Texas DPS Permit Practice Test 15
- Questions30
- Correct to pass21
- Passing score70%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. Four vehicles reach a four-way stop from all four directions at the same instant. How is the deadlock resolved?
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Answer C: Each driver yields to the vehicle on the right and they go one by one
Yielding to the right applies to every driver, so the group untangles itself as drivers take turns rather than moving together.
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2. Why is texting considered one of the most dangerous distractions?
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Answer B: It combines visual, manual and cognitive distraction at the same time
Reading or writing a message takes your eyes off the road, at least one hand off the controls and your attention off driving simultaneously.
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3. A driver in the leftmost lane reaches this sign at an intersection. What must the driver do?
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Answer B: Go straight on or turn right, and reach the destination another way
The restriction holds whatever the traffic or the signal is doing, so the driver has to pass the intersection and plan a different route.
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4. Your vehicle has broken down at night on a rural road and your phone has no signal. What is the safest thing to do?
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Answer C: Stay with the vehicle, keep the hazard lights on and wait for help
A lit vehicle is far easier to find than a person walking in the dark, and running the engine while you sleep risks carbon monoxide.
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5. You feel drowsy, so you open a window and turn the radio up. What does that achieve?
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Answer B: Very little, because the drowsiness comes back
Cold air and loud music are not sleep, so the alerting effect lasts a minute or two and the driver is soon just as sleepy and closer to a lapse.
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6. You are turning left from a one-way street onto another one-way street. Which lane should you use?
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Answer B: Turn from the far left lane into the far left lane of the new street
The general turning rule is to turn from the lane nearest the direction of the turn into the nearest lane of the new roadway, which on a one-way to one-way left turn means far left to far left.
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7. Your passengers are being noisy and you are losing concentration. What should you do?
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Answer B: Ask them to settle down, or pull over safely until they do
The driver is responsible for the conditions inside the vehicle, and stopping is always better than driving distracted.
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8. Where is the best place in the car for a child safety seat?
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Answer A: In the rear seat, secured either with the belt or with the lower anchors
The rear seat is furthest from most impacts and from the front airbags, and the seat must be locked in with the belt or the anchors.
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9. How much more energy must your brakes absorb if you double your speed?
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Answer D: About four times as much, since energy rises with the square of speed
Kinetic energy grows with the square of speed, so twice the speed means about four times the energy and a far longer braking distance.
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10. Your engine stalls while you are driving in traffic. What is the correct response?
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Answer A: Shift to neutral, try to restart it, and steer and brake toward the side of the road
With the engine off, power steering and power brake assistance fade, so steering and braking take more effort but still work. Neutral lets you attempt a restart while you coast to safety.
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11. Which steering method gives the most control when you must turn the wheel a long way at low speed?
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Answer C: Hand over hand, feeding the wheel from one hand to the other
Hand over hand keeps both hands on the wheel through a large turn, so you never lose the ability to correct quickly.
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12. You are approaching a traffic light that has been green for a long time. How should you treat it?
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Answer C: Expect it to change and be ready to stop
A light that has been green for a while is called a stale green light. Cover the brake and decide in advance where you could still stop safely.
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13. What is the recommended minimum distance between the driver's breastbone and the center of the steering wheel air bag cover?
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Answer C: About 10 inches
An air bag inflates extremely fast, and keeping that much space lets it deploy fully before it reaches the driver, which is why the seat should be moved back as far as still allows comfortable control of the pedals.
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14. Two drivers each have three drinks, one over three hours and one in half an hour. What is the difference?
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Answer C: The fast drinker reaches a higher peak level
The liver removes alcohol at a steady rate, so drinking faster than the body can clear it pushes the blood alcohol level much higher.
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15. How should a lap and shoulder belt be positioned?
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Answer A: Lap belt low across the hips and shoulder belt across the chest and collarbone
The lap belt must bear against the strong pelvic bones rather than soft organs, and the shoulder belt must cross the rib cage and collarbone so crash forces spread over the skeleton.
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16. 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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17. What should you do as you approach your exit from a roundabout?
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Answer A: Signal right and check the crosswalk for pedestrians before leaving
A right signal tells following drivers and waiting drivers that you are leaving, and pedestrians cross at the exit leg, so the crosswalk must be checked.
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18. Your vehicle has stalled on railroad tracks and no train is in sight. After getting everyone away, whom should you call first?
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Answer B: The railroad emergency number posted on the blue sign at the crossing, giving the crossing number
Every public crossing has a blue emergency notification sign with a phone number and a crossing identification number. That call lets the railroad stop or slow trains before they reach you.
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19. You are driving slower than the general flow on a multilane highway. Which lane should you use?
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Answer D: The right lane, keeping the left lanes free for faster traffic and passing
Slower traffic must keep right so that faster vehicles and overtaking traffic can use the left lanes without weaving between lanes.
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20. You are about to drive a rental car that you have never driven before. What should you do?
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Answer A: Adjust the seat and the mirrors and find the controls before moving off
Hunting for the wipers or the lights in traffic is a distraction, so learn the layout while the vehicle is stopped.
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21. May a Texas officer stop a vehicle only to check whether a driver under 18 is breaking the night or passenger restrictions?
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Answer B: No, that cannot be the sole reason for a stop
The law bars an officer from stopping a vehicle or detaining the driver for the sole purpose of checking compliance with the under-18 restrictions.
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22. How is the yield sign shaped and colored?
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Answer C: A downward-pointing triangle with a wide red border and a red legend on white
The yield sign is a downward-pointing equilateral triangle with a wide red border and the legend in red on a white background, an outline used for no other message.
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23. You are about to slow down sharply for a turn. Which check comes first?
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Answer A: A look in the mirror to see how close the traffic behind you is
Any hard slowing needs a mirror check first, because the driver behind is the one who has to react to it.
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24. After an hour on a hot highway your tire pressure reads higher than it did in the morning. What should you do?
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Answer D: Nothing, because pressure rises when tires heat up
Air expands as the tire warms, so a hot reading is normally above the cold setting. Bleeding air off would leave the tire underinflated once it cooled.
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25. A sign warns that the right lane ends ahead, and traffic is still flowing freely. What should you do if you are in that lane?
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Answer C: Signal, adjust your speed and move left in good time before the lane ends
When traffic is moving freely there is room to merge early and smoothly, which avoids the last-second lane change at the closure point.
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26. How much alcohol may a Texas driver under 21 have in the body while driving?
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Answer C: None, because any detectable amount is an offense
The Texas zero tolerance rule makes it an offense for anyone under 21 to drive with any detectable amount of alcohol in the system.
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27. How does Texas guidance describe the correct restraint for the youngest children?
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Answer A: Rear facing until at least age two or until the seat manufacturer limits are reached
Texas advises keeping infants and toddlers rear facing until they turn two or outgrow the height or weight limit set by the seat manufacturer, then moving to a forward facing harness.
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28. You are driving forward into a perpendicular space with a large pickup parked on the right of it. How should you take it?
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Answer D: Stay wide, turn in late and keep clear of the pickup
Starting the turn later keeps the rear of your car away from the vehicle beside the space, which is exactly what a tight early turn clips.
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29. A yellow diamond showing two vertical arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down, warns that
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Answer A: the road ahead carries traffic in both directions
The two-way traffic sign warns that the roadway ahead is not divided and that vehicles will be coming from the opposite direction.
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30. Your light is green but the traffic beyond the intersection is stopped and there is no room on the far side. What should you do?
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Answer A: Wait behind the line until you can clear the far side
Entering an intersection you cannot clear blocks the cross traffic when their signal turns green, so you wait behind the line.