Tennessee TDOSHS Permit Practice Test 33

  • Questions30
  • Correct to pass24
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age15 years

30 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 24 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. 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.

  2. 2. Your phone is in a mount on the dashboard rather than in your hand. What is true?

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    Answer B: It still takes your eyes and mind off the road

    A mount solves the hand problem but not the eye or the mind problem, and reading or tapping a mounted screen costs the same seconds of attention.

  3. 3. How should you use your mirrors while another vehicle overtakes you on a multilane road?

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    Answer C: Follow it from the inside mirror to the side mirror and then to your own view

    Handing the vehicle from one mirror to the next keeps it in sight through the blind spot instead of losing it there.

  4. 4. An oncoming vehicle at night has its high beams on and you are being dazzled. Where should you look?

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    Answer A: Toward the right edge of your lane

    Looking toward the right edge line keeps you on course while sparing your eyes the worst of the glare. Slow down and do not retaliate with your own high beams.

  5. 5. A regulatory sign posted at the start of a road reads LENGTH LIMIT 30 FEET. What does it control?

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    Answer B: The overall length of vehicle allowed on that road

    Some states post a length limit where tight curves or narrow structures lie ahead; it bars vehicles or combinations longer than the figure shown from using that road.

  6. 6. 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.

  7. 7. Your left-turn lane shows a flashing yellow arrow. What does that indication allow?

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    Answer B: A left turn after yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians

    A flashing yellow arrow marks a permissive left turn: the movement is allowed, but oncoming vehicles and pedestrians keep the right-of-way.

  8. 8. A small signal face beside a bikeway shows red, yellow and green lenses that each carry a bicycle symbol. Whom does it control?

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    Answer C: Bicyclists using that crossing or bikeway

    A bicycle signal face governs bicycle movements only, and people on foot at the same corner still follow the pedestrian signal.

  9. 9. A driver holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?

    A yellow diamond showing a black curving arrow
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    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.

  10. 10. 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?

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    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.

  11. 11. Is it acceptable to drive with your vehicle straddling the line between two lanes?

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    Answer D: No, you must drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane

    A vehicle astride the line takes up two lanes and leaves the drivers around it unable to predict where it will go.

  12. 12. The route marker used for an Interstate highway is a shield with

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    Answer A: white numerals on a blue field under a red band carrying the word INTERSTATE

    The Interstate route marker is a cutout shield with a white border, the word INTERSTATE in white on red across the top and the route number in white on blue.

  13. 13. When is switching traction control off sometimes useful?

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    Answer A: When you need spinning wheels to rock out of deep snow or mud

    Rocking a stuck vehicle free needs the wheel spin that the system normally prevents. Switch it back on as soon as you are moving again.

  14. 14. Besides registering at a Driver Services Center, where else can a Tennessean sign up as an organ and tissue donor?

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    Answer D: DonateLifeTN.org

    Tennesseans can register as organ and tissue donors directly through DonateLifeTN.org, in addition to registering at a Driver Services Center.

  15. 15. Why should you not switch the engine off while the vehicle is still moving fast?

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    Answer B: You lose power steering and the steering may lock

    With the engine off the steering becomes very heavy and on many vehicles the column can lock, so shift to neutral first and only shut down once stopped.

  16. 16. When may a driver of a motor vehicle use a marked bicycle lane?

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    Answer C: Only to cross it when turning or entering the road where the markings allow

    A bike lane is a lane for cyclists. Motor vehicles may only cross it to enter or leave the road or to make a turn where the markings permit.

  17. 17. You are on a one-way street with two marked lanes. May you pass a slower vehicle on the right?

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    Answer A: Yes, using the right lane, provided that the move is safe and signaled

    On a roadway with two or more marked lanes in your direction, moving into the free lane and going by is a normal lane change rather than an unlawful pass.

  18. 18. A sign at the curb reads Tow-Away Zone. What does it mean for you?

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    Answer C: That a vehicle left there can be removed at the owner's expense

    In a tow-away zone the vehicle can be removed immediately and the owner pays the towing and storage charges to get it back.

  19. 19. You are behind a snow plow working on a highway. What is the correct way to drive?

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    Answer C: Stay well back and do not try to pass it

    A plow throws snow, runs wider than its body and works on the poor surface ahead of it, so the cleared road behind it is the safest place to be.

  20. 20. Which Tennessee drivers may keep a non-photo driver license under the state's grandfather rule?

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    Answer C: Those 60 or older whose non-photo license issued on or before December 31, 2012

    The exemption is limited to drivers who were already 60 or older and held a non-photo license issued on or before December 31, 2012; anyone reaching 60 afterward cannot obtain a non-photo license based on age alone.

  21. 21. Two reckless driving convictions within what window trigger a Tennessee SR-22 insurance requirement?

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    Answer D: 12 months

    Accumulating two reckless driving convictions within a 12 month period is one of the triggers that requires a driver to file SR-22 proof of insurance.

  22. 22. The light turns yellow when your front wheels are already past the stop line inside the intersection. What should you do?

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    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.

  23. 23. The vehicle you want to pass is traveling close to the speed limit. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Stay behind, because a pass may not take you over the limit

    The speed limit applies while passing too. If you cannot complete the pass without exceeding it, do not start the pass.

  24. 24. May you stop in a marked bicycle lane to let a passenger out?

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    Answer B: No, stopping there forces riders into the traffic lane

    A vehicle stopped in a bike lane pushes riders out into moving traffic, which is exactly what the lane exists to prevent.

  25. 25. You are driving on a road covered with a layer of wet fallen leaves. What should you expect?

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    Answer B: As little grip as on ice, plus hidden markings and hidden holes

    Wet leaves are as slippery as ice and they hide the lane lines and any potholes underneath, so slow well before curves and stops.

  26. 26. You are approaching a horse and rider on a country road. What about your horn?

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    Answer C: Do not sound it at all, because the noise can frighten the animal

    A startled horse is dangerous to its rider and to you, so pass wide and slow and leave the horn alone.

  27. 27. Besides motorist services and tourist information, a blue sign background is also used for

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    Answer B: evacuation route signing

    Blue is assigned to road user services, tourist information and evacuation routes, so hurricane and other evacuation routes are signed in blue.

  28. 28. How far ahead should you normally be looking as you drive?

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    Answer C: About 12 to 15 seconds ahead, well beyond the vehicle in front

    Looking that far down the road lets you see a problem developing and slow smoothly, instead of discovering it in time only for hard braking.

  29. 29. A diamond-shaped sign is used to

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    Answer A: warn of a condition on or next to the road that may call for caution

    The diamond is the standard shape of the warning series, which alerts drivers to conditions that would otherwise not be obvious in time to react.

  30. 30. Which effect appears as a drinker's blood alcohol level climbs well past the first drinks?

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    Answer D: Loss of muscle control and steady steering

    Higher levels of alcohol reach the parts of the brain that control movement, which shows up as clumsy steering, late braking and poor lane control.