New Hampshire NH DMV Permit Practice Test 27

  • 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. Why does a heavier vehicle need more room to stop than a light one from the same speed?

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    Answer B: Because there is more mass in motion for the tires to slow down

    More mass means more energy at the same speed, and the brakes and tires need more distance to get rid of it.

  2. 2. You are turning left from a two-way street onto a one-way street. Which lane should you enter?

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    Answer C: The first lane open to traffic on the left side of the one-way street

    Turn left from the lane closest to the center line and finish in the first available lane on the left of the one-way street, then change lanes if you need to.

  3. 3. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?

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    Answer C: A patch of pavement that simply looks wet or slightly glossy

    Black ice is clear, so you see the dark road through it and read it as a wet patch. In freezing weather, treat any wet looking patch as ice.

  4. 4. Your light is green but the traffic beyond the intersection is stopped and there is no room on the far side. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Wait behind the line until you can clear the far side

    Entering an intersection you cannot clear blocks the cross traffic when their signal turns green, so you wait behind the line.

  5. 5. Beyond the point this sign refers to, which movement becomes unlawful?

    A yellow diamond showing one black lane splitting into two around a central island
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    Answer D: Driving on the far side of the separation, against the flow

    Once the two directions are separated, each roadway carries one-way traffic, so crossing to the other side means driving into oncoming vehicles.

  6. 6. How does eating a large meal before drinking affect impairment?

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    Answer D: It slows absorption but the alcohol still reaches the blood and impairs you

    Food delays how quickly alcohol enters the bloodstream, which can make the peak arrive later, but all of the alcohol is eventually absorbed.

  7. 7. You are turning left at an intersection and an oncoming bicyclist is approaching in the bike lane. What must you do?

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    Answer B: Yield and complete the turn only after the bicyclist has passed

    A bicycle in the roadway has the same right of way as a vehicle, so a left-turning driver must yield to an oncoming rider just as to an oncoming car.

  8. 8. You come around a bend and find loose sand spread across your lane. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Ease off the gas, avoid sudden braking or steering, and keep straight

    Loose material acts like ball bearings under the tires; smooth inputs preserve what little grip remains, while sudden braking or steering breaks it.

  9. 9. You receive a phone call that you feel you must answer while driving. What is the safest way to take it?

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    Answer D: Pull off the road, stop in a safe place and then answer

    No call is worth a crash. Stopping in a safe location removes the distraction completely, while every other option divides your attention.

  10. 10. Why is it often safer to back into a parking space than to back out of one?

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    Answer D: Because you leave the space going forward, with a clear view

    Backing into the space puts the difficult maneuver where you are stopped and looking around, and lets you drive out facing the traffic and pedestrians.

  11. 11. You are approaching an uncontrolled intersection on a residential street where parked cars hide the cross street. What is the correct approach?

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    Answer B: Slow enough to stop and creep out until you can see

    Without a sign or signal you still have to be able to yield, and you cannot yield to traffic you have not seen.

  12. 12. Besides the traffic behind you, what else must you check before moving into the next lane?

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    Answer D: That there is room ahead in the new lane for your normal following distance

    Moving into a gap that is too short leaves you tailgating the vehicle ahead with a vehicle close behind you.

  13. 13. How should speed and following distance be adjusted beyond this sign?

    An orange diamond with black lettering
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    Answer D: Cut speed and leave a longer gap, because traffic can stop without warning

    Traffic in these areas stops and starts unexpectedly and there is little room to steer around a problem, so extra space is what prevents a rear-end collision.

  14. 14. You have stopped on an uphill grade close behind a large truck at a traffic signal. What is the risk?

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    Answer B: The truck may roll back into you when it starts to move

    Heavy vehicles can roll backward a short distance when the driver moves from the brake to the accelerator on a hill. Leave extra room when stopped behind a truck on a grade.

  15. 15. You are about to pull out of a driveway when someone on the sidewalk is walking toward it. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Wait, because traffic on the sidewalk has the right-of-way

    A vehicle entering the roadway from a driveway yields to people on the sidewalk as well as to traffic on the street.

  16. 16. How does driving on overinflated tires affect the vehicle?

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    Answer D: It gives a harsher ride and a smaller contact patch

    An overinflated tire bulges in the middle, so less rubber touches the road, grip suffers and the ride becomes hard. The center of the tread wears first.

  17. 17. In heavy fog at night on a rural two-lane road, which marking best helps a driver hold position?

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    Answer C: The solid white line along the right edge

    Steering by the right edge line keeps a driver clear of oncoming traffic, while watching the center line tends to pull the vehicle toward it.

  18. 18. A New Hampshire driver aged 17 accumulates demerit points. Which accumulation exposes that driver to a suspension of up to three months?

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    Answer B: 6 points in one calendar year

    New Hampshire suspends a driver under 18 for up to three months after 6 demerit points in one calendar year, with 12 points in two years and 18 points in three years as the later thresholds.

  19. 19. Which of these is announced with the same family of signs as the facility shown here?

    A blue square with a white letter H
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    Answer A: A rest area for travelers

    A rest area belongs to the same motorist service series, which points travelers toward facilities such as fuel, food, lodging and medical care.

  20. 20. Apart from other vehicles, who else must a driver let go first at this sign?

    A downward pointing white triangle with a wide red border
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    Answer A: Pedestrians and cyclists already in or entering the crossing

    The duty to give way covers every road user who has the right of way at that point, including people walking or cycling across the driver's path.

  21. 21. You are waiting in a center two-way left-turn lane. What should you expect from oncoming traffic?

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    Answer A: Oncoming drivers may enter the same lane to prepare their own left turns

    Both directions share a two-way left-turn lane, so an oncoming vehicle may be waiting in it and you must never treat it as yours alone.

  22. 22. The lane control signal above your lane changes to a steady yellow X. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Prepare to leave the lane, because it is about to be closed

    A steady yellow X is the warning that the lane below it is about to close, giving drivers time to move over before the red X appears.

  23. 23. 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.

  24. 24. A sign on a freeway restricts trucks to the two right-hand lanes. What should a car driver expect in those lanes?

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    Answer A: More heavy vehicles and slower changes of speed

    A truck lane restriction concentrates heavy vehicles on the right, and those vehicles accelerate, brake and change lanes far more slowly than cars.

  25. 25. What is the main limit of stability and traction control systems?

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    Answer B: They cannot create grip that the tires and the road do not have

    These systems manage the grip that exists. If you enter a curve too fast for the surface, no amount of electronics will hold the vehicle on the road.

  26. 26. What does New Hampshire law require of a vehicle that has suffered a mechanical breakdown on a way?

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    Answer D: The hazard flashers must be activated if they are fitted and working

    RSA 265:37-b requires the hazard flashers of a broken-down vehicle to be activated where the vehicle is so equipped and they are in working order.

  27. 27. You come upon a crash that has just happened and decide to help. Where should you stop your vehicle?

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    Answer A: Well beyond the scene, completely off the road, with the hazard lights on

    Stopping past the crash and off the pavement keeps you from becoming another victim and leaves the approach clear for emergency vehicles.

  28. 28. On a busy multilane highway, where is the best place to travel?

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    Answer B: In a gap in the traffic, with space open on both sides

    Travelling in a gap keeps escape routes open on both sides, while riding alongside other vehicles removes the room you would need to swerve.

  29. 29. The posted limit is 55 mph, but heavy traffic and rain make that speed unsafe. What does the law expect of you?

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    Answer D: You must slow to a speed that is safe for the conditions

    The basic speed rule requires a speed that is reasonable for the traffic, weather and road, and that speed is often well below the posted maximum.

  30. 30. You turn from asphalt onto a loose gravel road. What should you do about your speed?

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    Answer D: Lower it, since grip is reduced and stopping takes longer

    Loose gravel gives far less grip than pavement, so speed must come down for both steering and stopping.

  31. 31. It is dark, it is raining and you are towing a trailer. How should you set your following gap?

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    Answer B: Add extra seconds for each condition, well beyond three

    Each factor that lengthens your stopping distance or shortens your view calls for another second or more, and they add up when several occur together.

  32. 32. Why is a sign reading BRIDGE ICES BEFORE ROAD worth heeding even when the road itself is merely wet?

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    Answer C: Cold air passes under a bridge as well as over it

    A bridge deck loses heat from below as well as above, so it can be frozen while the road on either side of it is only wet.

  33. 33. You are stopped at a T-intersection and a driver on the through road is signaling a right turn into your road. What is the safe assumption?

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    Answer B: The driver may not actually turn, so wait until the vehicle slows and starts turning

    A blinking signal may have been left on by mistake or may be for the next street, so wait until the vehicle actually slows and turns.

  34. 34. Under New Hampshire law, when may a driver take turn-by-turn directions from the screen of a navigation application?

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    Answer D: Only when the device is integrated into the vehicle or mounted on the dashboard, windshield or visor

    RSA 265:79-c allows turn-by-turn information from a screen only where the device is integrated into the vehicle or mounted on the dashboard, windshield or visor, while spoken routing information may come from any hands-free device.

  35. 35. How long does New Hampshire suspend the driving privilege of a person with no prior impaired driving record who refuses the officer's designated test after arrest?

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    Answer A: 180 days

    RSA 265-A:14 imposes a 180-day suspension for a first refusal with no prior impaired driving conviction or refusal, and 2 years where there is such a prior.

  36. 36. You are pulling out of a farm entrance onto a rural highway. What is your obligation?

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    Answer C: Yield to every vehicle already on the highway before you enter the roadway

    A driver entering a highway from a private road or driveway yields to every vehicle already on the highway.

  37. 37. A small plate under a stop sign reads CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP. What is it telling you?

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    Answer D: Traffic on the cross street is not required to stop at all

    The plate warns that the other road is uncontrolled, so you must wait for a gap instead of expecting anyone to take turns with you.

  38. 38. You are very angry after an argument and about to drive. What should you know?

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    Answer A: Strong emotions can impair judgment and attention much like alcohol

    Anger, grief and stress pull attention inward and encourage risk taking. Give yourself time to settle down before getting behind the wheel.

  39. 39. An orange background with a black legend on a sign indicates

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    Answer B: a temporary traffic control or work zone situation

    Orange is reserved for temporary traffic control signing, so an orange sign means conditions have been altered for work or another temporary operation.

  40. 40. You are on an entrance ramp merging onto a freeway. Who has to give way?

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    Answer B: You must yield and fit into a gap in the traffic already on the freeway

    Traffic entering a highway must yield to traffic already on it. Use the acceleration lane to match speed and merge into a gap.