Wisconsin WisDOT DMV Permit Practice Test 5
Test 5 of 10. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 40 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Wisconsin test.
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. 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.
-
2. Why is a sign reading BRIDGE ICES BEFORE ROAD worth heeding even when the road itself is merely wet?
Show answer
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.
-
3. At roughly what speed can hydroplaning begin when a lot of water is lying on the road?
Show answer
Answer C: At speeds as low as about 35 mph
With enough water and less than perfect tread, a tire can start to ride on the water at around 35 mph, well below normal highway speeds.
-
4. Why is parking too close to a street corner prohibited?
Show answer
Answer D: Because it hides approaching traffic and pedestrians
A vehicle parked at a corner blocks the view that both drivers and pedestrians need before entering the intersection.
-
5. You are about to slow down sharply for a turn. Which check comes first?
Show answer
Answer A: A look in the mirror to see how close the traffic behind you is
Any hard slowing needs a mirror check first, because the driver behind is the one who has to react to it.
-
6. A school crossing guard has returned to the curb but two children are still walking across the road. When may you go?
Show answer
Answer C: Only after the children have reached the far sidewalk
The guard leaving the road does not end your duty; you stay stopped until every child is clear of the roadway.
-
7. A driver ahead brakes for no reason you can see, again and again. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Increase your following distance and be ready for yet another stop
Unexplained braking tells you the driver is unsure or distracted, so the safe answer is more room, not less.
-
8. When does Wisconsin NOT require an SR-22 filing after a license revocation?
Show answer
Answer A: When the revocation resulted solely from a first-offense OWI or from not completing a driver safety plan
Wisconsin waives the SR-22 requirement when a revocation is based solely on failing to complete a driver safety plan or on a first-offense OWI.
-
9. Your vehicle has daytime running lights. Why should you still switch on the headlights at dusk?
Show answer
Answer B: Daytime running lights usually do not light the tail lights, so you are hard to see from behind
On many vehicles the daytime running lights illuminate only the front. Without the headlight switch on, the rear of the vehicle stays dark and the dash may still look lit.
-
10. Why should you make sure your turn signal has stopped flashing after a lane change?
Show answer
Answer A: A signal left flashing tells other drivers that you intend to move again
Other drivers act on your signals, so one that is left on gives them false information about what you are about to do.
-
11. The engine dies at speed and the dashboard lights go out on a dark road. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Hold the wheel firmly, steer over to the shoulder and use the hazard lights
Never switch the ignition to lock, because the steering can lock; steer to the shoulder and warn traffic with the hazard lights.
-
12. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
Show answer
Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
-
13. You are about to leave a roundabout when a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk on your exit. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Yield to the pedestrian and wait for the crosswalk to clear
Roundabout crosswalks sit on the entries and exits, and drivers must yield to pedestrians using them.
-
14. Which common non-prescription medicine is most likely to make a driver drowsy?
Show answer
Answer C: A cold or allergy remedy containing an antihistamine
Antihistamines in cold and allergy remedies are a leading cause of drowsiness behind the wheel, which is why the label carries a warning.
-
15. A separate right-turn lane leads onto the cross street and carries a yield sign. What does it require?
Show answer
Answer D: Slowing and giving way to traffic and people, stopping if needed
A yield requires you to slow, give way to traffic in the lane you are joining and to pedestrians, and stop only if that is what safety demands.
-
16. Besides police, fire, and ambulance vehicles, what other stopped vehicles trigger Wisconsin's move over duty?
Show answer
Answer B: Tow trucks, utility vehicles, highway maintenance vehicles, and disabled vehicles showing warning signals
Wisconsin's move over duty also covers tow trucks, utility vehicles, highway maintenance vehicles, and disabled vehicles displaying warning signals, not just emergency responders.
-
17. What is wrong with steering through a turn using the palm of one hand on the wheel?
Show answer
Answer D: You have less control and cannot correct quickly if something goes wrong
One-handed palming gives poor leverage and slow response. Use hand-to-hand or hand-over-hand steering with both hands so you can react instantly.
-
18. How does Wisconsin define the engine limit that keeps a two-wheeler classified as a moped?
Show answer
Answer D: 50 cubic centimeters with an automatic transmission, or 130 cubic centimeters if it is a pedal-equipped bicycle-type vehicle
Wisconsin caps a moped's engine at 50cc with an automatic transmission, or allows up to 130cc when the vehicle is a bicycle type with fully operative pedals.
-
19. The brake pedal goes to the floor and the vehicle does not slow. What should you try first?
Show answer
Answer C: Pump the pedal quickly to try to build pressure
Most vehicles have a split braking system, so rapid pumping can often build enough pressure to slow you. If it does not, use the parking brake gradually.
-
20. On a long uphill grade a second lane opens on the right and a sign directs slower traffic into it. You are towing a trailer and holding up a line of vehicles. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Move into the right-hand lane and let the faster traffic use the left lane
A climbing lane exists so that slow vehicles can be passed safely, and the slower vehicle is the one that belongs in it.
-
21. A large X with the letters R and R beside it is painted across your lane. What does it mean?
Show answer
Answer A: A railroad crossing lies a short distance ahead
The pavement marking repeats the advance warning for a grade crossing, and it is used on paved approaches where speeds are high or where gates are installed.
-
22. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
Show answer
Answer A: Moving your eyes constantly over the road, the sides and the mirrors
Scanning keeps information coming in from every direction, while a fixed stare leaves you blind to everything else.
-
23. How often must a regular Wisconsin driver license be renewed?
Show answer
Answer C: Every eight years
A regular Wisconsin driver license is renewed every eight years, and a reminder notice is sent 45 to 60 days before the birthday in the expiration year.
-
24. Where must a Wisconsin child safety seat or booster seat be installed if the vehicle has a back seat?
Show answer
Answer A: In the back seat, whenever the vehicle is equipped with one
Wisconsin law requires a child restrained in a car seat or booster seat to ride in the back seat whenever the vehicle has one.
-
25. Why is an underinflated tire especially risky on a long drive in hot weather?
Show answer
Answer C: It flexes more, builds up heat and can fail at speed
A soft tire flexes on every rotation, and that flexing makes heat that the hot road and high speed add to until the tire can come apart.
-
26. You are driving on a divided highway and see a solid yellow line along the left side of your lanes. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer D: It marks the left edge of the roadway for your direction
On a divided highway or a one-way roadway, the left edge of the traveled way is marked with a solid yellow line.
-
27. From which lane should a permitted U-turn be started?
Show answer
Answer A: The lane nearest the center line, the same one used for a left turn
A U-turn is begun from the far left lane for your direction, the same position used for a left turn, so you do not cut across traffic beside you.
-
28. You are passing a tractor-trailer on a wet freeway and its wheels throw heavy spray. What is the best technique?
Show answer
Answer B: Increase your wipers and pass steadily without hesitating
Spray blinds you for as long as you stay beside the truck, so prepare the wipers first and then spend as little time in the spray as possible.
-
29. You are approaching a traffic light that has been green for a long time. How should you treat it?
Show answer
Answer C: Expect it to change and be ready to stop
A light that has been green for a while is called a stale green light. Cover the brake and decide in advance where you could still stop safely.
-
30. The light turns yellow when your front wheels are already past the stop line inside the intersection. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Keep going and clear the intersection without speeding up
Once you are legally in the intersection the safest and correct action is to continue through and clear it, without accelerating.
-
31. Someone has stepped into a marked crosswalk in the middle of a block ahead of you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down, stop before the markings and let the person cross the street
A marked mid-block crosswalk carries the same duty as one at a corner: give way to the person crossing, stopping if that is what letting them cross safely takes.
-
32. After a crash your door will not open and you need to get out of the car. What should you try?
Show answer
Answer B: Try another door of the vehicle, or a window that will still open properly
A jammed door is common after an impact, and the simplest escape is a different door or a window rather than forcing the damaged one.
-
33. A yellow diamond showing the silhouette of a deer warns that
Show answer
Answer D: large animals may cross the road in that area
The sign marks a stretch where animals are known to cross, so drivers should reduce speed and scan both roadsides, especially around dawn and dusk.
-
34. You receive a phone call that you feel you must answer while driving. What is the safest way to take it?
Show answer
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.
-
35. You find that the road surface has turned to sheet ice. What speed is appropriate?
Show answer
Answer A: A crawl, slow enough that you could stop without braking hard
Ice can cut grip to a fraction of normal, so stopping takes many times the usual distance and only a crawl leaves any margin.
-
36. A large truck ahead of you swings toward the left just before turning right at an intersection. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Stay back and never try to move into the gap between the truck and the curb
Long vehicles need extra room and often swing wide to complete a right turn, so the space that opens on their right closes again as the trailer sweeps through it.
-
37. A SHOULDER DROP OFF sign warns that
Show answer
Answer B: there is a step down from the pavement to the shoulder
The sign is used where the edge of the pavement stands several inches above the shoulder, which can grab a wheel and pull the vehicle sideways.
-
38. A pedestrian is crossing a wide four-lane street and has reached the lanes on the far side. When may you go on?
Show answer
Answer C: Only after the person has finished crossing the roadway
Waiting until the pedestrian has finished crossing is correct in every state and removes any doubt about how much clearance your state demands.
-
39. How much following distance should you keep behind a motorcycle?
Show answer
Answer C: At least three to four seconds
A motorcycle can slow or stop very quickly and is easily upset by a surprise, so allow three to four seconds instead of the usual car gap.
-
40. You have stopped at a stop line but parked cars hide the cross street. What comes next?
Show answer
Answer C: Edge forward to where you can see, stopping again if needed
The legal stop at the line is only the first stop; you then move up slowly to a point where you can see, and stop again if traffic requires it.
-
41. Why is it useful to watch the vehicle two or three places ahead of you?
Show answer
Answer C: You get an earlier warning of slowing traffic than brake lights give
Trouble travels back through a line of traffic, so seeing it start several vehicles ahead gives you a head start on braking.
-
42. You are on an entrance ramp joining a busy freeway. What should you do with your speed in the acceleration lane?
Show answer
Answer D: Build it up to about the speed of the traffic you are joining
Merging works when your speed matches the traffic stream, because a large speed difference forces the drivers already on the freeway to brake or swerve.
-
43. Beyond a Wisconsin probationary driver's own immediate family, what condition lets a second non-family passenger ride along?
Show answer
Answer C: One of the two non-family passengers must be a licensed driver with at least two years of experience
Wisconsin allows a probationary driver only one non-family passenger unless one of the riders is a licensed driver with at least two years of experience, in which case a second may also ride.
-
44. What does a tire with worn tread do on a wet road?
Show answer
Answer B: It loses grip and it hydroplanes at a lower speed than a good tire
Tread grooves carry water away from the contact patch, and a worn tire cannot do that, so it floats on the water sooner.
-
45. What happens in Wisconsin if a driver refuses the prohibited alcohol concentration test requested by an officer?
Show answer
Answer D: The officer must arrest the driver for violating the Implied Consent Law
Under the Wisconsin Implied Consent Law an officer must arrest a driver who refuses the test, and the driver loses driving privileges for at least one year.
-
46. 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.
-
47. An orange background with a black legend on a sign indicates
Show answer
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.
-
48. A large truck is passing you on a two-lane road. What is the safest thing to do?
Show answer
Answer C: Keep right in your lane and ease off the gas a little
Staying in your own lane and easing off shortens the pass without forcing you onto a soft shoulder or into the truck's path.
-
49. Your exit from a three-lane highway is about a mile ahead on the right, and you are in the left lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Start moving right now, one lane at a time
Plan ahead and change lanes one at a time well before the exit, so you never have to cut across several lanes at the gore.
-
50. What is the maximum prison exposure for careless driving in a Wisconsin work zone that injures a worker, compared to one that kills a worker?
Show answer
Answer A: Up to 3.5 years for an injury, up to 10 years for a death
Wisconsin allows up to 3.5 years imprisonment for careless work zone driving that injures someone, and up to 10 years when it results in a death.