Vermont DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 49

  • Questions20
  • Correct to pass16
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

20 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 16 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. What does it mean to ride the clutch?

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    Answer C: Holding the lever part way in while riding, which wears the clutch plates

    Cruising with the clutch partly disengaged makes the plates slip against each other, which wears them out and removes engine braking.

  2. 2. You have turned onto a ramp at night and your headlights pick out large white arrows painted on the pavement pointing straight back at you. What do they mean?

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    Answer C: You are traveling against the flow and must turn back

    Wrong-way arrows are laid so that a driver going the correct way never sees them head on, so an arrow pointing at you means you are on the ramp backwards.

  3. 3. What happens to a Vermont driver's operating privilege upon a third or subsequent criminal conviction for driving under the influence?

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    Answer C: It is revoked for life

    Vermont revokes an operator's license for life upon a third or subsequent DUI conviction, compared to an 18 month suspension for a second conviction.

  4. 4. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signals are completely dark after a power failure. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop and take turns

    When a signal is dark or out of order, drivers on every approach must stop and proceed in turn, exactly as at a four-way stop.

  5. 5. On loose gravel or deep fresh snow, how does an antilock system affect the stopping distance?

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    Answer D: It can lengthen it, although you keep the ability to steer

    On loose surfaces a locked wheel piles up a wedge of gravel or snow that helps it stop, so the antilock stop can be longer even though steering still works.

  6. 6. 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.

  7. 7. Why is a sign reading BRIDGE ICES BEFORE ROAD worth heeding even when the road itself is merely wet?

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    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.

  8. 8. How many usable riding paths does a single traffic lane offer a motorcycle?

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    Answer C: Three

    A lane is normally treated as a left, center and right path, and the rider picks the one that gives the best visibility and the largest space cushion.

  9. 9. Your low beams light about 250 feet of road, but at your speed you would need more than that to stop. What is that called?

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    Answer D: Overdriving your headlights

    When your stopping distance is longer than the stretch of road your headlights show, you cannot react to anything you finally see. Slow down until you can.

  10. 10. 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.

  11. 11. A single solid white line separates two lanes running in the same direction. What is it telling drivers?

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    Answer A: Changing lanes there is discouraged

    A solid white lane line discourages lane changing, typically where merging or weaving would create a hazard.

  12. 12. You are starting from a stop on a snowy, icy street and the drive wheels begin to spin. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Ease off the accelerator and start again more gently

    Spinning tires polish the surface and dig in. Very gentle pressure on the accelerator, and a higher gear if you have one, gives the tires the best chance to grip.

  13. 13. What is wrong with slowing to a crawl at a stop sign and then rolling on through?

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    Answer C: It is not a stop, and you may miss a pedestrian or cross traffic

    A rolling stop is a violation and it also cuts short the moment you need in order to look carefully in each direction before entering.

  14. 14. Why is the front brake avoided during a very slow, tightly leaned turn?

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    Answer D: It can upset the balance of a leaned machine and drop it at low speed

    At low speed and full lock there is little momentum holding the motorcycle up, and the sudden weight shift from the front brake easily topples it.

  15. 15. What happens to a motorcycle's ground clearance when a passenger is carried?

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    Answer A: It is reduced, so parts touch down at a smaller lean angle

    The extra load compresses the suspension and lowers the machine, so footrests and other parts can drag on the road sooner in a turn.

  16. 16. 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.

  17. 17. A high truck ahead of you hides the traffic signal as you approach the intersection. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Drop back so you can see the signal and the truck's brake lights

    Extra following distance restores your view of the signal, so you are reacting to the light yourself rather than copying the truck driver.

  18. 18. You are ready to pull out of a parallel parking space into the traffic lane. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Signal, check the mirror and blind spot, and wait for a gap

    A driver leaving a parking space must yield to traffic already in the lane, so signal, look for the gap and only then move out.

  19. 19. This sign comes into view ahead of a driver who has already started along a ramp. What should the driver do?

    A red rectangle with white lettering
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    Answer B: Pull clear where it is safe, then turn around and leave the ramp traveling properly

    The driver is traveling against the legal flow, so the safest response is to stop clear of the lanes, turn the vehicle around and get off the ramp before meeting traffic head on.

  20. 20. What does a sign showing a bicycle inside a red circle with a diagonal slash prohibit?

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    Answer D: Riding a bicycle on that roadway

    This is a selective exclusion sign, used where bicycles are banned from a road such as a freeway or a tunnel.