South Dakota DPS Permit Practice Test 16
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
-
1. You are driving on a two-lane road approaching the crest of a hill. Where should you position your vehicle?
Show answer
Answer D: Toward the right side of your lane, in case an oncoming vehicle is over the center line
You cannot see what is beyond a crest, and oncoming drivers sometimes drift across the center. Keeping right and slowing gives you a margin.
-
2. A yellow sign shows a truck on a slope with the legend 7 PERCENT GRADE. What should a driver of a heavy vehicle do?
Show answer
Answer A: Select a lower gear before starting down
The percentage shows how steep the descent is, and choosing a low gear at the top lets the engine hold the vehicle back instead of the brakes overheating.
-
3. South Dakota requires new motor vehicles sold in the state to have directional turn signals. Which vehicles are excepted from this equipment requirement?
Show answer
Answer D: Motorcycles, farm tractors, and certain towed agricultural chemical trailers
The turn signal requirement excepts motorcycles, farm tractors, and vehicles primarily used to distribute agricultural fertilizer or chemicals when towed.
-
4. A white regulatory sign near a state line reads BUCKLE UP IT IS THE LAW. What is it doing?
Show answer
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.
-
5. What is the driver expected to do after passing this sign?
Show answer
Answer A: Begin slowing so that a complete stop can be made at the intersection ahead
It is used where the control at the intersection stays hidden until late, so braking should begin here rather than at the stop line.
-
6. You are turning left at an intersection just beyond the crest of a hill. What is the added risk?
Show answer
Answer B: Oncoming vehicles appear with very little warning and close quickly
A crest hides approaching traffic until it is close, so the gap you thought was empty can fill in the time the turn takes.
-
7. You have entered a work zone where crews are working close to the open lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow down and be ready for workers and machines
Workers and equipment cross the open lane without warning in a work zone, so reduced speed and attention on the road ahead are what keep them safe.
-
8. Where do you find how much weight your vehicle may carry?
Show answer
Answer C: On the placard in the driver door opening
The certification placard in the driver door opening gives the load limit and the recommended cold tire pressures for the vehicle as built.
-
9. 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.
-
10. A driver reaches this sign and the intersecting roadway is completely clear. What is required?
Show answer
Answer D: Slowing to a speed that allows stopping, then going on without stopping if the way stays clear
This control asks the driver to slow down and be ready to stop, and a full stop becomes necessary only when traffic or pedestrians would otherwise be interfered with.
-
11. You are driving through a neighborhood where several children are riding bicycles. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down and expect sudden, unpredictable moves
Young riders lack the judgment and the mirror habits of adults and may swerve or cross without looking, so lower speed is your only reliable margin.
-
12. Rain is falling and the outside temperature reads close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is that dangerous?
Show answer
Answer A: The rain can freeze on contact and glaze the road with ice
Near freezing, rain landing on cold pavement can turn to a glaze of ice almost at once, so a road that looks merely wet may have no grip at all.
-
13. What is the safest way to deal with the situation this sign announces?
Show answer
Answer B: Match the speed of the other traffic stream and open a gap so vehicles can blend without hard braking
Blending works when speeds are matched and gaps are opened, so nobody has to brake hard or swerve where the two streams come together.
-
14. How long does a parallel parking space need to be for the car you are driving?
Show answer
Answer D: About five or six feet longer than your vehicle
A few extra feet at each end give you the room to swing in and to straighten up without touching the vehicles in front or behind.
-
15. You come back to find that your parked car has rolled out into the street. What most likely went wrong?
Show answer
Answer C: The parking brake was not set and the wheels were not turned
The parking brake, a gear or park, and turned front wheels are three separate safeguards, and a runaway means at least the first two were missing.
-
16. A United States numbered route is normally marked with
Show answer
Answer C: black numerals on a white shield
The U.S. route marker is a white shield carrying black numerals, which sets it apart at a glance from the red, white and blue Interstate shield.
-
17. A yellow curve warning sign carries a yellow plaque showing a speed. What does that number mean?
Show answer
Answer D: The recommended maximum safe speed for the curve under ideal conditions
An advisory speed plaque on a yellow warning sign gives the recommended maximum speed for the hazard ahead when conditions are good.
-
18. You feel fine twenty minutes after your last drink. Why is that a poor guide to driving?
Show answer
Answer B: Your blood alcohol level can still be rising
Alcohol keeps being absorbed for some time after the last drink, so a driver who feels able at the door can be more impaired a few miles down the road.
-
19. Besides certain criminal convictions, what other circumstance can require a South Dakota driver to file proof of financial responsibility for the future?
Show answer
Answer C: Failing to pay a judgment arising from owning, maintaining, or using a vehicle
The statute also applies proof-of-financial-responsibility requirements to anyone who fails to pay a judgment stemming from vehicle ownership, maintenance, or use.
-
20. A grade crossing is marked only with a crossbuck and has no lights or gates. What does the crossbuck require of you?
Show answer
Answer C: Yield to rail traffic and cross only when no train is approaching
The crossbuck requires road users to yield the right-of-way to rail traffic, so you must look and listen and be ready to stop.
-
21. Why is passing on a curve prohibited even when the traffic seems light?
Show answer
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.
-
22. What should you check on the hitch before towing a trailer?
Show answer
Answer B: That the coupler is locked and the safety chains are crossed underneath
The coupler must be latched and pinned, and the chains crossed under the tongue so they cradle it if the coupling lets go.
-
23. Driving at night you notice that the raised markers along the line beside you are throwing back red light. What does that tell you?
Show answer
Answer C: You are facing traffic and must get off that roadway
Red retroreflection is shown only toward traffic that should not be there, so a red return means the vehicle is heading the wrong way.
-
24. The low sun is directly ahead and glare makes it hard to see. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down, use the sun visor or sunglasses, and increase following distance
Sun glare can hide pedestrians, brake lights and signals. Reducing speed and adding space gives you time to react to what you cannot yet see.
-
25. You are driving slower than the general flow on a multilane highway. Which lane should you use?
Show answer
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.