Indiana BMV Permit Practice Test 10
Test 10 of 10. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 40 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Indiana test.
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. A marked accessible space is signed as van accessible. What is different about it?
Show answer
Answer B: It has a wider aisle for a ramp or a lift to come out
The extra width beside the space is there so a side ramp or lift can deploy and a wheelchair can get clear of the vehicle.
-
2. You have turned onto a street and see parked cars facing you and headlights coming toward you. What has probably happened?
Show answer
Answer C: You have turned the wrong way onto a one-way street
Vehicles parked facing you and headlights approaching in your lane are the classic signs of driving against the flow on a one-way street.
-
3. Many signs use a symbol instead of words. The main advantage is that a symbol
Show answer
Answer C: can be read from farther away and by more people
A symbol is recognized at greater distance than a line of text and does not depend on the reader knowing English.
-
4. You are on a one-way street with two marked lanes. May you pass a slower vehicle on the right?
Show answer
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.
-
5. Your vehicle is burning at the roadside. How far away should everyone keep?
Show answer
Answer D: At least a hundred feet away from the vehicle and upwind, out of the drifting smoke
Burning vehicles give off toxic smoke and parts such as tires and struts can burst, so keep a long distance and stay upwind.
-
6. You are entering a marked school zone during the posted hours. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow to the school zone limit and watch for children
The school zone limit applies throughout the posted hours, whether or not you can see any children at that moment.
-
7. A large X with the letters R and R beside it is painted across your lane. What does it mean?
Show answer
Answer A: A railroad crossing lies a short distance ahead
The pavement marking repeats the advance warning for a grade crossing, and it is used on paved approaches where speeds are high or where gates are installed.
-
8. Why is wearing headphones over both ears a problem while driving?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not hear horns, sirens or other warning sounds
Hearing is part of your awareness of traffic. Covering both ears blocks emergency sirens, horns and the sound of an approaching vehicle you cannot yet see.
-
9. Why should you stay out of an intersection you cannot clear, even on a green light?
Show answer
Answer B: Because you would block cross traffic when their signal turns green
A vehicle stranded in the intersection blocks the cross street when its light turns green, which stalls the whole junction and traps emergency vehicles.
-
10. An overhead lane-use control signal shows a steady red X above your lane. What does it mean?
Show answer
Answer B: You may not use that lane and must move out of it
A steady red X means the lane below it is closed to you, while a steady yellow X is the warning to prepare to vacate the lane and a downward green arrow means the lane is open.
-
11. What does Indiana's move over statute say about a driver who has complied with it?
Show answer
Answer B: The driver still owes a duty of due regard for everyone using the highway
The statute states that nothing in the section relieves a driver from the duty to operate with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway.
-
12. At what age may an Indiana resident apply for a driver's license?
Show answer
Answer A: 16 with a completed BMV licensed driver education program, or 16 years and 270 days without it
Indiana allows an application at 16 if a BMV licensed driver education program has been completed, and at 16 years and 270 days if it has not.
-
13. You are hosting a party and a guest who has been drinking wants to drive home. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop serving and arrange a ride or a bed
Only time removes alcohol, so a host who wants to prevent a crash has to remove the driving, not try to speed up sobering that cannot be sped up.
-
14. 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.
-
15. How does a child restraint violation affect an Indiana driving record?
Show answer
Answer B: No points are assessed and it cannot count toward habitual violator status
Indiana law bars the bureau from assessing points for a child restraint violation and excludes it from a habitual violator determination.
-
16. Your vehicle has antilock brakes. What should you never do in an emergency stop?
Show answer
Answer A: Pump the pedal up and down
The system already releases and reapplies the brakes many times a second. Pumping the pedal interrupts it and makes the stop longer.
-
17. Your left-turn lane shows a flashing yellow arrow. What does that indication allow?
Show answer
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.
-
18. A deer suddenly steps onto the road ahead of you at night. What is the safest response?
Show answer
Answer C: Brake firmly and stay in your lane rather than swerving
Swerving at speed often leads to a rollover or a head-on crash that is far worse than hitting the animal. Brake hard, hold your lane and expect more deer to follow.
-
19. Is it acceptable to drive with your vehicle straddling the line between two lanes?
Show answer
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.
-
20. A yellow diamond shows an arrow that doubles back on itself. What kind of curve lies ahead?
Show answer
Answer C: A turn of 135 degrees or more, nearly doubling back
The hairpin curve sign is used where the road changes direction by 135 degrees or more, and it is normally backed up by chevrons or a large arrow through the bend.
-
21. There is a driveway and a side street between you and the corner where you will turn right. When should you signal?
Show answer
Answer C: After passing the openings, so nobody pulls out in front of you
A signal switched on before an opening tells drivers waiting there that you are turning in, and they may pull out into your path.
-
22. You are backing out of a home driveway onto a street with a sidewalk. Who must you yield to?
Show answer
Answer D: All traffic on the street and everyone on the sidewalk
A driver entering the roadway from private property yields to everyone already using the sidewalk and the street.
-
23. Your car has side curtain airbags. What should you avoid doing?
Show answer
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.
-
24. What is sensible when you drive in an unfamiliar town for the first time?
Show answer
Answer C: Drive a little slower and give yourself more time to read the signs
In unfamiliar surroundings you need longer to take in signs, junctions and markings, and lower speed buys that time.
-
25. 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.
-
26. Your car is sinking after leaving the road into deep water and two children are in the back. In what order should you act?
Show answer
Answer D: Free yourself from the belt first, then release the children, the oldest one first
You cannot help anyone while you are still belted in, and the oldest child released first needs the least help getting out.
-
27. 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?
Show answer
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.
-
28. It is dusk and a jogger in dark clothing is running along the edge of the road. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow down and scan the edges of the road
Dusk is the hardest light for spotting people, and dark clothing removes most of your warning, so lower speed and a careful scan of the roadsides are the answer.
-
29. Your parking brake no longer holds the car on a slope. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Have it repaired, and until then park only on level ground
A parking brake that will not hold is a defect to be fixed; avoiding grades in the meantime keeps the vehicle from rolling away.
-
30. 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.
-
31. How does the blood alcohol standard for a driver operating a commercial vehicle compare with the one for a car driver?
Show answer
Answer D: It is lower, set at 0.04
Commercial drivers are held to a stricter standard of 0.04 because of the size of their vehicles and the risk they carry.
-
32. You are leaving a freeway at an exit that has a deceleration lane. Where should you slow down?
Show answer
Answer C: After you have moved fully into the exit lane
Braking in a through lane surprises the traffic behind you, so you move into the exit lane at highway speed and then slow down inside it.
-
33. How can you check that you are keeping a safe following distance?
Show answer
Answer A: Count at least three seconds between the vehicle ahead passing a fixed object and your reaching it
Pick a fixed roadside object, start counting when the vehicle ahead passes it and make sure at least three seconds elapse before you reach it, adding more time in poor conditions.
-
34. In a work zone, the flagger's instructions conflict with the pavement markings still visible on the road. Which do you follow?
Show answer
Answer B: The flagger, because a person directing traffic outranks the markings
An authorized flagger controlling a temporary traffic control zone overrides signs, signals and markings, and drivers must obey the flagger's signals.
-
35. What must the Indiana BMV do when a school reports a student's status to it?
Show answer
Answer D: Suspend the juvenile's driving privileges after expulsion, repeated suspension, habitual truancy, or withdrawal
Indiana law requires the bureau to suspend a juvenile's driving privileges when a school reports expulsion, exclusion, a second or later suspension in one school year, habitual truancy, or withdrawal.
-
36. Why is smooth, early braking better than hard, late braking?
Show answer
Answer D: It keeps you in control and gives the driver behind more warning
Braking early and gently keeps the tires well within their grip and gives following drivers time to react to your brake lights.
-
37. You have printed directions or paperwork you need to check. When should you read them?
Show answer
Answer C: Before you leave, or after you park
Reading takes eyes and mind off the road for far longer than any safe glance, and a light that changes while you read leaves you moving off blind.
-
38. Is it acceptable to watch a video on a screen positioned where you can see it while driving?
Show answer
Answer B: No, the screen pulls your eyes and attention away from the road
Moving pictures are among the strongest visual distractions. Video screens must be out of the driver's view while the vehicle is moving.
-
39. A yellow sign shows a truck on a slope with the legend 7 PERCENT GRADE. What should a driver of a heavy vehicle do?
Show answer
Answer A: Select a lower gear before starting down
The percentage shows how steep the descent is, and choosing a low gear at the top lets the engine hold the vehicle back instead of the brakes overheating.
-
40. You are already inside an intersection when you realize you should be in the lane beside you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stay in your lane through the intersection and change lanes afterwards
Drivers in an intersection are watching for cross traffic and turning vehicles, so an unexpected sideways move there is easily missed.
-
41. You are backing out of a space in a parking lot. Who has the right of way?
Show answer
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.
-
42. Where is a U-turn generally the most reasonable choice?
Show answer
Answer B: At an intersection where it is permitted and you can see well both ways
A U-turn needs a legal place and a long clear view in both directions, which is why a permitted intersection with open sight lines is the usual choice.
-
43. What is a driver being warned about here?
Show answer
Answer B: The pavement ahead carries vehicles traveling in the opposite direction
Beyond this point vehicles come the other way on the same pavement, which commonly happens where a one-way section or a separated stretch comes to an end.
-
44. A yellow diamond shows two lanes narrowing into one. What does it require of a driver?
Show answer
Answer D: Adjusting speed and merging before the lane disappears
The lane ends sign gives notice that one lane will be dropped, so drivers should adjust speed and blend into the continuing lane in good time.
-
45. On a street with parking along the curb, the shared lane marking is painted well out from the curb face. What does that placement tell a bicyclist?
Show answer
Answer C: To ride clear of the doors of parked cars
The marking is set at least eleven feet from the curb where parking is allowed so that riders are guided outside the reach of an opening door.
-
46. What do zero tolerance laws mean for a driver who is under 21?
Show answer
Answer B: They commit a violation at an alcohol level far below the adult limit
Drivers under 21 may not legally drink, so every state sets a limit far below the adult one and treats even a trace reading as a violation. The exact figure is set by each state, and the penalty usually includes losing the license.
-
47. What may the Indiana BMV suspend when a person fails to maintain financial responsibility?
Show answer
Answer B: The driving privileges, the vehicle registration, or both
The statute directs the bureau to suspend the driving privileges, the motor vehicle registration, or both, of a person who fails to maintain financial responsibility.
-
48. How much following distance should you keep behind a motorcycle?
Show answer
Answer C: At least three to four seconds
A motorcycle can slow or stop very quickly and is easily upset by a surprise, so allow three to four seconds instead of the usual car gap.
-
49. Which headlight setting should you use in dense fog?
Show answer
Answer B: Low beams
High beams reflect off the water droplets in fog and bounce glare back at you, while low beams aim downward and light the road without that mirror effect.
-
50. Another driver cuts you off and you feel your temper rising. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Take a breath, drop back and let it go, because the whole trip matters more
Retaliation turns a moment of bad driving into a crash, and dropping back costs you only a few seconds.