New Hampshire NH DMV Permit Practice Test 24

  • Questions40
  • Correct to pass32
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

Minimum age: 16 years, after an approved driver education program

40 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 32 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. A barricade carries a sign reading ROAD CLOSED TO THROUGH TRAFFIC. What does it permit?

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    Answer B: Local access for people whose destination is on that road

    This closure keeps out drivers who are only passing through while still allowing residents and deliveries to reach addresses within the closed section.

  2. 2. A person using a wheelchair is waiting to cross at a corner ahead. How should you treat that person?

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    Answer B: As a pedestrian with the right of way at the crossing

    A wheelchair or a mobility scooter user has the rights of a pedestrian, so yield the whole crossing and wait until the crossing is finished.

  3. 3. What should a driver do first after passing this sign?

    A yellow diamond showing two black lanes merging into one around a central island
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    Answer A: Move into the right-hand lane and stay there

    Traffic returns to two-way operation, so the driver keeps to the right of the centerline and stops treating the left side as available.

  4. 4. 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.

  5. 5. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?

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    Answer C: Well before the maneuver, so other drivers have time to react

    A signal is a warning to others, so it has to be given far enough ahead of the maneuver that drivers and pedestrians can adjust.

  6. 6. A wide crosswalk you are turning across has a refuge island in the middle. What should you assume about people standing on it?

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    Answer D: They may step off the island into your path at any moment

    An island is a pause in a crossing, not the end of one, so treat anyone on it as a pedestrian who is still crossing.

  7. 7. What do flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean?

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    Answer A: The bus is about to stop to load or unload, so prepare to stop

    The amber lights are the warning phase that comes before the red lights and the stop arm, so drivers should slow down and get ready to stop.

  8. 8. A wide solid white line separates the through lanes from an exit lane. What does it tell drivers?

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    Answer B: The choice of lane should already have been made

    A channelizing line marks where the paths separate and crossing it is discouraged or prohibited, so the lane change has to happen upstream.

  9. 9. You are parking on a one-way street where parking is allowed on both sides. What must still be true?

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    Answer D: The vehicle must face the direction the traffic flows

    Either curb may be used on a one-way street where signs allow it, but the vehicle must always be headed in the direction traffic moves.

  10. 10. A white regulatory sign near a state line reads BUCKLE UP IT IS THE LAW. What is it doing?

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    Answer A: Reminding occupants that belt use is required

    The safety belt sign restates a law that already applies, and it is usually placed where drivers enter a state or a long rural stretch.

  11. 11. On loose gravel or deep fresh snow, how does an antilock system affect the stopping distance?

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    Answer D: It can lengthen it, although you keep the ability to steer

    On loose surfaces a locked wheel piles up a wedge of gravel or snow that helps it stop, so the antilock stop can be longer even though steering still works.

  12. 12. Where in the United States may a motorcycle ride between lanes of traffic?

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    Answer C: Only where a state has specifically authorized it

    Riding between lanes is prohibited in most states and permitted only where a state law expressly allows it, so a rider must know the rule for the state being ridden in.

  13. 13. How does alcohol affect a driver's ability to handle several things at once?

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    Answer B: It cuts the ability to divide attention between tasks

    Driving means watching the road, the mirrors and the instruments together, and alcohol narrows attention so that one of those tasks is dropped without the driver noticing.

  14. 14. You are making a U-turn at a signal on a green left arrow. Who must you still watch for?

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    Answer D: People in the crosswalk you will cross as you come around

    Even a protected arrow does not clear the crosswalk, and a U-turn sweeps across a crosswalk that pedestrians may already be using.

  15. 15. You are driving on a rural road with no sidewalk. Where should you expect to meet pedestrians?

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    Answer A: Walking toward you on your side of the road

    Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians are taught to walk facing traffic, so they appear on your side of the road coming toward you.

  16. 16. You have stopped after a crash. Why should the engines of the vehicles involved be switched off?

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    Answer A: To reduce the risk of a fire starting around any fuel that has spilled

    Crashes often break fuel lines, and a running engine is a source of ignition, so switching off lowers the risk of fire.

  17. 17. You are stopped at a stop sign where your road ends at a two-way through street and you plan to turn left. What must you yield to?

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    Answer B: Traffic from both directions and any pedestrians crossing

    A left turn from the stem of a T crosses the near lane and joins the far one, so you give way to traffic in both directions and to pedestrians.

  18. 18. A vehicle in front of you has already begun turning left into a driveway when the gap you were waiting for opens up. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Wait and let that driver finish the turn

    A vehicle that has lawfully started a maneuver keeps the right of way until it is finished.

  19. 19. When must a New Hampshire driver dim the headlights during the hours of darkness?

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    Answer D: When approaching, overtaking or following within about 150 feet of another vehicle

    RSA 265:114 requires headlights to be dimmed when approaching, overtaking or following within approximately 150 feet of another vehicle during the period from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.

  20. 20. A bicyclist is riding around a single-lane roundabout in the middle of the lane as you wait to enter. What is your duty?

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    Answer C: Yield to the bicyclist just as you would to a car

    A bicyclist using the roundabout is traffic like any other vehicle and has the same claim to the circulating lane.

  21. 21. The inside of your windshield keeps fogging up on a cold, damp day. What clears it best?

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    Answer B: The defroster with the air conditioning on, which dries the air

    Fog on the inside is moisture from the cabin air. The air conditioner dries that air, and the defroster warms the glass, so together they clear it and keep it clear.

  22. 22. How much of the classroom instruction in a New Hampshire driver education course may be completed online?

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    Answer D: No more than 15 hours

    RSA 263:19 caps the online portion at no more than 15 of the required 30 hours of classroom instruction.

  23. 23. Which effect appears as a drinker's blood alcohol level climbs well past the first drinks?

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    Answer D: Loss of muscle control and steady steering

    Higher levels of alcohol reach the parts of the brain that control movement, which shows up as clumsy steering, late braking and poor lane control.

  24. 24. You brake hard in a vehicle with antilock brakes and feel the pedal pulsing under your foot. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Keep firm, steady pressure on the pedal and steer where you need to go

    The pulsing is the system releasing and reapplying the brakes so the wheels keep rolling, which is what lets you steer while braking. Pumping the pedal defeats it.

  25. 25. You are at a red light where right turns on red are allowed, you cannot see clearly, and the driver behind sounds the horn. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Stay stopped until you can see that the turn is safe

    Turning right on red is permitted, never required, so you wait until you can see that the way is clear no matter what the driver behind does.

  26. 26. What minimum medical payments coverage must a New Hampshire private passenger automobile liability policy carry?

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    Answer C: $1,000 per person

    RSA 264:16 requires a private passenger automobile liability policy issued in New Hampshire to provide medical payments coverage of at least $1,000 per person.

  27. 27. How many New Hampshire demerit points follow a speeding conviction for less than 25 mph above the posted limit?

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    Answer A: 3 points

    New Hampshire assigns 3 demerit points for speeding under 25 miles per hour over the limit, and 4 points once the margin reaches 25 miles per hour.

  28. 28. You are slowing to turn right at an intersection and a bicyclist is riding beside your right side in a bike lane. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Let the bicyclist go through the intersection before you begin the turn

    Turning across the path of a bicyclist who is going straight causes the classic right-hook crash. The rider continuing straight has the right-of-way over your turn.

  29. 29. You are about to open your door after parking on the traffic side of the street. What should you do first?

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    Answer C: Check the mirror and look back for approaching vehicles and bicyclists before opening the door

    A door opened into traffic can strike a passing bicyclist or vehicle, so you check behind you first and keep the door open no longer than necessary.

  30. 30. Traffic in your lane is backed up and the paved shoulder looks clear. May you drive along it to get past?

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    Answer C: No, the shoulder is not a travel lane

    Passing must be done within the roadway; driving on the shoulder to get around traffic is prohibited and surprises anyone entering from the right.

  31. 31. What is the correct relationship between air bags and seat belts?

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    Answer B: Air bags are designed to work together with seat belts, not instead of them

    An air bag is a supplemental restraint that cushions one impact, while the belt keeps you in position so the bag can work and protects you in rollovers and secondary impacts.

  32. 32. How should your speed behave while you move from one lane into the next?

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    Answer C: Keep it steady or adjust it smoothly to match the traffic in the new lane

    A lane change works best as a smooth movement at the speed of the lane you are joining, since sudden braking or acceleration surprises the drivers around you.

  33. 33. You have stopped at a stop sign, but a parked truck blocks your view along the cross street. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Creep forward slowly and stop again where you can see

    When something blocks the view, a second stop closer to the intersection is the only safe way to see, and it must come before your vehicle enters the traffic lane.

  34. 34. Unless a different limit is posted, what is the New Hampshire maximum speed in a business or urban residence district?

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    Answer B: 30 mph

    New Hampshire sets 30 mph in any business or urban residence district and 35 mph in a rural residence district or on a Class V highway outside the compact part of a city or town.

  35. 35. A driver extends the left arm out the window and points it downward toward the road surface. What is being signaled?

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    Answer A: Slowing down or stopping

    The left arm extended downward is the standard hand signal for slowing or stopping.

  36. 36. What does a NARROW BRIDGE warning sign tell a driver?

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    Answer A: The bridge is tighter than the road leading up to it

    A narrow bridge still carries both directions, but with much less clearance than the approaches, so drivers should slow and hold their lane position carefully.

  37. 37. What is threshold braking?

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    Answer C: Braking hard but staying just short of locking the wheels

    A rolling tire grips better than a sliding one, so the shortest stop comes from pressure held just below the point where the wheels lock.

  38. 38. What does a tire with worn tread do on a wet road?

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    Answer B: It loses grip and it hydroplanes at a lower speed than a good tire

    Tread grooves carry water away from the contact patch, and a worn tire cannot do that, so it floats on the water sooner.

  39. 39. Once you are moving, which way of using a navigation device costs you the least attention?

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    Answer B: Listening to the spoken directions

    Voice guidance lets you keep your eyes on the road, while anything that needs the screen takes glances that add up over a trip.

  40. 40. You are the second vehicle waiting to turn left on a green ball. Where should you wait?

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    Answer A: Behind the stop line, until the first vehicle has actually turned

    Only the lead vehicle should move into the intersection to wait; a second vehicle inside it is likely to be stranded there when the light changes.