Texas DPS Permit Practice Test 29
- Questions30
- Correct to pass21
- Passing score70%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. As speed rises, which part of the total stopping distance grows the fastest?
Show answer
Answer B: The braking distance, which grows far faster than speed itself
Perception and reaction distances grow in step with speed, but braking distance grows roughly with the square of speed, so it dominates at higher speeds.
-
2. You are waiting to enter a two-lane roundabout and traffic is circulating in both lanes. What must you do?
Show answer
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.
-
3. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?
Show answer
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.
-
4. Your lane is ending ahead in slow, heavy traffic and drivers in the next lane are already bumper to bumper. What is the recommended way to merge?
Show answer
Answer C: Take turns, one vehicle from each lane at the merge point
Alternating one for one at the merge point keeps both lanes moving and is the safest way to combine slow traffic.
-
5. A white regulatory sign shows the silhouette of a truck inside a red circle with a diagonal slash. What does it mean?
Show answer
Answer A: Trucks are not allowed to use that road
The circle and slash over a symbol always means the movement or vehicle shown is prohibited, so trucks must keep off that roadway.
-
6. You reach an intersection showing a steady red light, and a stop line is painted across your lane. Where must you bring the vehicle to a complete stop?
Show answer
Answer C: Before the stop line
A steady red requires a complete stop before the marked stop line. Where there is no stop line you stop before the crosswalk, and where there is neither, before entering the intersection.
-
7. What is the correct order of steps as you finish parking an automatic on a grade?
Show answer
Answer C: Turn the wheels, set the parking brake, then select park
Setting the parking brake before shifting into park lets the brake take the load, instead of leaving the whole weight of the car on the parking pawl.
-
8. The gates at a railroad crossing begin to come down as you approach. What must you do?
Show answer
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.
-
9. Where should you be looking as you back into a parallel parking space?
Show answer
Answer B: Over your shoulder through the rear window, glancing all around
Mirrors and cameras leave blind areas, so turn and look through the rear window while checking the front of your car and both sides as it swings.
-
10. You and an oncoming driver are both turning left at the same intersection. What is the usual rule?
Show answer
Answer D: Both turn in front of each other unless markings show otherwise
The normal practice is to pass driver side to driver side, turning in front of one another, unless pavement markings or signs direct a different path.
-
11. On a highway with mileage-based exit numbering, you have just passed exit 42 and are looking for exit 55. About how far is it?
Show answer
Answer B: Thirteen miles
With mileage-based numbering each exit takes the number of the nearest milepost, so subtracting one exit number from another gives the distance in miles.
-
12. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signals are completely dark after a power failure. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
13. Blue pavement markings are used together with white markings at
Show answer
Answer D: parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities
Blue supplements the white markings of accessible parking spaces, which is the only assignment blue has on the pavement.
-
14. You are behind a snow plow working on a highway. What is the correct way to drive?
Show answer
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.
-
15. You are parking on a one-way street where parking is allowed on both sides. What must still be true?
Show answer
Answer D: The vehicle must face the direction the traffic flows
Either curb may be used on a one-way street where signs allow it, but the vehicle must always be headed in the direction traffic moves.
-
16. What is the right speed for a normal right turn at a city corner?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow enough to hold your lane and stop for a pedestrian
A city right turn is tight and crosses a crosswalk, so the correct speed is one that keeps you inside your lane and still allows a stop.
-
17. Traffic is backed up just past the exit you want to use at a single-lane roundabout. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait at the yield line until you can pass through and exit
You must not enter a roundabout unless you can clear it, because stopping inside blocks every other entry.
-
18. You turn left onto a road that has a center two-way left-turn lane. In which lane should you be traveling once the turn is finished?
Show answer
Answer D: The first through lane to the right of the center turn lane
The shared center lane is only for turning movements, so even where a state lets you pause in it to merge you must end up in the first ordinary travel lane beside it.
-
19. There is a stop sign but no stop line and no crosswalk. Where must you stop?
Show answer
Answer A: Before entering the intersection, where you can see cross traffic
With no line or crosswalk, stop before you enter the intersection at the point where you can see traffic on the cross street.
-
20. How should your speed behave while you move from one lane into the next?
Show answer
Answer C: Keep it steady or adjust it smoothly to match the traffic in the new lane
A lane change works best as a smooth movement at the speed of the lane you are joining, since sudden braking or acceleration surprises the drivers around you.
-
21. On an unlit road, about how far ahead do high beams normally let you see?
Show answer
Answer D: About 350 to 500 feet ahead of the vehicle
High beams light roughly 350 to 500 feet of road and low beams far less, which is why night speeds have to be chosen around the beam, not the limit.
-
22. You are stopped in a shared through and right-turn lane with your right signal on, and a bicyclist rides up along your right side. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Let the bicyclist clear the intersection or move ahead before you turn
A cyclist alongside your right side is in the path your turn will sweep across, so wait until that space is clear before turning.
-
23. The driver ahead of you is straddling the lane line and is not signaling. How should you respond?
Show answer
Answer B: Stay back until you can see which lane that driver will take
A vehicle astride the line could move either way, so the only safe place is behind it where both possibilities are still covered.
-
24. What happens to the license of a Texas adult convicted for the first time of buying alcohol for, or giving alcohol to, a minor?
Show answer
Answer D: It is automatically suspended for 180 days
A conviction for purchasing or furnishing alcohol to a minor automatically suspends the driver license for 180 days, or one year if the person had a prior suspension or denial for this.
-
25. Your light turns green while a pedestrian who started on the walk signal is still crossing in front of you. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Let them finish crossing the road before you move off on your green light
A pedestrian who entered the crosswalk lawfully keeps the right of way until they reach the other side, whatever the signal now shows.
-
26. Your light turns green, but a vehicle is still in the middle of the intersection. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait until the intersection is clear before you move ahead
A green light means go only when the way is clear. Drivers already inside the intersection must be allowed to finish crossing.
-
27. How many hours of community service must a Texas court order for a minor's first conviction of driving with alcohol in the system?
Show answer
Answer D: 20 to 40 hours
The court must order 20 to 40 hours of alcohol-related community service for a first conviction, and 40 to 60 hours if the minor has a prior conviction.
-
28. 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?
Show answer
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.
-
29. Does this sign settle who has the right-of-way at the intersection ahead?
Show answer
Answer D: No, it only gives notice of the intersection; the control there decides priority
A warning prepares the driver for what is coming but grants no priority, so whatever stop control, yield control, signal or right-of-way rule applies at the intersection is what decides.
-
30. What must accompany an application for an original Texas driver license regarding insurance?
Show answer
Answer B: Proof of financial responsibility or a sworn statement of owning no vehicle
An original license application must include evidence of financial responsibility at the state minimums for each owned vehicle, or a sworn, signed statement that the applicant owns no vehicle that requires it.