New Hampshire NH DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 39

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

Minimum age: 16 years; applicants under 18 must complete a Basic Rider Class and present parental permission

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. Why is the front brake avoided during a very slow, tightly leaned turn?

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    Answer D: It can upset the balance of a leaned machine and drop it at low speed

    At low speed and full lock there is little momentum holding the motorcycle up, and the sudden weight shift from the front brake easily topples it.

  2. 2. You are waiting to turn left at a solid green light with no green arrow. Oncoming traffic is approaching. What should you do?

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    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.

  3. 3. School warning signs use which background and legend colors?

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    Answer A: A black legend and border on a fluorescent yellow-green background

    School warning signs carry a black legend and border on a fluorescent yellow-green background, a shade chosen so they stand out from ordinary yellow warning signs.

  4. 4. What identifies a helmet as certified to the federal motorcycle helmet standard?

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    Answer C: A label showing DOT and the words FMVSS No. 218 CERTIFIED

    Certified helmets carry a label with the DOT symbol and the wording FMVSS No. 218 CERTIFIED, together with the maker's name and the model.

  5. 5. You are riding on a multi-lane road with a car traveling beside you in the lane on your right. Which lane position is usually best?

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    Answer D: The left portion, so you keep a cushion of space from the car alongside

    Lane position is chosen to hold space between the motorcycle and the nearest hazard, and here that hazard is the vehicle on the right.

  6. 6. A law enforcement officer is directing traffic and waves you forward while the signal facing you shows red. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Follow the officer's direction and proceed

    Directions given by an officer controlling traffic take priority over signals, signs and pavement markings.

  7. 7. Why is hard braking the wrong response to a tire blowout at speed?

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    Answer C: Because it can pull the vehicle further out of line and start it spinning

    With one tire gone the braking forces are uneven, so heavy braking increases the pull to one side and can spin the vehicle.

  8. 8. A regulatory message is normally carried on a sign whose shape is

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    Answer A: a rectangle standing taller than it is wide

    Regulatory signs that state a law, such as speed limits and turn restrictions, use a vertical rectangle with a black legend on a white background.

  9. 9. How can you tell a tire has reached its wear limit without measuring it?

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    Answer C: The wear bars across the grooves become level with the tread

    Molded bars sit at the bottom of the grooves. Once the surrounding tread has worn down to them, the tire has reached the end of its safe life.

  10. 10. 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.

  11. 11. You are turning left from a two-way street onto another two-way street. Where should you begin and end the turn?

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    Answer B: Begin in the lane just right of the center line and finish just right of the center line of the new street

    You approach a left turn from the lane closest to the center line and enter the new roadway just to the right of its center line, which keeps you clear of oncoming traffic.

  12. 12. 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.

  13. 13. You must slow suddenly on a highway and a vehicle is following close behind you. What helps prevent a rear-end collision?

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    Answer D: Tapping the brake pedal early so your brake lights flash a warning

    Early brake light flashes give the driver behind more time to react, and slowing gradually instead of suddenly reduces the chance of being struck.

  14. 14. A driver slows to walking pace at this sign, never stops rolling and eases into the intersection. How is that treated?

    A red eight sided sign with a white border and white lettering
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    Answer B: It is a violation, because the vehicle never came to a complete halt

    What is required is a full halt with the wheels no longer turning, so slowing down, however carefully, does not satisfy it.

  15. 15. 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.

  16. 16. You are turning left across tracks that run along the center of the street. What should you do before crossing them?

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    Answer B: Look along the tracks in both directions and cross only when clear

    Rail vehicles running in the street can arrive from either direction and cannot stop quickly, so look along the tracks before you turn across them.

  17. 17. Where should a passenger sit on the motorcycle?

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    Answer A: As far forward as possible without crowding the operator

    Sitting well forward keeps the passenger weight close to the center of the motorcycle, which helps it handle closer to normal.

  18. 18. What is the first thing to do once your disabled vehicle is stopped on the shoulder?

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    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.

  19. 19. 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.

  20. 20. How should a long trip be broken up to keep the driver alert?

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    Answer D: Stop for a break every couple of hours and share out the driving

    Regular breaks and a change of driver are the only reliable answers to fatigue; caffeine only postpones it.

  21. 21. You are joining a highway from a short ramp that has no acceleration lane. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Stop or slow at the end of the ramp and wait for a safe gap

    Without an acceleration lane there is no room to match speed, so you must yield at the end of the ramp and enter only when a gap allows it.

  22. 22. You have started to pass and you see the no-passing zone beginning ahead. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Ease off, drop back and return to your own lane

    A pass must be completed before the no-passing zone starts. If it will not fit, abandon it and slot back in behind.

  23. 23. You are on a four-lane divided highway and a vehicle in your lane is stopped waiting to turn left across the median. What is the normal way past?

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    Answer D: Slow down and go by in the lane to the right when it is clear

    On a multilane road the free lane beside you is the lawful place to go past a vehicle waiting to turn, and the median is not part of the roadway.

  24. 24. What do the grooves in a tire tread do on a flooded road surface?

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    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.

  25. 25. You are behind three slow vehicles on a two-lane road and the way ahead looks clear. What is the sound decision?

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    Answer D: Pass one vehicle at a time, if the road allows it

    Passing several vehicles in one move keeps you in the oncoming lane far too long and leaves nowhere to go if a vehicle appears.