Tennessee TDOSHS Motorcycle Practice Test 17

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

Minimum age: 15 years for the Class PM learner permit; 16 years for the Class M licence

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

  1. 1. Which of the four blind spots around a tractor-trailer is the largest?

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    Answer A: The one on the right side of the truck

    A truck has no-zones on all four sides, and the right-side blind spot is the largest because it runs back along the trailer and reaches across more than one lane.

  2. 2. What is the main danger of grabbing the front brake lever abruptly?

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    Answer D: The front wheel can lock, and a locked wheel cannot steer or balance

    The front brake must be squeezed progressively so that weight transfers onto the front tire before full braking force is asked of it.

  3. 3. On which approach is this sign normally installed?

    A yellow diamond showing a black T shape
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    Answer C: On the road that ends, far enough ahead for the driver to slow down

    The warning belongs on the approach that terminates, placed early enough that the driver can lose speed and choose a direction before reaching the junction.

  4. 4. What is a good rule for any task you want to do inside the vehicle?

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    Answer D: If it needs more than a moment, do it stopped

    A glance of a second or two is manageable, but any task that runs longer belongs to a stopped vehicle, because the road does not pause while you do it.

  5. 5. Your group reaches a work zone where the lane has been narrowed by cones and the surface is uneven. What should the formation do?

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    Answer B: Move to single file and give each rider the whole width of the lane

    A narrowed or broken surface leaves no spare room inside the lane, so riders need the full lane width each and must drop into single file.

  6. 6. An overhead lane signal shows a flashing yellow X above your lane. What does it mean?

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    Answer D: The lane may be used only for a left turn

    A flashing yellow X marks a lane that may be used only to make a left turn; a steady yellow X is the one that warns you to leave the lane.

  7. 7. An ambulance has just gone by and traffic starts to move again. Why should you wait a moment before pulling back out?

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    Answer B: Another emergency vehicle may be following the first one

    Emergency calls often bring several vehicles, so check that nothing else is coming before you rejoin the traffic lane.

  8. 8. A minor drop has left the clutch lever bent, although it still works. What should be done?

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    Answer B: Have the lever replaced before the motorcycle is ridden again

    A bent lever has already been weakened and can break off in use, leaving the rider without that control at the worst possible moment.

  9. 9. You are on a four-lane divided highway and a vehicle in your lane is stopped waiting to turn left across the median. What is the normal way past?

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    Answer D: Slow down and go by in the lane to the right when it is clear

    On a multilane road the free lane beside you is the lawful place to go past a vehicle waiting to turn, and the median is not part of the roadway.

  10. 10. You are traveling beside another vehicle on a multilane highway at nearly the same speed. Why is this a poor position?

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    Answer B: You may be sitting in that driver's blind spot with nowhere to go if they move over

    Driving alongside removes your side escape route and often puts you where the other driver cannot see you. Speed up or drop back to open space beside you.

  11. 11. Which feature suggests that a helmet is an uncertified novelty helmet?

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    Answer D: A shell less than one inch thick with no firm foam liner

    Novelty helmets are typically thin and very light because they lack the stiff energy absorbing liner that a certified helmet uses to manage an impact.

  12. 12. 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.

  13. 13. Why should a driver crossing several lanes change only one lane at a time?

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    Answer B: Each lane has its own traffic and its own blind spot to be checked

    Sweeping across two or three lanes means entering lanes you never checked, so each change gets its own signal, mirror check and head check.

  14. 14. You are approaching an intersection in a line of traffic. What can you do to be more visible to a driver waiting to pull out?

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    Answer D: Move to a lane position where you are not hidden behind the vehicle ahead

    A motorcycle tucked directly behind a larger vehicle is invisible to a waiting driver until the moment it appears, so the rider moves to where the headlight can be seen.

  15. 15. Why should a load never be fastened to the handlebars or the front forks?

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    Answer D: The weight upsets the steering and makes the front end handle unpredictably

    Anything hung on the steering moves with it and changes how the motorcycle turns, which is why loads belong low and behind the rider instead.

  16. 16. You know in advance that you will be drinking at an event. What is the most reliable plan?

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    Answer A: Arrange a driver who will not drink, or another way home, before the event begins

    A decision made before drinking is not affected by alcohol, while judging your own fitness afterward relies on the very ability alcohol impairs first.

  17. 17. What maximum speed limits does Tennessee law set by statute?

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    Answer B: 70 mph on interstates and 65 mph on all other public roads

    Tennessee Code sets a statutory maximum of 70 mph on interstate highways and 65 mph on all other public roads, and posted limits may be lower after an engineering study.

  18. 18. The leader of a group wants to pull the whole group out from a side road into busy traffic. What should the leader do?

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    Answer B: Wait for a gap long enough for every rider in the group to enter

    A leader who takes a gap that only fits one machine leaves the rest of the group either stranded or tempted to pull out in front of traffic.

  19. 19. The neutral light is on, but you are not sure the transmission is really out of gear. How can you confirm it?

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    Answer B: Release the clutch and rock the motorcycle to see whether it rolls freely

    A machine that rolls without resistance while the clutch is released is genuinely in neutral, which a burnt out or faulty neutral switch cannot tell you.

  20. 20. You are behind three slow vehicles on a two-lane road and the way ahead looks clear. What is the sound decision?

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    Answer D: Pass one vehicle at a time, if the road allows it

    Passing several vehicles in one move keeps you in the oncoming lane far too long and leaves nowhere to go if a vehicle appears.

  21. 21. What is the correct way to think about protective gear?

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    Answer D: It reduces injury in a crash but does nothing to prevent one

    Gear is the last line of defense. Avoiding the crash depends on skill, speed choice, space and visibility, and gear only limits the damage when those fail.

  22. 22. 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.

  23. 23. Why should you avoid parking over tall dry grass or a pile of dead leaves?

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    Answer B: Because the hot exhaust can set the dry material on fire

    The exhaust system stays hot for a long time after a drive and can ignite dry vegetation underneath the vehicle.

  24. 24. During the tire check you find a nail driven into the rear tire. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Have the tire repaired or replaced before the motorcycle is ridden

    A punctured motorcycle tire can lose air suddenly, and a motorcycle has no second tire on that end to hold the machine up.

  25. 25. You have stopped at a stop sign, but a parked truck blocks your view along the cross street. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Creep forward slowly and stop again where you can see

    When something blocks the view, a second stop closer to the intersection is the only safe way to see, and it must come before your vehicle enters the traffic lane.

  26. 26. A white arrow painted in your lane points only to the right, and a sign above the lane shows the same movement. What must you do?

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    Answer C: Turn right from that lane

    Pavement arrows used with lane-use signs are regulatory, so a driver occupying that lane must make the movement shown.

  27. 27. Why is standing water across a road dangerous even when it looks shallow?

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    Answer B: It can hide a washed out roadbed, a deep hole or a missing cover

    You cannot see the surface under the water, and floods commonly wash the roadbed away or lift covers off drains.

  28. 28. When must a passenger keep both feet on the footrests?

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    Answer C: At all times, including while the motorcycle is stopped

    Feet stay on the footrests even at a stop, because a foot put down or swung out can unbalance the motorcycle or be caught by the road.

  29. 29. You are turning left from a one-way street onto a two-way street. How should the turn be made?

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    Answer B: Start in the far left lane and finish just to the right of the center line

    Left turns begin from the lane nearest the left edge of the street you are leaving and must finish on the right-hand side of the center line of a two-way street.

  30. 30. The rider who was behind you has vanished from your mirrors. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Ease off and pass the word forward so the group can respond

    A rider missing from the line may have stopped or had trouble, and the group needs to know at once so it can slow down or pull over safely.