Wisconsin WisDOT DMV Permit Practice Test 23
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. What should a driver expect a short distance beyond this sign?
Show answer
Answer C: Another road crossing the one being traveled
Traffic may enter or cross from either side at the intersection ahead, so the driver should ease off, cover the brake and check both approaches.
-
2. A disabled vehicle is blocking your lane on a two-lane road with a single solid yellow line on your side. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Wait until the oncoming lane is clear, then go around carefully
The solid line prohibits overtaking a moving vehicle, but in most states a driver may go around an obstruction such as a disabled vehicle once the oncoming lane is clear and the move can be made safely.
-
3. In heavy fog at night on a rural two-lane road, which marking best helps a driver hold position?
Show answer
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.
-
4. You see a shield for a three-digit Interstate whose first digit is even. What does that tell you about the route?
Show answer
Answer C: It loops around a city and rejoins its parent route
A three-digit Interstate beginning with an even digit is a loop or beltway that connects back to the main route at both ends, while an odd first digit marks a spur.
-
5. You back into an unattended parked car in a lot and cause visible damage. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Try to find the owner, or leave a note with your name and contact details, and report the crash
Hitting an unattended vehicle carries the same duties as any crash. Leaving without identifying yourself is a hit-and-run offense.
-
6. Which family of signs normally uses a rectangle that is wider than it is tall?
Show answer
Answer B: Guide signs, which name routes and destinations
Guide signs are laid out as horizontal rectangles because they have to carry route numbers, place names and distances side by side.
-
7. A driver has to stop for a train at this sign. How far back from the nearest rail should the vehicle be held?
Show answer
Answer C: No closer than roughly fifteen feet
A train and its load overhang the rails, so stopping no closer than about fifteen feet keeps the vehicle outside the space the train actually sweeps.
-
8. Your lane is ending ahead in slow, heavy traffic and drivers in the next lane are already bumper to bumper. What is the recommended way to merge?
Show answer
Answer C: Take turns, one vehicle from each lane at the merge point
Alternating one for one at the merge point keeps both lanes moving and is the safest way to combine slow traffic.
-
9. Besides a chemical test, what else supports an impaired driving charge?
Show answer
Answer B: The officer's observations of the driving and the driver
Weaving, slow responses, speech and balance observed by the officer are evidence in their own right, which is why a driver can be charged on behavior alone.
-
10. A driver leaves the vehicle at the curb where this sign is posted and walks away for two minutes. Is that allowed?
Show answer
Answer B: No, leaving the vehicle unattended there is prohibited whatever the length of the absence
Walking away leaves the vehicle parked, and the prohibition holds regardless of how long the driver is gone or whether the engine is left running.
-
11. You have driven at 70 mph for an hour and then exit onto a town street. What is the common risk?
Show answer
Answer B: Your sense of speed adapts, so 35 mph feels slow and you drive too fast
After a long stretch at high speed the brain adapts, so town speeds feel unnaturally slow; check the speedometer instead of trusting the feeling.
-
12. How should your speed behave while you move from one lane into the next?
Show answer
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.
-
13. An orange sign reads RIGHT LANE CLOSED AHEAD. What is the correct response?
Show answer
Answer A: Move left in good time and keep a steady pace
The sign is placed well before the taper so that drivers can merge smoothly rather than braking hard where the lane actually closes.
-
14. A signal on an entrance ramp changes from red to green and lets one vehicle at a time onto the highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stop on the red and go on the green, one vehicle for each green
A ramp meter spaces vehicles out so they join the highway one at a time instead of arriving as a group, and it is a traffic signal like any other.
-
15. What is true about a Wisconsin REAL ID compliant credential compared to a standard license?
Show answer
Answer B: It is optional, and only needed to fly domestically or enter certain federal facilities and military bases
Wisconsin states that a REAL ID is not required; it is only needed if the holder plans to fly within the United States or enter a military base or other federal building.
-
16. A single solid white line separates two lanes running in the same direction. What is it telling drivers?
Show answer
Answer A: Changing lanes there is discouraged
A solid white lane line discourages lane changing, typically where merging or weaving would create a hazard.
-
17. What should you do before you back out of your own driveway at home?
Show answer
Answer A: Walk around the vehicle and check behind it for children or objects
A small child, a bicycle or a toy can sit entirely inside the blind area behind a vehicle, and a walk-around is the only way to be sure it is clear.
-
18. A center lane is marked with a broken yellow line on each side and is controlled by overhead lane signals. How is that lane used?
Show answer
Answer A: It carries traffic one way or the other according to the signals
A reversible lane is marked with broken yellow lines on both sides and its direction of travel is set by the lane control signals above it.
-
19. You are leaving a freeway at an exit that has a deceleration lane. Where should you slow down?
Show answer
Answer C: After you have moved fully into the exit lane
Braking in a through lane surprises the traffic behind you, so you move into the exit lane at highway speed and then slow down inside it.
-
20. A pedestrian is crossing at a corner where no crosswalk is painted on the pavement. What is your duty?
Show answer
Answer A: Yield, because a legal crosswalk exists at the corner even without paint
Every intersection has a crosswalk whether or not it is marked, and drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing there.
-
21. In normal operation, which indication always comes between a green and a red on the same signal face?
Show answer
Answer C: A steady yellow
The yellow change interval must follow every green or green arrow, so a signal can never jump straight from green to red.
-
22. You are making a U-turn at a signal on a green left arrow. Who must you still watch for?
Show answer
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.
-
23. Fresh snow covers the road and earlier vehicles have left clear tracks. What line is usually best?
Show answer
Answer B: The existing tracks, where more of the tire can reach the surface
Running in the cleared tracks puts more rubber on the road surface than ploughing through loose snow, provided the tracks have not turned to polished ice.
-
24. A deer suddenly steps onto the road ahead of you at night. What is the safest response?
Show answer
Answer C: Brake firmly and stay in your lane rather than swerving
Swerving at speed often leads to a rollover or a head-on crash that is far worse than hitting the animal. Brake hard, hold your lane and expect more deer to follow.
-
25. The added lane warning sign tells a driver that
Show answer
Answer A: an extra lane begins ahead, so entering traffic does not have to merge into an existing lane
Where a lane is added, traffic entering the roadway gets a lane of its own, so merging is not required, although drivers should still watch the vehicles beside them.
-
26. What makes a left turn protected rather than permissive?
Show answer
Answer B: Oncoming traffic is held by a red signal while you have a green arrow
A protected turn is one where the conflicting movements are stopped by their own signal, which is what the green arrow indicates.
-
27. You are approaching a multilane roundabout. When should you choose your lane?
Show answer
Answer C: Before you enter, using the lane-choice sign on the approach
You select your lane on the approach the way you would at any multilane intersection, then stay in that lane all the way around, because changing lanes inside a roundabout creates side-impact conflicts.
-
28. Why can an oncoming vehicle that looks comfortably far away leave you far less room than you expect?
Show answer
Answer D: You and that vehicle close the gap at the sum of both your speeds
Two vehicles approaching at 55 mph each close the distance between them at about 110 mph, so the gap disappears in half the time you would expect.
-
29. Where among these is parking specifically prohibited?
Show answer
Answer A: On a bridge, in a tunnel or on railroad tracks
Bridges and tunnels have no safe refuge and cannot be widened, and a vehicle left on railroad tracks cannot be avoided by an approaching train.
-
30. What does Wisconsin law say about drinking an alcoholic beverage while riding in a vehicle that is on a highway?
Show answer
Answer A: It is prohibited for anyone in the vehicle, driver or passenger, while the vehicle is on a highway
Wisconsin law bars anyone in a motor vehicle, whether driver or passenger, from drinking an alcoholic beverage while the vehicle is on a highway.
-
31. At an intersection where turning on a red arrow is not permitted, the signal shows a red left arrow next to a steady green ball. What may you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Go straight or turn right if permitted, but not left
An arrow controls only the movement it points to, so here the red arrow stops the left turn while the green ball still allows the other movements.
-
32. You reach a stretch of road covered by moving flood water of unknown depth. What is the correct decision?
Show answer
Answer D: Turn around and take another route
About a foot of moving water is enough to carry away most cars, and the roadbed under the water may already be washed out, so the only safe choice is to turn around.
-
33. A motorcycle ahead of you has its turn signal blinking but continues straight through several intersections. What is the likely explanation?
Show answer
Answer D: Motorcycle signals often do not cancel themselves after a turn
Many motorcycle turn signals are not self-cancelling, so a rider may leave one on by mistake. Wait until the rider actually starts to turn before you act on the signal.
-
34. On a two-lane road with a broken yellow center line, may you cross it to turn into a driveway on the left?
Show answer
Answer C: Yes, when it is safe and the oncoming lane is clear
A broken center line may be crossed for a pass or for a left turn into a road or a driveway, once the oncoming lane is clear.
-
35. On a school speed limit sign, the part carrying the word SCHOOL is shown
Show answer
Answer A: in black on a fluorescent yellow-green background
The SCHOOL portion of the school speed limit sign uses the same fluorescent yellow-green background as school warning signs, while the speed portion keeps the standard regulatory appearance.
-
36. What must a driver be ready for beyond this sign?
Show answer
Answer C: Vehicles approaching from the opposite direction in the next lane over
The separation between the two directions runs out, so from that point oncoming vehicles share the same pavement and the driver has to keep right.
-
37. What makes up the total distance needed to bring a vehicle to a stop?
Show answer
Answer A: The distance covered while you perceive the hazard, the distance covered while you react, and the braking distance
Total stopping distance combines the ground covered while you notice the hazard, the ground covered while you move your foot to the brake, and the ground covered while the brakes slow the vehicle.
-
38. A driver disregards this sign and turns so as to travel against the direction it establishes. What is the immediate danger?
Show answer
Answer D: The driver will face traffic head on, because every lane comes the other way
Turning against the established direction puts the vehicle nose to nose with all the traffic on that street, which is why the mistake has to be corrected at once.
-
39. You hold steady pressure on the brake pedal for the whole of a long descent. What is likely to happen?
Show answer
Answer B: The brakes overheat and fade, so they slow you less and less
Continuous braking heats the brakes until they fade and lose effectiveness; use a lower gear and short, firm applications instead.
-
40. How does alcohol affect a driver's ability to handle several things at once?
Show answer
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.
-
41. You are in the middle lane of a one-way street with three lanes when a police car approaches from behind with lights and siren. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Pull to the nearest curb and stop clear of the lanes
On a one-way street you clear to whichever curb is closest, so the emergency vehicle gets a clear path down the open lanes.
-
42. A highway lane is marked with a large white diamond and signed as a high-occupancy vehicle lane. Who may use it?
Show answer
Answer B: Only vehicles carrying at least the number of occupants shown on the sign, during the posted hours
The diamond marking identifies a preferential lane whose occupancy requirement and hours of operation are stated on the accompanying signs.
-
43. A strong wind is blowing across an open stretch of road. Besides the gusts, what else should you watch for?
Show answer
Answer A: Branches, dust and loose objects blown into your path
High wind strips branches, litter and dust onto the roadway and can push other vehicles out of their lane, so scan much further ahead than usual.
-
44. Where is a road work ahead sign placed?
Show answer
Answer B: In advance of the work space or detour, so drivers are warned before reaching it
Advance warning signs are placed upstream of the work space or detour so that drivers have time to slow down and change lanes before reaching the activity.
-
45. You are hosting a party and a guest who has been drinking wants to drive home. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop serving and arrange a ride or a bed
Only time removes alcohol, so a host who wants to prevent a crash has to remove the driving, not try to speed up sobering that cannot be sped up.
-
46. Where is a U-turn generally the most reasonable choice?
Show answer
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.
-
47. Which ability does alcohol usually affect first?
Show answer
Answer A: Judgment and self control
Alcohol reduces judgment and inhibition before a drinker notices any clumsiness, which is why an impaired driver often feels perfectly capable while already driving worse.
-
48. Where are children in the greatest danger around a school bus?
Show answer
Answer B: In the roadway right around the bus, especially in front
The danger zone is the band of roadway around the bus where the driver's view is poorest, and children crossing in front of the bus are hardest to see.
-
49. In which three kinds of locations does Wisconsin typically double the fine for a speeding conviction?
Show answer
Answer A: Work zones, school zones, and railroad crossings
Wisconsin doubles speeding fines in work zones, school zones, and at railway crossings.
-
50. What must you do before changing lanes, in addition to signaling and checking your mirrors?
Show answer
Answer D: Glance over your shoulder to check the blind spot the mirrors do not cover
Mirrors leave an area beside and behind the vehicle that they cannot show, so a quick head check is needed before the vehicle moves sideways.