Washington DOL Permit Practice Test 22
- Questions40
- Correct to pass32
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. You are leaving a private driveway and entering a public street. What are you required to do?
Show answer
Answer B: Stop and yield to traffic on the street and to pedestrians on the sidewalk
A driver entering a roadway from a driveway, alley or private road must stop and yield to traffic on the roadway and to pedestrians on the sidewalk being crossed.
-
2. What phone rule applies to a Washington instruction permit or intermediate license holder?
Show answer
Answer A: No cell phone or mobile electronic device at all, even hands-free, except to report an emergency
Washington bars instruction permit and intermediate license holders from using a cell phone or any mobile electronic device while driving even if it is hands-free, and only allows use to report an emergency.
-
3. It is dark, it is raining and you are towing a trailer. How should you set your following gap?
Show answer
Answer B: Add extra seconds for each condition, well beyond three
Each factor that lengthens your stopping distance or shortens your view calls for another second or more, and they add up when several occur together.
-
4. Red pavement markings are used on a roadway to show that
Show answer
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.
-
5. What blood alcohol concentration brings DUI consequences for a Washington driver under 21?
Show answer
Answer C: 0.02 percent or more
Washington drivers under 21 face the same DUI consequences at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 percent or more, while the adult threshold is 0.08 percent.
-
6. You drive away and the car feels sluggish while a warning light glows on the dash. What is a likely cause?
Show answer
Answer B: The parking brake was left partly applied
Driving with the parking brake partly on overheats the rear brakes and can ruin them, so release it fully and check that the warning light goes out.
-
7. What does a flashing yellow traffic light mean?
Show answer
Answer B: Slow down and proceed with caution
A flashing yellow lets you enter the intersection cautiously after yielding to pedestrians and to conflicting traffic that is already there.
-
8. What symbol appears on a Washington license or ID card to show the holder registered as an organ donor?
Show answer
Answer A: A small heart shape
Washington places a small heart shape on the license or ID card of a registered organ donor.
-
9. An arrow panel at a work zone displays a flashing arrow pointing to the left. What does it require?
Show answer
Answer C: Move out of the closed lane into the lane on the left
A flashing or sequential arrow on an arrow panel directs traffic out of a closed lane and into the lane the arrow points to.
-
10. 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.
-
11. Compared with dry pavement, how much room does a vehicle need to stop on packed snow?
Show answer
Answer D: Several times as much
Grip on packed snow is a fraction of that on dry pavement, so stopping distance grows several times over. Antilock brakes help you steer, not stop shorter.
-
12. 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.
-
13. You make eye contact with a driver waiting to pull out of a side street. What should you assume?
Show answer
Answer D: The driver may still not have seen you, so stay ready to slow or stop
Drivers can look directly at you and still not register your vehicle, especially a small one. Eye contact helps, but never rely on it.
-
14. The hood of your vehicle flies open while you are driving and blocks your view. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Look through the gap beneath the hood or out the side window, slow down and pull off the road
You usually still have a narrow view under the raised hood or through the side window. Use it to steer, slow gradually and get clear of traffic before securing the hood.
-
15. Two left-turn lanes are available and you must turn right again a short distance after the turn. Which of the two should you use?
Show answer
Answer D: The right one, so you finish nearer the right side of the new street
Each turn lane feeds the matching lane of the new street, so choosing the right-hand of the two left-turn lanes leaves you closer to the side you will need.
-
16. What do yellow lines painted on a roadway separate?
Show answer
Answer D: Traffic moving in opposite directions
Yellow markings separate opposing streams of traffic, and they also mark the left edge of a divided highway or a one-way roadway.
-
17. Why does even a small reduction in speed matter so much where people are walking?
Show answer
Answer D: Because a pedestrian struck at a lower speed is far more likely to survive
The chance that a pedestrian survives falls steeply as impact speed rises, so a few miles per hour can decide the outcome.
-
18. Another driver has pulled out to pass you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stay in your lane, keep your speed steady or ease off, and let the pass finish
Accelerating while being passed forces the other driver to stay in the opposing lane longer, so the safe response is to hold or slightly reduce speed and stay right.
-
19. Which shape is used for the school advance warning sign and the school crossing sign?
Show answer
Answer B: An upward-pointing pentagon
The five-sided pentagon with its point up identifies school signing, so the outline alone tells a driver that children may be present.
-
20. You are turning onto a street that has two lanes going your way. Which lane should you enter?
Show answer
Answer B: The lane closest to you, changing lanes later if you need to
Turn into the nearest lane going your direction and make any lane change afterwards, when you have signaled and checked that it is clear.
-
21. How much more energy must your brakes absorb if you double your speed?
Show answer
Answer D: About four times as much, since energy rises with the square of speed
Kinetic energy grows with the square of speed, so twice the speed means about four times the energy and a far longer braking distance.
-
22. You notice that the driver ahead of you is holding a phone to the ear. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Assume slower reactions and leave extra space, or else hold back
A driver on the phone reacts late and misses things, so the safe response is distance rather than a lesson.
-
23. You are circulating in a roundabout and a vehicle is waiting to enter ahead of you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Keep going, because circulating traffic does not stop for entering vehicles
Stopping in the circle to be polite surprises the drivers behind you and defeats the design; entering traffic is the side that waits.
-
24. 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.
-
25. What is a good habit when you open the door on the traffic side of a parked car?
Show answer
Answer C: Use the hand farther from the door, which turns you to look back
Reaching across with the far hand rotates your body and brings the mirror and the road behind into view before the door moves.
-
26. What is the recommended minimum distance between the driver's breastbone and the center of the steering wheel air bag cover?
Show answer
Answer C: About 10 inches
An air bag inflates extremely fast, and keeping that much space lets it deploy fully before it reaches the driver, which is why the seat should be moved back as far as still allows comfortable control of the pedals.
-
27. When should you enter a destination into a navigation device?
Show answer
Answer B: Before you start driving, or after parking in a safe place
Programming a route is a visual, manual and mental task at the same time, so it belongs to the moments before the vehicle moves rather than to any point in traffic.
-
28. A person with a guide dog is standing at the corner facing the street you are about to cross. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop well back and wait quietly for them to decide
Blind pedestrians rely on engine sound to judge traffic, so stop back from the crossing and avoid the horn, which only confuses them.
-
29. A driver's destination lies along the street to the right, and this sign stands at that corner. How should the driver reach it?
Show answer
Answer D: By going on and using a later intersection where turning is allowed
When a movement is barred at one corner the driver has to reroute, normally by continuing and coming back to the destination from a permitted approach.
-
30. You are towing a trailer and turning right at an intersection. What must you allow for?
Show answer
Answer D: The trailer cuts the corner, so swing wider than usual
A trailer follows a shorter path than the towing vehicle, so its wheels track inside your line and can mount the curb unless you take the turn wide.
-
31. How far ahead should you normally be looking while driving?
Show answer
Answer D: About 12 to 15 seconds of travel ahead
Looking that far ahead, roughly a block in town and much farther on a highway, gives you time to see a problem developing and adjust before it becomes an emergency.
-
32. Where should you be looking as you back into a parallel parking space?
Show answer
Answer B: Over your shoulder through the rear window, glancing all around
Mirrors and cameras leave blind areas, so turn and look through the rear window while checking the front of your car and both sides as it swings.
-
33. A bicyclist stops at a four-way stop just before you do. Who goes first?
Show answer
Answer B: The bicyclist, who reached the intersection and stopped there before you did
A bicyclist on the roadway follows the same right of way rules as a driver, so arrival order decides the turn.
-
34. Why is repeatedly changing lanes to work through heavy traffic a poor idea?
Show answer
Answer A: It raises the crash risk and saves almost no time
Each lane change adds a conflict with another vehicle, and in congestion the lanes move at similar average speeds, so the gain is negligible.
-
35. You come to a place where a storm has dropped a power line across the road ahead. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Stop well back, keep everyone away from it and report it to the police
A downed line may be live and can energize the ground around it, so keep well clear and let the utility or the police handle it.
-
36. 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.
-
37. 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.
-
38. You turn the wheel but the front of the vehicle keeps sliding straight ahead on a slippery road. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Ease off the accelerator and reduce the steering angle until the front tires grip again
A front-wheel skid means the tires are asking for more grip than the surface can give. Less speed and less steering angle let them regain traction.
-
39. The center line beside your lane is solid yellow while the opposite side has a broken yellow line. What does this mean?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not pass, but traffic in the other direction may
A solid yellow line on your side of the center marks a no-passing zone for your direction only, while the broken line grants the opposing direction a passing zone.
-
40. Why would this sign be installed on an approach?
Show answer
Answer B: Because the signal cannot be seen from far enough back for a driver to react in time
Advance notice of a signal is used where a crest, a curve, trees or a building keep the signal heads out of view until a driver is already too close to stop comfortably.