Indiana BMV Permit Practice Test 16
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. A white regulatory sign near a state line reads BUCKLE UP IT IS THE LAW. What is it doing?
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Answer A: Reminding occupants that belt use is required
The safety belt sign restates a law that already applies, and it is usually placed where drivers enter a state or a long rural stretch.
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2. When does an Indiana probationary driver's license expire?
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Answer D: Thirty days after the holder's twenty-first birthday
A license issued to an individual under 21 is probationary and expires 30 days after the holder's twenty-first birthday.
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3. You realize you have just gone past your exit on a freeway. What should you do?
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Answer C: Carry on to the next exit and turn around there
A missed exit costs a few minutes, while backing up or cutting across the striped gore area puts you in the path of traffic that is not expecting it.
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4. You must cross a stretch of water lying across the road that you know is shallow. What is the right technique?
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Answer A: Slow down before you reach it and cross steadily in a low gear
Slow before the water, then keep a steady low speed so you do not throw water over the engine or lose steering. Test the brakes gently once you are through.
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5. 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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6. You are hosting a party and a guest who has been drinking wants to drive home. What should you do?
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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.
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7. A yellow diamond on an exit ramp shows a truck tipping over onto two wheels. Which drivers does it concern most?
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Answer D: Those in tall vehicles carrying a high load
The truck rollover sign warns that the curve can overturn a vehicle with a high center of gravity, so such drivers must slow well below the normal ramp speed.
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8. A car is coming straight at you in your lane and there is no time for it to move back. What should you do?
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Answer A: Brake, sound the horn and steer to the right, toward the shoulder or ditch
Steering right takes you away from the other vehicle even if its driver corrects course, and the shoulder or ditch is survivable.
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9. You are turning left from a two-way street onto another two-way street. Where should you begin and end the turn?
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Answer B: Begin in the lane just right of the center line and finish just right of the center line of the new street
You approach a left turn from the lane closest to the center line and enter the new roadway just to the right of its center line, which keeps you clear of oncoming traffic.
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10. On which approach is this sign normally installed?
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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.
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11. At a rural intersection a beacon flashes yellow toward the main road and red toward the side road. How is each approach treated?
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Answer A: The main road slows and proceeds, the side road stops
An intersection control beacon assigns flashing yellow to the road with priority and flashing red to the approach that must stop and yield.
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12. An orange sign reading END ROAD WORK is posted beside the highway. What does it mark?
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Answer C: The point where the work zone restrictions stop
The sign is installed at the downstream end of the temporary traffic control zone to tell drivers that normal conditions apply again.
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13. In a work zone, the flagger's instructions conflict with the pavement markings still visible on the road. Which do you follow?
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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.
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14. You stop at a rest area because you are sleepy. How long a nap is usually recommended?
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Answer D: About fifteen to twenty minutes
A short nap of fifteen to twenty minutes restores useful alertness without leaving the grogginess a longer sleep can bring, and you should wait a few minutes before driving on.
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15. At the scene of a crash you were part of, what are you required to do besides stopping?
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Answer B: Give your name, your address and vehicle details, and help anyone who is hurt
Every state requires drivers involved in a crash to identify themselves and to render reasonable aid to anyone injured.
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16. An orange background with a black legend on a sign indicates
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Answer B: a temporary traffic control or work zone situation
Orange is reserved for temporary traffic control signing, so an orange sign means conditions have been altered for work or another temporary operation.
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17. A small plate under a stop sign reads CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP. What is it telling you?
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Answer D: Traffic on the cross street is not required to stop at all
The plate warns that the other road is uncontrolled, so you must wait for a gap instead of expecting anyone to take turns with you.
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18. A driver holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?
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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.
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19. Freeway traffic ahead of you has come to a stop. Besides braking early, how can you warn the drivers behind you?
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Answer B: By switching on the hazard lights for a few seconds
A short burst of hazard lights is a recognized way to tell following traffic that the queue ahead has stopped, and it carries much further back than brake lights. Some states restrict hazard lights on a moving vehicle, so use them only for the moment you are slowing.
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20. Who may supervise an Indiana learner's permit holder who is under 18 and not enrolled in driver education?
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Answer C: A licensed relative at least 25 years old, or the permit holder's licensed spouse who is at least 21
Indiana requires the supervising driver to be a licensed relative by blood, marriage or legal status who is at least 25, or the permit holder's licensed spouse who is at least 21, seated in the front passenger seat.
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21. Every signal head at an intersection is flashing red in all directions. How should you treat the intersection?
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Answer C: As an all-way stop, stopping and then going in turn
Red flashing in every direction means each approach must stop, so the intersection works exactly like an all-way stop.
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22. A sign at the signal reads LEFT TURN ON GREEN ARROW ONLY. The ball turns green but no arrow appears. What may you do?
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Answer C: Wait, because your turn is allowed only while the arrow is showing
The sign removes the permissive turn, so the left is legal only during the green arrow and you must wait behind the line until it appears.
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23. You have to leave a trailer parked on a slope. What extra step protects it?
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Answer D: Chock the trailer wheels as well as setting the brake
Chocks physically block the wheels, which is the only thing that still holds if a brake or a coupling lets go.
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24. You carry reflective warning triangles in your car. How should they be used after a breakdown?
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Answer B: Set out behind the vehicle, far enough back to warn traffic before it arrives
A warning device works only if drivers see it in time to react, so it is placed well back along the road they are traveling.
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25. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
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Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
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26. What does an Indiana driver commit by knowingly drinking an alcoholic beverage while driving on a public highway?
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Answer A: A Class B infraction
Knowingly consuming an alcoholic beverage while operating a vehicle on a public highway is a Class B infraction, a step above the open container infraction.
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27. A delivery truck is parked in your lane and you must use the oncoming lane to get around it. Who has the right of way?
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Answer D: The oncoming traffic, because their lane is clear
The driver whose own lane is obstructed waits, because using the other lane is a favor from oncoming traffic, not a right.
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28. 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.
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29. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?
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Answer C: A patch of pavement that simply looks wet or slightly glossy
Black ice is clear, so you see the dark road through it and read it as a wet patch. In freezing weather, treat any wet looking patch as ice.
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30. What must you do before changing lanes, in addition to signaling and checking your mirrors?
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Answer D: Glance over your shoulder to check the blind spot the mirrors do not cover
Mirrors leave an area beside and behind the vehicle that they cannot show, so a quick head check is needed before the vehicle moves sideways.
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31. You are on a country road with no sidewalk and two people are walking toward you on your side of the shoulder. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down and move over to give them room
Where there is no sidewalk, people are expected to walk on the shoulder facing traffic, and drivers must slow and give them space.
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32. What must the Indiana BMV do when a school reports a student's status to it?
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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.
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33. The signal turns green as you approach an intersection. What is the safest practice?
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Answer B: Look left, then right, then left again, and make sure the intersection is clear before entering
A green light gives permission but does not guarantee the intersection is empty, and a quick scan catches a vehicle running the red or a pedestrian still crossing.
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34. You park in your own driveway and the rear of the vehicle sticks out over the sidewalk. What is wrong with that?
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Answer C: It blocks the sidewalk and forces people into the street
A vehicle overhanging the sidewalk pushes pedestrians, wheelchair users and strollers into the roadway, and blocking a sidewalk is prohibited.
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35. Why would this sign be installed on an approach?
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Answer B: Because the signal cannot be seen from far enough back for a driver to react in time
Advance notice of a signal is used where a crest, a curve, trees or a building keep the signal heads out of view until a driver is already too close to stop comfortably.
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36. 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.
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37. Yellow signs each showing one large black arrowhead, installed in a row along the outside of a curve, are
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Answer D: chevron alignment signs marking the change of direction of the curve
Chevron alignment signs are placed on the outside of a curve so that several are in view at once, letting the driver judge how sharply the road turns.
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38. You have a green arrow to turn left. What still applies?
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Answer D: You must yield to any pedestrian or vehicle still inside the intersection
A green arrow protects your turn from conflicting traffic, but you must still let anyone already in the intersection get clear before you move.
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39. Where should you be looking as you steer through a turn?
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Answer C: Toward the point on the new road where you want to end up
Drivers steer toward what they look at, so looking through the turn to where you want to go keeps the path smooth and accurate.
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40. The gates at a railroad crossing begin to come down as you approach. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stop and wait until the gates are fully raised and the lights stop flashing
Once the gates start down you must stop clear of the tracks and wait until they are fully raised and the warning lights have stopped.
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41. You enter a corner faster than the turn can be taken. What is the most likely result?
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Answer A: The vehicle runs wide and may cross into another lane
Excess speed uses up the available grip, so the vehicle follows a wider arc than intended and drifts out of its lane.
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42. Within what period must a chemical test be administered after an Indiana officer has probable cause?
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Answer B: Three hours
A chemical test under the implied consent law must be administered within three hours after the officer had probable cause.
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43. You are stopped at the yield line of a roundabout when an emergency vehicle comes up behind you with lights and siren. What should you do?
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Answer A: Stay out of the roundabout and pull over to the right of your lane if there is room
Never enter a roundabout ahead of an emergency vehicle and never stop inside one; wait clear of the entry so the crew can get through.
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44. A square sign with a red field, a wide white horizontal bar and the words DO NOT ENTER tells a driver that
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Answer B: the roadway ahead must not be entered from that point
The do not enter sign is posted at the end of a one-way roadway or ramp to keep traffic from driving into it against the flow.
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45. You brake hard on a wet road and need to steer around a stalled car. How do antilock brakes help you do that?
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Answer B: They stop the wheels locking, so the tires can still turn the vehicle
Locked wheels slide and cannot change direction. By preventing lockup the system lets you brake at full force and steer at the same time.
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46. How does an Indiana driver bring an indefinite no-insurance suspension to an end?
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Answer A: By filing an SR22 and keeping it in force continuously for 180 days
An indefinite no-insurance suspension is stayed when the BMV receives an SR22 and is terminated when that SR22 stays in force for 180 days without a lapse.
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47. A preferential lane sign reads HOV 2+ and lists the hours it applies. During those hours, which vehicles may use the lane?
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Answer A: Vehicles carrying at least two people, counting the driver
The number on an HOV sign is the minimum number of occupants, driver included, that a vehicle must carry to use the lane while the restriction is in effect.
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48. Who does Indiana's aggressive driving statute expressly not apply to?
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Answer A: A law enforcement official engaged in official duties
The aggressive driving section states that it does not apply to a law enforcement official engaged in that official's official duties.
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49. What administrative penalty does Indiana charge a driver who renews after the license expiration date?
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Answer B: Six dollars
An individual who fails to renew on or before the expiration date owes the bureau a six dollar administrative penalty.
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50. A line beside your lane is painted about twice the normal width. What does the extra width convey?
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Answer B: Greater emphasis on the restriction it carries
Width is part of the marking code: a wide line carries more emphasis than a normal one, which is why it is used at gores and channelizing lines.