plus penalty assessment and a suspension of up to 30 days
RSA 265:54 makes overtaking a school bus on the right a separate offense with a $500 fine plus penalty assessment and a license suspension of up to 30 days for a first offense.
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37. An upward-pointing pentagon with a yellow legend and border on a blue background is used as
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Answer D: a county route marker
The pentagon serves both the school warning series and county route markers, and the blue background with yellow legend identifies the county route version.
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38. You are on an entrance ramp joining a busy freeway. What should you do with your speed in the acceleration lane?
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Answer D: Build it up to about the speed of the traffic you are joining
Merging works when your speed matches the traffic stream, because a large speed difference forces the drivers already on the freeway to brake or swerve.
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39. 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.
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40. An ambulance has just gone by and traffic starts to move again. Why should you wait a moment before pulling back out?
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Answer B: Another emergency vehicle may be following the first one
Emergency calls often bring several vehicles, so check that nothing else is coming before you rejoin the traffic lane.