Tennessee TDOSHS Permit Practice Test 39
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. A police officer is directing traffic at an intersection and waves you through a red light. What should you do?
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Answer C: Follow the officer, whose directions come before signs and signals
Directions given by a police officer or an authorized flagger override signs, signals and pavement markings.
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2. How many points does Tennessee assess for failing to report a crash?
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Answer A: 4 points
Failure to report a crash is a 4 point violation on the Tennessee driver improvement schedule.
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3. At which location is this sign normally installed?
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Answer D: Facing traffic that could turn into a one-way roadway or ramp against the flow
It is posted where a driver could otherwise enter a ramp or a one-way roadway from the wrong end, so it faces exactly the traffic that has to be kept out.
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4. Should you drive with your hazard lights flashing while moving in fog?
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Answer A: No, they hide your turn signals and suggest you are stopped
Hazard lights on a moving vehicle tell other drivers you are stopped or disabled, and they cancel out your turn signals just when clarity matters most.
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5. What do flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean?
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Answer A: The bus is about to stop to load or unload, so prepare to stop
The amber lights are the warning phase that comes before the red lights and the stop arm, so drivers should slow down and get ready to stop.
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6. Roughly how far does a vehicle travel at 55 mph during the few seconds a driver spends reading a text message?
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Answer D: About the length of a football field
Sending or reading a message takes the eyes off the road for about five seconds, which at 55 mph covers roughly the length of a football field with nobody watching the road.
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7. How do extra passengers affect a driver, especially a new one?
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Answer A: They increase the chance of distraction and of crashes
Conversation, laughter and horseplay pull a driver's attention away from the road. Crash risk for young drivers rises with each additional passenger.
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8. Where is signing of this kind normally placed along a freeway?
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Answer D: Ahead of the interchange and again at the exit, so a driver can reach the correct lane in time
Guide information for an interchange is repeated on the approach and at the ramp, because a driver who learns about the exit only at the last moment has no room left for a safe lane change.
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9. You began a turn from the wrong lane and are already inside the intersection. What should you not do?
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Answer A: Reverse in order to get back into the correct lane
Backing up in an intersection puts you into the path of traffic that cannot expect it; finish the movement and fix your position afterwards.
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10. Smoke from a nearby fire is drifting across the highway. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down, use low beams, and close the windows and vents
Smoke cuts visibility like fog and can make your eyes water. Low beams, a much lower speed and closed vents protect both your view and the air in the car.
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11. When should most of your braking for a turn be finished?
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Answer B: Before you begin to turn the wheel
Slow to the right speed before the turn begins; braking hard while turning uses up the grip the tires need for steering.
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12. What is the main function of the guide sign series?
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Answer D: To identify routes and lead road users to their destinations
Guide signs identify routes, name destinations and give distances, so drivers can navigate without stopping to consult a map.
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13. You are approaching a narrow bridge where the road has one lane in each direction and no shoulder. What should you do about passing?
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Answer B: Do not pass on or near the bridge
A narrow bridge gives neither vehicle anywhere to go, so passing is prohibited there in the same way as on a hill or in a tunnel.
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14. A law enforcement officer is directing traffic and waves you forward while the signal facing you shows red. What should you do?
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Answer A: Follow the officer's direction and proceed
Directions given by an officer controlling traffic take priority over signals, signs and pavement markings.
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15. A flagger in a work zone turns a paddle so that the red octagonal face reading STOP is toward you. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stop completely and wait for the flagger to signal you forward
The STOP face of a flagger paddle requires a complete stop, and you may move again only when the flagger directs you to.
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16. May you stop in the striped triangle that separates an exit ramp from the freeway lanes?
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Answer A: No, it is not a lane and stopping there is dangerous
The striped gore area is not a travel lane or a shoulder, and a vehicle stopped there sits directly in the path of drivers correcting a late exit.
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17. On an undivided two-lane road you meet a school bus coming toward you with its red lights flashing and its stop arm out. What must you do?
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Answer C: Stop and wait until the red lights stop flashing
On an undivided road drivers in both directions must stop for a school bus loading or unloading, because children may cross in front of it.
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18. A stop sign at a busy corner has a stop line and a crosswalk, but buildings block your view of the cross street. What is the correct sequence?
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Answer C: Stop at the line first, then edge forward and stop again to see
The first stop is required at the line or before the crosswalk, and a second stop farther forward is what actually lets you yield safely.
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19. A rectangular marker with alternating black and retroreflective yellow stripes set at a slant is used to
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Answer C: mark an obstruction, with the stripes sloping down toward the side on which traffic should pass
This striped panel is an object marker, and the direction in which the stripes slope shows the driver which side of the obstruction to pass on.
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20. Besides its height, what else matters about a head restraint?
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Answer C: That it is close to the back of the head, and not far behind it
A restraint that sits far behind the head lets the head snap back before it is caught, so a small gap is important.
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21. How does higher speed affect the outcome of a crash?
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Answer A: It leaves less time to react and greatly increases the force of impact
Speed shortens the time available to avoid a hazard and raises the energy released in an impact, so both the likelihood and the severity of a crash increase.
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22. Your car has side curtain airbags. What should you avoid doing?
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Answer B: Resting your head against the window or the door pillar
A side airbag deploys from the pillar or roof rail, so a head leaning against that area is directly in its path.
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23. You reach an uncontrolled intersection at the same moment as a vehicle approaching from your left. What should you do?
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Answer A: Proceed, but only once you see that driver slowing
You have the right of way over the vehicle on your left, but a right of way is something the other driver has to give, so confirm it before you commit.
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24. Small green signs with white numerals posted at regular intervals along a highway are used to
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Answer B: show distance along the route and give a reference point for reporting a location
Reference location signs, commonly called mileposts, carry white numerals on green and let a driver describe exactly where a breakdown or crash has occurred.
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25. You are waiting to turn left and an oncoming vehicle stopped in the near lane to turn left blocks your view of the far lane. What should you do?
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Answer A: Wait where you are until you can see that the far lane is completely clear
The lane you cannot see is where the crash comes from, so you hold your position until the view opens up.
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26. You are backing out of a space in a parking lot. Who has the right of way?
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Answer D: Traffic already moving in the lane, and pedestrians walking behind you
A driver backing out must yield to vehicles and pedestrians already using the lane, because backing is the movement with the poorest view.
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27. What most often starts a rear wheel skid?
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Answer A: Too much speed, braking or acceleration for the grip available
A skid begins when what you ask of the tires exceeds what the surface can give, which is usually a matter of speed and of how abruptly you use the controls.
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28. You have a green left-turn arrow but a pedestrian is still walking in the crosswalk you must cross. What should you do?
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Answer B: Wait until the crosswalk is clear before turning
A green arrow protects you from other vehicles, but it never removes the duty to yield to a person already in the crosswalk.
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29. Crossing a parking lot on a hot day, you see a young child alone in a locked car. What should you do?
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Answer A: Call 911 right away and stay with the vehicle
The inside of a parked car can reach lethal temperatures within minutes, so a child left alone in one is an emergency.
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30. A pedestrian starts to cross against a Do Not Walk signal, right in front of you. What should you do?
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Answer D: Slow or stop and let the person reach safety
Even when a pedestrian is crossing unlawfully, a driver must take reasonable care to avoid hitting that person.