Indiana BMV Motorcycle Practice Test 18

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years and 90 days

Minimum age: 16 years and 90 days for a motorcycle endorsement; a valid Indiana driver's license is required for a motorcycle learner's permit

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

  1. 1. Once a driver has joined the route this sign begins, how is the rest of the way marked?

    An orange rectangle with black lettering and a black arrow
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    Answer B: By further markers of the same kind at each turn, until the original road is rejoined

    The alternate route is signed continuously, with a marker at every turn, so a driver with no local knowledge can follow it back to the original road.

  2. 2. A parking space is marked with the international symbol of access. Who may use it?

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    Answer A: Only a vehicle displaying the required placard or plate

    Accessible spaces may be used only by a vehicle that displays a valid disability placard or plate, no matter how short the stop would be.

  3. 3. The engine begins to lose power, makes a loud noise and starts to seize. What should the rider do?

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    Answer C: Pull in the clutch at once and coast off the road to a safe place

    A seizing engine can lock the rear wheel, and pulling in the clutch separates it from the wheel so the motorcycle keeps rolling under control.

  4. 4. The vehicle ahead of you has pulled out to pass a truck. May you follow it out and pass as well?

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    Answer B: No, wait until it is done and judge the road for yourself

    You cannot see past the vehicle ahead of you, and if it has to abort the pass there is nowhere for either of you to go.

  5. 5. At an intersection that uses a lagging left turn, when is the left-turn arrow displayed?

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    Answer B: After the through movement has run

    A lagging left turn phase runs at the end of the green rather than the start, so a driver waiting to turn should not assume the arrow has been missed.

  6. 6. On a narrow two-lane road a line of vehicles has built up behind you. What is the safe and courteous action?

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    Answer D: Pull into a turnout or a safe wide spot and let them go by

    A slow vehicle holding up a queue invites risky passing; using a turnout clears the road without anyone having to take a chance.

  7. 7. What limits how much weight a motorcycle can carry?

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    Answer A: The load limit given by the manufacturer for that machine

    The manufacturer's figure covers the rider, the passenger and everything carried, and going over it overloads the tires, the brakes and the suspension.

  8. 8. What is the PRIME position on a fuel supply valve used for?

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    Answer D: To let fuel flow into the carburetor after the machine has stood unused

    PRIME bypasses the normal vacuum control and lets fuel refill an empty carburetor, which helps a machine start after sitting for a long time.

  9. 9. An orange sign showing the symbol of a person holding a flag or a sign paddle means that

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    Answer D: a person is controlling traffic ahead and the driver must obey that person

    The flagger sign warns that a trained flagger is directing traffic further on, and the flagger's instructions govern movement through the work zone.

  10. 10. How can you tell a tire has reached its wear limit without measuring it?

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    Answer C: The wear bars across the grooves become level with the tread

    Molded bars sit at the bottom of the grooves. Once the surrounding tread has worn down to them, the tire has reached the end of its safe life.

  11. 11. Where is a U-turn most clearly unsafe and generally prohibited?

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    Answer D: On a curve or near a hill crest, where other drivers cannot see you

    U-turns are barred where approaching drivers cannot see you in time, such as on a curve or near the top of a hill.

  12. 12. You are stopped at a T-intersection and a driver on the through road is signaling a right turn into your road. What is the safe assumption?

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    Answer B: The driver may not actually turn, so wait until the vehicle slows and starts turning

    A blinking signal may have been left on by mistake or may be for the next street, so wait until the vehicle actually slows and turns.

  13. 13. You are waiting to enter a two-lane roundabout and traffic is circulating in both lanes. What must you do?

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    Answer A: Yield to traffic in both circulating lanes before you enter

    Every entry to a roundabout is a yield point, and at a two-lane roundabout that means giving way to vehicles in either circulating lane.

  14. 14. Which of these is true of the roadway a driver is being sent onto here?

    An orange rectangle with black lettering and a black arrow
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    Answer D: Its own signs, signals and speed limits govern for the whole way around

    The alternate route is an ordinary public road, so every control posted on it governs as usual; being sent that way grants no extra priority and no relief from the limits in force there.

  15. 15. A wide solid white line separates the through lanes from an exit lane. What does it tell drivers?

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    Answer B: The choice of lane should already have been made

    A channelizing line marks where the paths separate and crossing it is discouraged or prohibited, so the lane change has to happen upstream.

  16. 16. You are fitting a tank bag to your motorcycle. What must you check?

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    Answer B: That it does not foul the handlebars or block your view of the instruments

    A bag that catches the bars at full lock or hides the instruments interferes with control of the motorcycle exactly where the rider needs it most.

  17. 17. Which effect appears as a drinker's blood alcohol level climbs well past the first drinks?

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    Answer D: Loss of muscle control and steady steering

    Higher levels of alcohol reach the parts of the brain that control movement, which shows up as clumsy steering, late braking and poor lane control.

  18. 18. You are traveling in the same direction as a funeral procession and want to get ahead of it. What should you not do?

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    Answer B: Driving in between the vehicles of the procession

    Most states prohibit driving into or through a funeral procession, and cutting into the line leaves the drivers behind with no lead vehicle to follow, so go around only where passing is permitted.

  19. 19. What is the best path through a curve where you can see all the way to the exit?

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    Answer A: Start toward the outside, move toward the inside, then drift back out

    Entering wide, cutting toward the inside and running back out straightens the path, which means less lean angle for the same speed and a better view.

  20. 20. The signal ahead turns yellow while you are approaching it. What does the yellow light mean?

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    Answer C: The red is coming; stop if you can do so safely

    A steady yellow warns that the red is next. Stop if you can do so safely; enter the intersection only when stopping would be dangerous.

  21. 21. Permanent signs must be retroreflective or lighted so that

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    Answer A: they show the same shape and color at night as by day

    Retroreflective sheeting throws headlight light back to the driver, so a sign keeps its daytime shape and color after dark.

  22. 22. You want to move into the right lane just as an entrance ramp joins the highway at that point. What is the better choice?

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    Answer B: Wait until you are past the merge area so you do not squeeze the entering traffic

    The merge area is where ramp traffic has to find a gap, so adding a lane change of your own into the same space creates a conflict.

  23. 23. Someone has stepped into a marked crosswalk in the middle of a block ahead of you. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Slow down, stop before the markings and let the person cross the street

    A marked mid-block crosswalk carries the same duty as one at a corner: give way to the person crossing, stopping if that is what letting them cross safely takes.

  24. 24. How do worn tires and worn brakes affect your ability to stop?

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    Answer C: They lengthen the stopping distance, especially on a wet road

    Worn tread cannot clear water and worn brakes cannot produce full force, so both stretch the distance needed to stop.

  25. 25. Lights set into the pavement along both edges of a crosswalk start to flash yellow as you approach. What do they tell you?

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    Answer D: Someone is crossing and has to be given way

    In-roadway warning lights flash only when a pedestrian activates the crossing, so a flashing pattern means somebody is in or entering the crosswalk.