Texas DPS Permit Practice Test 42
- Questions30
- Correct to pass21
- Passing score70%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. In heavy stop-and-go traffic, why does using both lanes right up to a merge point help?
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Answer D: It stores the queue in two lanes, so the backup is shorter
Filling both lanes halves the length of the queue and keeps it away from the traffic upstream, which is why alternating at the merge point works better when traffic is slow.
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2. Why is this restriction used so often on a divided road just before a crest or a bend?
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Answer A: Because a vehicle turning across the median there stays hidden from approaching drivers until it is too late
The maneuver needs a long gap and good visibility, and where sight distance is short an approaching driver has no time to react to a vehicle turning across the road.
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3. What must a driver be ready for beyond this sign?
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Answer C: Vehicles approaching from the opposite direction in the next lane over
The separation between the two directions runs out, so from that point oncoming vehicles share the same pavement and the driver has to keep right.
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4. 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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5. You cannot avoid a wide puddle that covers only the right half of your lane. What should you expect?
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Answer D: The water can tug the vehicle toward that side, so slow before it and grip the wheel
Water dragging on the tires of one side only pulls the vehicle that way. Reduce speed before you reach it and hold the wheel firmly.
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6. A lane is marked with a large white bicycle symbol and chevrons, but there is no separate bicycle lane. What does it mean?
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Answer A: Bicyclists may use the whole lane, so follow or pass with care
A shared lane marking shows that bicyclists and drivers use the same lane and positions riders away from parked car doors, so passing means changing lanes.
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7. Which facility does this sign direct a traveler toward?
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Answer B: A hospital offering emergency care
This is the standard marker for medical care, used to lead a traveler to a hospital where emergency treatment is available.
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8. Outside an urban district and with nothing posted, what speeds does Texas law treat as lawful?
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Answer A: 70 mph on a state or federally numbered highway and 60 mph on other highways
Texas sets prima facie limits of 70 mph on a highway numbered by the state or the United States outside an urban district and 60 mph on rural highways that carry no such number.
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9. Why is passing on a curve prohibited even when the traffic seems light?
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Answer C: You cannot see far enough around it to know the lane is clear
A pass is only as safe as the distance you can see, and a curve hides the very lane the maneuver uses.
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10. Why should cruise control be switched off on wet, snowy or icy roads?
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Answer B: It may keep feeding power to a wheel that has started to slip, and cancelling it costs you time
Cruise control holds a set speed regardless of grip, so it can add power just as a tire loses traction, and the extra step of cancelling it delays your response.
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11. A friend who has been drinking insists on driving home. What is the right thing to do?
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Answer B: Take the keys and arrange a sober ride, even if the friend objects
An impaired driver is dangerous on any street at any speed, and coffee does not lower blood alcohol. Keeping the keys and finding another way home is the only safe choice.
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12. You are already inside an intersection when you realize you should be in the lane beside you. What should you do?
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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.
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13. You are in the acceleration lane and the gap you were aiming for is now beside you. What is the best adjustment?
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Answer A: Change your speed a little to line up with a gap, then merge smoothly
The acceleration lane is for matching both the speed and the position of a gap, and small speed adjustments are what line the two up.
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14. During the reversing part of a three-point turn, where should you be looking?
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Answer C: Over your shoulder through the rear window, glancing both ways
You look through the rear window in the direction the car is moving, checking both ways for traffic and people, because mirrors and cameras leave blind areas.
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15. 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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16. How is a Texas Move Over or Slow Down violation classified when it results in bodily injury to another person?
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Answer D: A Class A misdemeanor
If the violation results in bodily injury to another, it is a Class A misdemeanor, and a repeat offense of that kind is a state jail felony.
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17. Which of these Texas vehicles is specifically required to stop before crossing railroad tracks?
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Answer B: A motor bus carrying passengers for hire
Section 545.253 requires a motor bus carrying passengers for hire to stop before crossing railroad tracks.
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18. How does Texas law define an urban district for prima facie speed limits?
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Answer A: Buildings less than 100 feet apart for at least a quarter mile
An urban district is territory along a highway improved with business, industrial or residential structures at intervals of less than 100 feet for a distance of at least one-quarter mile.
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19. You are about to leave a roundabout when a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk on your exit. What should you do?
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Answer B: Yield to the pedestrian and wait for the crosswalk to clear
Roundabout crosswalks sit on the entries and exits, and drivers must yield to pedestrians using them.
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20. Your vehicle stalls on a railroad crossing and will not restart. What should you do first?
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Answer A: Get everyone out and away from the tracks immediately
Everyone must leave the vehicle and move well clear of the tracks at once, walking toward the train at an angle so that debris from an impact travels away from you.
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21. What is sensible when you drive in an unfamiliar town for the first time?
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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.
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22. A stop sign at a busy corner has a stop line and a crosswalk, but buildings block your view of the cross street. What is the correct sequence?
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Answer C: Stop at the line first, then edge forward and stop again to see
The first stop is required at the line or before the crosswalk, and a second stop farther forward is what actually lets you yield safely.
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23. A child in the back seat unfastens a seat belt while you are on the freeway. What should you do?
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Answer A: Pull off safely and refasten the belt
Turning or reaching back takes your eyes and hands off a high speed task, so leave the freeway or use the shoulder only if there is no exit, then fix the belt.
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24. Below a speed limit sign is a smaller panel with white numbers on a black background and the word NIGHT. What does it show?
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Answer D: The limit that applies after dark
A night speed limit panel sets a separate legal maximum for the hours of darkness, and its reversed colors mark it as the night figure.
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25. What is true about driving away from a crash you were involved in?
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Answer B: It is a serious offense, even if the other driver has driven away too
Leaving the scene is a criminal offense in every state, and the behavior of the other driver does not excuse it.
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26. In a work zone a flagger signals you to stop, but the sign beside the road says the lane is open. What should you do?
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Answer C: Obey the flagger
A flagger controls the work zone in real time and the instruction outranks the signs and markings, which cannot reflect what is happening at that moment.
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27. You are turning left across tracks that run along the center of the street. What should you do before crossing them?
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Answer B: Look along the tracks in both directions and cross only when clear
Rail vehicles running in the street can arrive from either direction and cannot stop quickly, so look along the tracks before you turn across them.
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28. A pedestrian has stepped into a crosswalk at an intersection ahead of you. What is your obligation?
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Answer C: Yield and let the pedestrian finish crossing before you proceed
Drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, and an intersection has a legal crosswalk whether or not lines are painted on the pavement.
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29. What does electronic stability control do that ordinary brakes cannot?
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Answer C: It brakes single wheels to bring the vehicle back on your intended path
The system compares where you have steered with where the vehicle is actually going, then brakes individual wheels to pull it back into line.
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30. What is the name of the Texas organ donor registry that driver license applicants can join, and how available must it be to procurement organizations?
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Answer B: A registry named after a specific individual, kept accessible to procurement organizations around the clock
Section 692A.020(e)(3) names the registry the Glenda Dawson Donate Life-Texas Registry and requires it to be accessible to procurement organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.