New Hampshire NH DMV Permit Practice Test 32

  • 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. At a four-way stop another driver pulls out ahead of you when it was clearly your turn. What is the correct response?

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    Answer B: Let that driver go through, then take your turn when the way is clear again

    Right of way is something you give, never something you take, so yielding to a driver who takes it wrongly avoids a crash you would otherwise share.

  2. 2. A line beside your lane is painted about twice the normal width. What does the extra width convey?

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    Answer B: Greater emphasis on the restriction it carries

    Width is part of the marking code: a wide line carries more emphasis than a normal one, which is why it is used at gores and channelizing lines.

  3. 3. What does a first conviction of reckless driving cost a New Hampshire driver?

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    Answer B: A fine of at least $500 plus penalty assessment and a 60-day revocation

    RSA 265:79 sets a minimum fine of $500 plus penalty assessment for a first reckless driving offense and revokes the license or operating privilege for 60 days.

  4. 4. What belongs in a basic emergency kit carried in a car?

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    Answer D: A flashlight, a first aid kit, jumper cables and some warning devices

    A useful kit lets you see, be seen, treat an injury and restart the vehicle; carrying loose gasoline is a fire risk.

  5. 5. Which vehicle is most affected by a strong side wind?

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    Answer D: A van or a car towing a tall trailer

    Wind pushes against the side area of a vehicle, so tall boxy shapes and trailers are moved far more than low heavy ones.

  6. 6. On a regulatory sign, what does a red circle with a diagonal slash drawn over a symbol mean?

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    Answer D: The movement or action shown by the symbol is prohibited

    A red circle with a diagonal slash is the standard way of showing that the movement pictured inside it, such as a U-turn or a right turn, is not allowed.

  7. 7. How should the inside rearview mirror be adjusted?

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    Answer B: So you can see the entire rear window without moving your head

    The inside mirror is for the view straight behind you. Framing the whole rear window from your normal seating position gives the widest useful view.

  8. 8. What actually lowers the amount of alcohol in a person's blood?

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    Answer D: The passage of time

    The body eliminates alcohol at its own steady rate, so only time reduces blood alcohol. Coffee or a cold shower may make a person feel more awake while still impaired.

  9. 9. You have finished a distracting task and your eyes are back on the road. What is true?

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    Answer A: Your full attention takes a while to come back

    Studies of drivers show attention lags behind the eyes for many seconds after a phone or a screen task, so the danger continues after the task is over.

  10. 10. What must a New Hampshire school bus driver do when road conditions and space permit and five or more vehicles are following?

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    Answer B: Pull over and let the following vehicles pass

    RSA 265:54 requires a school bus driver to pull over and let following vehicles pass whenever conditions and space permit and five or more vehicles are behind, and a passing driver must not cross an unbroken painted line.

  11. 11. Your power steering fails while you are driving. What happens and what should you do?

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    Answer B: Steering becomes much harder but still works, so slow down and pull off the road

    Without power assistance the steering still works, but it takes much more effort, especially at low speed. Keep both hands on the wheel and get off the road.

  12. 12. You realize you have driven several miles without remembering any of it. What kind of distraction is this?

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    Answer C: Cognitive distraction, because your mind was not on driving

    Daydreaming or being lost in thought is a cognitive distraction. Your eyes may be on the road, but your brain is not processing what they see.

  13. 13. A sign on a divided highway reads Keep Right Except to Pass. What does it require of you?

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    Answer A: Use the left lane only to overtake, then return to a lane on the right

    The left lane on such a highway is reserved for overtaking, so a driver who has finished a pass must move back to the right.

  14. 14. May you use a relative's accessible parking placard to park in a marked accessible space?

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    Answer D: No, only when the placard holder is being transported in the vehicle

    A placard belongs to the person, not to the car, so it is valid only when that person is being transported; using it otherwise takes a space from someone who needs it.

  15. 15. You realize you have turned the wrong way onto a one-way street. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Pull to the right, stop, and back into the street you came from when clear

    Get out of the traffic stream first: pull right and stop, then back out into the street you came from once you can see it is safe.

  16. 16. A school sign combined with an AHEAD plaque, or with a plaque giving a distance in feet, forms an assembly that

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    Answer B: warns of a school crossing located further along the road

    The school advance crossing assembly is placed before the crosswalk to give drivers notice, while a different assembly marks the crossing itself.

  17. 17. Where is a U-turn generally the most reasonable choice?

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    Answer B: At an intersection where it is permitted and you can see well both ways

    A U-turn needs a legal place and a long clear view in both directions, which is why a permitted intersection with open sight lines is the usual choice.

  18. 18. Your low beams light about 250 feet of road, but at your speed you would need more than that to stop. What is that called?

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    Answer D: Overdriving your headlights

    When your stopping distance is longer than the stretch of road your headlights show, you cannot react to anything you finally see. Slow down until you can.

  19. 19. What is the right speed for a normal right turn at a city corner?

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    Answer C: Slow enough to hold your lane and stop for a pedestrian

    A city right turn is tight and crosses a crosswalk, so the correct speed is one that keeps you inside your lane and still allows a stop.

  20. 20. You have just been involved in a crash on a city street. Which sequence of first steps is correct?

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    Answer A: Stop where you are, check everyone for injuries, and then make the scene safe

    You are required to stop, and the first priority at the scene is people, followed by preventing a second collision.

  21. 21. How do strong emotions affect driving?

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    Answer B: They narrow your attention and make risky decisions more likely

    Anger, worry and excitement all take attention away from the driving task and push drivers toward decisions they would not normally make.

  22. 22. A school bus ahead of you has its red lights flashing and its stop arm extended. What are you required to do?

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    Answer A: Stop and stay stopped until the lights stop flashing and the bus starts moving

    Flashing red lights and an extended stop arm mean children are getting on or off, so traffic must stop and wait until the bus withdraws the signals and moves again.

  23. 23. It is cold and the road looks wet, but you notice the tires of vehicles ahead are throwing up no spray. What does this suggest?

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    Answer B: The surface has frozen and is probably icy

    Water throws spray, but ice does not. A shiny road with no spray in freezing temperatures is a strong sign of black ice, so slow down and avoid sudden inputs.

  24. 24. A pedestrian near the curb is staring at a phone and not looking at traffic. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Slow down and be ready to stop, because the pedestrian may step out without looking

    Distracted pedestrians step into the street without checking. Assume they have not seen you and give yourself time and space to stop.

  25. 25. A sign showing a walking figure inside a red circle with a diagonal slash stands at the start of a bridge. What does it mean?

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    Answer C: People on foot may not use that roadway

    The no pedestrians sign excludes people on foot from that roadway altogether, which is common on high-speed bridges and freeways.

  26. 26. What fine does New Hampshire set for failing in the duties owed when approaching a highway emergency?

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    Answer A: $75 plus penalty assessment, rising to $250 for a repeat within 12 months

    RSA 265:37-a fines a violator $75 plus penalty assessment for a first offense and $250 plus penalty assessment for a subsequent offense within a 12-month period.

  27. 27. On a rural road, the driver of a slow farm tractor ahead of you signals a left turn even though there is no road or driveway in sight. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Stay behind the tractor, because it may be turning into a field entrance

    Farm equipment often turns into fields through gaps you cannot see, and it may swing wide to do so. Passing a vehicle that is signaling a left turn is a common cause of crashes.

  28. 28. How long does a continuous certificate of insurance filed with the New Hampshire department stay in effect after the director receives written notice of cancellation?

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    Answer B: No less than 20 days

    RSA 264:21 keeps every continuous certificate in effect for no less than 20 days after the director receives written notice that it is to be canceled.

  29. 29. Two New Hampshire vehicles collide on the traveled portion of a road and both can still be driven. What does the law require?

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    Answer A: They must be moved off the traveled portion if that brings no further damage or injury

    RSA 264:25-a overrides the ordinary conduct-after-accident duties so far as to require a driver to move the vehicle off the traveled portion of the roadway when that can be done without risk of further damage to property or injury to persons.

  30. 30. Lights set into the pavement along both edges of a crosswalk start to flash yellow as you approach. What do they tell you?

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    Answer D: Someone is crossing and has to be given way

    In-roadway warning lights flash only when a pedestrian activates the crossing, so a flashing pattern means somebody is in or entering the crosswalk.

  31. 31. Your left-turn lane faces a steady green ball and oncoming traffic is heavy. What are you allowed to do?

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    Answer C: Move into the intersection and turn when a safe gap appears

    A green ball permits the turn but gives no priority, so you may move into the intersection and wait there for a gap in the oncoming traffic.

  32. 32. Why should heavy objects in the passenger compartment be secured?

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    Answer A: Because loose objects fly forward in a crash and can injure the people

    Anything loose keeps traveling at the speed of the vehicle when the vehicle stops, so it strikes the occupants with great force.

  33. 33. How much clear road do driver manuals say you need before starting a pass at highway speed on a two-lane road?

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    Answer C: Enough to complete the pass and return, roughly ten to twelve seconds of travel

    At highway speed the whole maneuver of pulling out, overtaking and returning takes roughly ten to twelve seconds, and every foot of that has to be visible before you start.

  34. 34. Reaching for a drink in the cup holder is which kind of distraction?

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    Answer A: Manual and visual at the same time

    Your hand leaves the wheel and your eyes flick down to find the cup, so a task that feels trivial takes away two of the three things driving needs.

  35. 35. A line of short dashes set closer together than an ordinary lane line runs beside your lane where a ramp leaves the highway. What does a dotted line of that kind convey?

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    Answer A: A warning that the lane is about to change function

    Dotted lines give guidance or warning about a downstream change, such as a lane that becomes an exit only lane or a lane line carried across an intersection.

  36. 36. How often should the spare tire be checked?

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    Answer C: Regularly, because a spare loses pressure while it sits unused

    Spares lose air slowly over months, and a flat spare is useless at the moment you need it.

  37. 37. Red pavement markings are used on a roadway to show that

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    Answer A: it must not be entered from that direction

    Red markings identify a roadway that is not to be entered or used, and they also mark the pavement of truck escape ramps.

  38. 38. You must leave your vehicle beside a narrow rural road at night. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Get it right off the pavement and switch on the hazard lights

    A vehicle left on an unlit rural road is very hard to see, so move it completely clear of the traveled surface and mark it with the hazard lights.

  39. 39. What is the correct technique for backing a vehicle straight?

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    Answer B: Check behind the vehicle before getting in, then turn and look through the rear window while backing slowly

    Mirrors and cameras leave gaps close to the vehicle, so walk behind it first, then turn in your seat for a direct view and keep the speed low enough to stop instantly.

  40. 40. You are the first driver on a road just after a storm. What should you plan for?

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    Answer B: Branches, mud and other debris hidden around the next bend

    Storm debris lands where nobody has cleared it yet, often just beyond a curve or a crest, so reduce speed and look much further ahead.