New Hampshire NH DMV Permit Practice Test 20
- Questions40
- Correct to pass32
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. Where should you be looking as you steer through a turn?
Show answer
Answer C: Toward the point on the new road where you want to end up
Drivers steer toward what they look at, so looking through the turn to where you want to go keeps the path smooth and accurate.
-
2. How long may a new resident of New Hampshire drive on an out-of-state license?
Show answer
Answer C: Up to 60 days after moving into the state
New residents have up to 60 days to obtain a New Hampshire driver license after moving into the state.
-
3. A steady green downward arrow is displayed above the lane you are in. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer A: You may drive in that lane
A green downward arrow means the lane beneath it is open for travel in your direction.
-
4. On a narrow two-lane road a line of vehicles has built up behind you. What is the safe and courteous action?
Show answer
Answer D: Pull into a turnout or a safe wide spot and let them go by
A slow vehicle holding up a queue invites risky passing; using a turnout clears the road without anyone having to take a chance.
-
5. Why is an underinflated tire especially risky on a long drive in hot weather?
Show answer
Answer C: It flexes more, builds up heat and can fail at speed
A soft tire flexes on every rotation, and that flexing makes heat that the hot road and high speed add to until the tire can come apart.
-
6. At which location is this sign normally installed?
Show answer
Answer D: Facing traffic that could turn into a one-way roadway or ramp against the flow
It is posted where a driver could otherwise enter a ramp or a one-way roadway from the wrong end, so it faces exactly the traffic that has to be kept out.
-
7. What is the most common cause of rear-end collisions?
Show answer
Answer C: Following too closely to stop in time
A driver who leaves too little space has no room to perceive, react and brake when the vehicle ahead slows, which is why space management prevents rear-end crashes.
-
8. How do stimulant drugs such as amphetamines or cocaine typically affect driving?
Show answer
Answer D: They can make the driver overconfident and more willing to take risks
Stimulants create a false sense of alertness and encourage aggressive, risky driving. When they wear off, sudden fatigue can follow.
-
9. An emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder ahead with its lights flashing. What does the move over principle require?
Show answer
Answer D: Change lanes away from it, or slow down if you cannot
Move over laws ask you to give responders an empty lane, and where traffic or a two-lane road makes that impossible, you slow down instead.
-
10. You decide to turn around using a driveway on your right. What is the safer way to do it?
Show answer
Answer C: Stop past the driveway, reverse into it, then pull out and drive away
Passing the driveway and backing in means you reverse off the roadway and then rejoin traffic facing forward, with a full view of both directions.
-
11. What is the first thing to do once your disabled vehicle is stopped on the shoulder?
Show answer
Answer A: Switch on the hazard warning lights so other drivers can see the vehicle
Hazard lights are the fastest way to make a stopped vehicle visible, and everything else can follow once traffic has been warned.
-
12. A pedestrian steps off the curb without looking your way. What should you assume?
Show answer
Answer B: That the person has not seen you at all, and be ready to stop for them
Defensive driving means assuming you have not been seen until there is clear evidence that you have.
-
13. What do the grooves in a tire tread do on a flooded road surface?
Show answer
Answer B: They give the water a way to escape so the tread can touch the road
Tread grooves pump water out from under the tire so rubber can meet pavement. A worn tread moves less water, so hydroplaning starts sooner.
-
14. What is the safe way to carry a dog in a car?
Show answer
Answer C: In a secured crate, or in a harness attached to a seat belt anchor
An unrestrained animal distracts the driver and becomes a heavy projectile in a crash, so it should be crated or harnessed.
-
15. What does the implied consent law mean for drivers?
Show answer
Answer D: By driving, you have agreed to a chemical test if lawfully arrested for impaired driving
Holding a license and driving on public roads is treated as consent to breath, blood or urine testing when an officer has grounds to arrest you. Refusing normally brings its own license penalties.
-
16. A delivery truck is parked in your lane and you must use the oncoming lane to get around it. Who has the right of way?
Show answer
Answer D: The oncoming traffic, because their lane is clear
The driver whose own lane is obstructed waits, because using the other lane is a favor from oncoming traffic, not a right.
-
17. A center lane is marked with a broken yellow line on each side and is controlled by overhead lane signals. How is that lane used?
Show answer
Answer A: It carries traffic one way or the other according to the signals
A reversible lane is marked with broken yellow lines on both sides and its direction of travel is set by the lane control signals above it.
-
18. A motorcycle ahead of you is weaving slightly as it crosses a stretch of grooved pavement. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Give the rider extra room until the surface improves
Grooves, metal plates and loose material affect a motorcycle far more than a car, so back off and let the rider deal with the surface.
-
19. A broken white line separates your lane from the lane on your right. What does it permit?
Show answer
Answer C: Changing lanes when it is safe to do so
A normal broken white line marks a boundary between lanes traveling the same way that road users may cross when it is safe.
-
20. A farm implement ahead of you on a two-lane road is wider than its own lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Hang back until you can see past it and pass only with a clear road
Wide equipment hides the road ahead and may extend farther across the center line than it appears, so the pass needs more room and a much better view.
-
21. The car ahead of you slows down for no reason that you can see. Should you pull out and pass?
Show answer
Answer B: No, find out why it is slowing before you commit to the other lane
A driver usually slows for something, such as a turn, a hazard or a pedestrian, and that something is often exactly where your pass would take you.
-
22. How closely may a New Hampshire driver follow fire apparatus that is responding to an alarm?
Show answer
Answer B: No closer than 500 feet
RSA 265:100 bars a driver who is not on official business from following responding fire apparatus closer than 500 feet, or from parking within the block where it has stopped.
-
23. Some drivers believe they can multitask while driving. What does research show?
Show answer
Answer C: The brain switches rapidly between tasks and driving performance suffers
The brain does not truly do two attention-demanding tasks at once; it alternates between them, and the driving task gets less attention each time.
-
24. You are in the right-hand lane of a multilane street and that lane becomes a right-turn-only lane ahead, but you want to go straight. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Change into a through lane before you reach the markings for the turn lane
A lane-use arrow is a regulatory marking, so a driver who wants to continue straight has to leave that lane before it becomes a mandatory turn lane.
-
25. The low sun is directly ahead and glare makes it hard to see. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down, use the sun visor or sunglasses, and increase following distance
Sun glare can hide pedestrians, brake lights and signals. Reducing speed and adding space gives you time to react to what you cannot yet see.
-
26. What will the driver have to do at the point this sign refers to?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down and let conflicting traffic go first, stopping if that is what it takes
Further along, the driver has to let conflicting traffic and pedestrians go first, reducing speed and stopping whenever that is necessary to avoid interfering with them.
-
27. You are driving down a parking aisle and reach the main lane that runs along the front of the store. What is the usual rule?
Show answer
Answer C: The main through lane has the right of way over the vehicles leaving the aisles
In a parking lot the wide lane that runs across the ends of the aisles works like a through road, and drivers leaving an aisle yield to it.
-
28. You are turning right onto a one-way street. Which lane of that street should you enter?
Show answer
Answer C: The lane closest to the right curb
Even though every lane on a one-way street runs your way, a right turn must end in the lane nearest the right curb; you may change lanes afterwards when it is safe.
-
29. You stop at the curb on a busy street to let passengers out. What should you tell them?
Show answer
Answer A: To get out on the curb side, away from traffic
Passengers should always leave on the side away from moving traffic, which keeps both them and the door out of the travel lane.
-
30. A wheel comes off your car while you are driving. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Hold the wheel firmly, ease off the gas and steer gently to the shoulder
A firm grip and a gradual slowing keep the vehicle straight, while hard or sudden braking makes a damaged corner pull the car out of line.
-
31. A traffic signal ahead is showing a flashing red light. What does it require?
Show answer
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.
-
32. An emergency vehicle with flashing lights and a siren is approaching from behind on a two-way street. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Pull over to the right edge of the road and stop until it passes
Clearing a path by pulling to the right and stopping gives the emergency vehicle a predictable route, while stopping in mid-lane or inside an intersection blocks that path.
-
33. You are waiting to turn left at a solid green light with no green arrow. Oncoming traffic is approaching. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Yield to the oncoming traffic and turn only when there is a safe gap
A solid green light permits the left turn but does not protect it, so you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to pedestrians before turning.
-
34. A diamond-shaped sign is used to
Show answer
Answer A: warn of a condition on or next to the road that may call for caution
The diamond is the standard shape of the warning series, which alerts drivers to conditions that would otherwise not be obvious in time to react.
-
35. Besides its height, what else matters about a head restraint?
Show answer
Answer C: That it is close to the back of the head, and not far behind it
A restraint that sits far behind the head lets the head snap back before it is caught, so a small gap is important.
-
36. Which New Hampshire conviction carries the lowest demerit value of a single point?
Show answer
Answer C: Driving without possession of the vehicle registration certificate
New Hampshire assigns one demerit point to operating without possession of the registration certificate, while allowing an improper person to drive and using the wrong class of license are two-point offenses.
-
37. A short driver cannot get ten inches between the chest and the steering wheel airbag. What is the answer?
Show answer
Answer D: Move the seat back and tilt the wheel downward, or fit pedal extenders
Distance from the airbag is gained by moving the seat back and aiming the wheel at the chest, using pedal extenders if the pedals are then out of reach.
-
38. Apart from giving you room to stop, what else does a longer following gap do for you?
Show answer
Answer D: It widens your view of the road and the traffic ahead
Sitting further back lets you see past and around the vehicle in front, so hazards reach your eyes seconds earlier.
-
39. What injury does a correctly set head restraint help prevent?
Show answer
Answer A: A neck injury of the kind caused when your vehicle is struck from behind
In a rear impact the body is pushed forward and the head restraint stops the head from whipping backward.
-
40. In a New Hampshire zone governed by the prima facie limits for school zones, districts and ordinary roads, what is the fine for exceeding the limit by 26 mph or more?
Show answer
Answer D: $350 plus penalty assessment
RSA 265:60 sets a graduated fine schedule that tops out at $350 plus penalty assessment for speeds of 26 miles per hour or more above those prima facie limits.