Wisconsin WisDOT DMV Permit Practice Test 15
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. You are driving slower than the general flow on a multilane highway. Which lane should you use?
Show answer
Answer D: The right lane, keeping the left lanes free for faster traffic and passing
Slower traffic must keep right so that faster vehicles and overtaking traffic can use the left lanes without weaving between lanes.
-
2. 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?
Show answer
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.
-
3. You leave your car so that its rear overhangs a marked crosswalk. What is wrong with that?
Show answer
Answer B: Pedestrians must step around it into the traffic lane
A crosswalk has to stay completely clear; anything sticking into it pushes people on foot out into the path of moving vehicles.
-
4. You stop at a rest area because you are sleepy. How long a nap is usually recommended?
Show answer
Answer D: About fifteen to twenty minutes
A short nap of fifteen to twenty minutes restores useful alertness without leaving the grogginess a longer sleep can bring, and you should wait a few minutes before driving on.
-
5. You are backing a trailer and want its rear to move to the left. Which way should you turn the steering wheel?
Show answer
Answer A: Move the bottom of the wheel to the left, which turns the top to the right
A trailer moves opposite to the tow vehicle's steering when backing. Holding the wheel at the bottom and moving your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go makes this easier.
-
6. What kind of trip is a Wisconsin occupational license NOT allowed to cover?
Show answer
Answer B: A trip to visit friends or attend a purely social event
Wisconsin's occupational license excludes recreational purposes such as visiting friends or attending social events, while allowing work, school, medical, and household trips.
-
7. You must leave your vehicle beside a narrow rural road at night. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
8. In the code that governs pavement markings, what does a double line stand for?
Show answer
Answer B: A maximum restriction
The marking code is consistent: a double line means the strongest restriction, a solid line discourages or forbids crossing, and a broken line is permissive.
-
9. On the Interstate system, what do the odd-numbered one and two digit routes have in common?
Show answer
Answer D: They run mainly north and south
Odd numbers are given to north and south Interstates and even numbers to east and west ones, with the numbers rising toward the north and the east.
-
10. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?
Show answer
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.
-
11. Once a driver has joined the route this sign begins, how is the rest of the way marked?
Show answer
Answer B: By further markers of the same kind at each turn, until the original road is rejoined
The alternate route is signed continuously, with a marker at every turn, so a driver with no local knowledge can follow it back to the original road.
-
12. A driver holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?
Show answer
Answer B: The vehicle runs wide toward the outside and can cross into another lane or leave the pavement
Holding speed into a change of alignment asks the tires for more side grip than they can supply, so the vehicle runs wide and the driver is left with less room to correct.
-
13. Why is wearing headphones over both ears a problem while driving?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not hear horns, sirens or other warning sounds
Hearing is part of your awareness of traffic. Covering both ears blocks emergency sirens, horns and the sound of an approaching vehicle you cannot yet see.
-
14. A person using a wheelchair is waiting to cross at a corner ahead. How should you treat that person?
Show answer
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.
-
15. Why is parking against the flow of traffic dangerous even when nobody complains?
Show answer
Answer D: Because you had to cross traffic to get there and must cross again to leave
Parking on the wrong side means driving against traffic at both ends of the stop, and your reflectors and lights face the wrong way while you are there.
-
16. Your vehicle does not have antilock brakes and you must stop quickly on a slippery road. What is the correct technique?
Show answer
Answer B: Apply the brakes firmly without locking the wheels, releasing slightly if they lock
Locked wheels slide and cannot steer. Squeezing the brakes to just short of lockup, and easing off if they lock, gives the shortest stop with control.
-
17. At an intersection where every approach carries this sign, two drivers arrive at exactly the same instant. Which of them goes first?
Show answer
Answer C: The driver on the right
Order of arrival decides who goes first, and when two vehicles arrive together the driver on the right proceeds while the other gives way.
-
18. How should you follow a school bus in traffic?
Show answer
Answer A: Far enough back to see its lights and stop in time
A school bus stops often and with little warning, so a longer following distance gives you time to see the lights come on and stop clear of it.
-
19. Well before an intersection, an overhead sign shows a diagram of the lanes with an arrow above each one. What is its purpose?
Show answer
Answer C: To let drivers pick the correct lane in good time
Advance intersection lane control signs display the lane assignment far enough back that drivers can move over calmly instead of at the last moment.
-
20. You are approaching a marked school crossing and children have started to cross the roadway. What is required?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop and let the children finish crossing the roadway
Drivers give way to people in a marked crossing, stopping if that is what it takes, and children in particular may change direction without warning.
-
21. Some crosswalks are marked with two transverse lines and others with a row of wide bars laid along the direction of travel. Why is the second pattern used?
Show answer
Answer B: It is far easier for an approaching driver to see
Longitudinal bar patterns are used where extra visibility is wanted, such as an uncontrolled crossing or one near a school, because they show up much better from a car.
-
22. Enhanced reference location markers differ from ordinary mileposts in that they
Show answer
Answer B: carry the route number and a mileage figure to the tenth of a mile
An enhanced reference location marker adds the route designation and carries the mileage to a tenth, so the point named is far more precise than a plain milepost.
-
23. How long can cannabis affect a driver?
Show answer
Answer A: For hours after the strongest effects have passed
Slowed reactions, poor tracking and weak judgment of distance can last for hours, well beyond the point where the user believes the effects are over.
-
24. You are behind three slow vehicles on a two-lane road and the way ahead looks clear. What is the sound decision?
Show answer
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.
-
25. Why is it dangerous to make a left turn from the second lane from the center?
Show answer
Answer C: Because a driver in the lane beside you is turning into the same space
Drivers in the proper turn lane are entitled to that space, and turning across them puts two vehicles into one path through the intersection.
-
26. A steady red arrow is displayed for your left-turn lane at a two-way intersection. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stop and remain stopped until an indication permits the turn
A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points to, so the driver stops and waits for a green arrow, a flashing yellow arrow or another indication that permits the turn.
-
27. Is it acceptable to drive far below the flow of traffic on an open highway?
Show answer
Answer B: No, driving too slowly can obstruct traffic and create a hazard
Traffic that is much slower than the surrounding flow forces other drivers into sudden braking and unnecessary passing maneuvers, and impeding traffic is itself a violation.
-
28. You signaled a lane change and the signal did not switch itself off afterwards. Why does that matter?
Show answer
Answer B: Other drivers may act on a turn you do not intend to make
A signal left on tells other drivers you are about to turn, and someone may pull out in front of you. Cancel it as soon as the maneuver is finished.
-
29. While you are still on an entrance ramp, where should your attention be?
Show answer
Answer D: Along the ramp ahead and back at the highway traffic in the mirrors and over your shoulder
A merge needs both halves of the picture at once: the ramp curving ahead of you and the traffic you are about to join behind and to your left.
-
30. A sign with a brown background and a white legend guides road users to
Show answer
Answer B: parks, campgrounds and other recreational or cultural sites
Brown is reserved for recreational and cultural interest area signing, such as parks, historic sites and scenic areas.
-
31. How should the outside mirrors be aimed to reduce your blind spots?
Show answer
Answer A: Outward, so each one covers the lane beside you rather than repeating the inside mirror
Mirrors aimed too far inward show you the same road three times and leave a large gap beside the vehicle, so aiming them outward shrinks the blind spot.
-
32. You park on level ground in a lot. Where should the front wheels be pointing?
Show answer
Answer C: Straight ahead, so the car would not veer if it moved
On the level the wheels go straight so that the car stays in its own space, and so that a shunt from behind does not send it across a lane.
-
33. Federal law lets a state open its high-occupancy vehicle lanes to certain vehicles carrying only one person. Which of these is covered by that allowance?
Show answer
Answer B: Motorcycles
Federal law lets states allow motorcycles into high-occupancy vehicle lanes regardless of the number of occupants, because keeping riders in the flow is safer than the alternative.
-
34. You have just returned to your own lane after passing. Why should you not slow down straight away?
Show answer
Answer A: The vehicle you passed is close behind and needs room to stop
Returning and then braking leaves the driver you just overtook with almost no following distance, which is how a pass turns into a rear-end collision.
-
35. What is the minimum age to operate a moped on a Wisconsin roadway?
Show answer
Answer C: 16 years old
Wisconsin sets the minimum age to operate a moped at 16 years old.
-
36. You have loaded the trunk heavily. Why might oncoming drivers flash their lights at you at night?
Show answer
Answer D: The rear sits lower, so your headlights point higher and dazzle them
Weight in the back tips the vehicle nose up and lifts the beam pattern, so low beams shine into the eyes of drivers coming the other way.
-
37. The brake warning light stays on even though the parking brake is fully released. What does it indicate?
Show answer
Answer B: A possible brake system problem, so have the brakes checked promptly
The brake warning light also signals low brake fluid or a failure in one part of the hydraulic system. Do not ignore it, because braking may be reduced.
-
38. You and the driver facing you both have stop signs at a two-way stop. You are going straight and that driver is turning left. Who has the right of way?
Show answer
Answer B: You do, and the turning driver must wait
Between two opposing drivers who both stopped, the one going straight goes first and the left-turning driver yields.
-
39. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?
Show answer
Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one
At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.
-
40. A raised area crosses the roadway and carries a series of white markings on its face. What are those markings for?
Show answer
Answer A: To make the hump visible so drivers slow for it
Speed hump markings warn drivers that the pavement rises, which matters most at night or when the hump is in shadow.
-
41. You want to turn left across the oncoming lane into a shopping center driveway. Who must you yield to?
Show answer
Answer B: Oncoming traffic and anyone using the sidewalk
A left turn into a driveway crosses both the oncoming lane and the sidewalk, so you give way to traffic and to pedestrians before completing it.
-
42. You are about to pass a long tractor-trailer on a two-lane road. What should you expect?
Show answer
Answer B: You will need more clear road, since the vehicle is much longer
A tractor-trailer can be 70 feet long, so passing it takes more distance and more time than passing a car at the same speed difference.
-
43. A child has outgrown the rear-facing seat. What comes next?
Show answer
Answer D: A forward-facing seat with a harness, used up to its own stated limits
The stages run rear facing, then forward facing with a harness, then a booster, then the adult belt alone.
-
44. How many alcoholic drinks does it take to begin affecting driving ability?
Show answer
Answer C: Even one drink can affect it
A single drink can slow reactions and weaken judgment before you feel any change. Impairment starts long before a person feels drunk.
-
45. An oncoming driver flashes their headlights while you are waiting to turn left. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Judge the situation yourself, since the flash may mean something else
A flash is not a legal signal and may mean many things, so the decision to turn stays yours and must be based on what you can see.
-
46. An orange sign showing the symbol of a person holding a flag or a sign paddle means that
Show answer
Answer D: a person is controlling traffic ahead and the driver must obey that person
The flagger sign warns that a trained flagger is directing traffic further on, and the flagger's instructions govern movement through the work zone.
-
47. Cones and drums mark a shifted lane through a work zone. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Follow the path that they mark and stay inside it
Channelizing devices define the temporary travel path, and the space on the other side of them belongs to the workers.
-
48. When is it acceptable to reach into the back seat for something while driving?
Show answer
Answer A: Never; stop somewhere safe instead
Twisting round takes your eyes off the road and your control of the wheel with it, so anything in the back seat waits until the car is stopped.
-
49. Four vehicles reach a four-way stop from all four directions at the same instant. How is the deadlock resolved?
Show answer
Answer C: Each driver yields to the vehicle on the right and they go one by one
Yielding to the right applies to every driver, so the group untangles itself as drivers take turns rather than moving together.
-
50. Once a Wisconsin probationary or permit driver crosses 12 demerit points, how long is the resulting suspension, and how does it change above 30 points?
Show answer
Answer B: 6 months for 12 to 30 points, rising to 1 year for 30 or more points
Wisconsin suspends a probationary or permit holder for 6 months once points reach 12 to 30, and for 1 year once points reach 30 or more.