South Dakota DPS Permit Practice Test 21
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
-
1. You are on a two-lane road where a broken yellow line runs on your side of the center. What does that pattern allow?
Show answer
Answer C: Passing when the way ahead is clear and it is otherwise legal
A broken yellow center line marks a stretch where passing is permitted for traffic on that side when it can be completed safely.
-
2. Two solid white lines separate your lane from the lane beside it. What do they mean?
Show answer
Answer B: Crossing from one lane to the other is prohibited
A solid double white line marks a boundary that road users may not cross, such as the entrance to a preferential lane.
-
3. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
Show answer
Answer A: Moving your eyes constantly over the road, the sides and the mirrors
Scanning keeps information coming in from every direction, while a fixed stare leaves you blind to everything else.
-
4. An orange sign reading END ROAD WORK is posted beside the highway. What does it mark?
Show answer
Answer C: The point where the work zone restrictions stop
The sign is installed at the downstream end of the temporary traffic control zone to tell drivers that normal conditions apply again.
-
5. You come up behind a group of cyclists riding two abreast on a narrow rural road. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Wait for a clear stretch and pass them as one group
Passing a group as a single unit when the way ahead is clear is safer than several rushed passes, and cutting through the group leaves nobody any escape room.
-
6. The tire pressure monitoring symbol lights up on your dashboard. What is the system telling you?
Show answer
Answer A: At least one tire is significantly underinflated
The system warns when a tire falls well below the recommended pressure. Check all four with a gauge and inflate to the placard figure while they are cold.
-
7. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?
Show answer
Answer C: Well before the maneuver, so other drivers have time to react
A signal is a warning to others, so it has to be given far enough ahead of the maneuver that drivers and pedestrians can adjust.
-
8. You are driving on a rural road with no sidewalk. Where should you expect to meet pedestrians?
Show answer
Answer A: Walking toward you on your side of the road
Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians are taught to walk facing traffic, so they appear on your side of the road coming toward you.
-
9. A line of short dashes set closer together than an ordinary lane line runs beside your lane where a ramp leaves the highway. What does a dotted line of that kind convey?
Show answer
Answer A: A warning that the lane is about to change function
Dotted lines give guidance or warning about a downstream change, such as a lane that becomes an exit only lane or a lane line carried across an intersection.
-
10. Does using a hands free device remove the risk of distraction?
Show answer
Answer A: No, the conversation still takes attention away from driving
Hands free equipment removes the manual part of the distraction but not the mental part, and a driver deep in conversation can look straight at a hazard without registering it.
-
11. Your passengers are being noisy and you are losing concentration. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
12. Your right-turn lane shows a green arrow while the through lanes face a red ball. What does that mean?
Show answer
Answer C: Only the right turn is allowed, and it is protected while the arrow lasts
A green arrow gives a protected movement in that direction only; the red ball still stops the through traffic in the other lanes.
-
13. When may a driver of a motor vehicle use a marked bicycle lane?
Show answer
Answer C: Only to cross it when turning or entering the road where the markings allow
A bike lane is a lane for cyclists. Motor vehicles may only cross it to enter or leave the road or to make a turn where the markings permit.
-
14. Traffic ahead of you has stopped in your lane while the next lane is still moving. What is the first thing to do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down first and check the next lane before moving over
Braking is the action that keeps you from hitting the stopped traffic, and the lane change is only safe once you have looked.
-
15. The passenger-side mirror on most vehicles is convex. What does this mean for the driver?
Show answer
Answer D: Vehicles in that mirror are closer than they appear
A convex mirror gives a wider view but shrinks what it shows, so a vehicle looks smaller and therefore farther away than it really is. Allow for this before changing lanes.
-
16. A lane control sign over one lane shows both a straight arrow and a left arrow. What does it tell drivers in that lane?
Show answer
Answer A: Either movement may be made from that lane
An optional movement lane control sign lists every movement permitted from the lane, so a driver may choose any arrow shown.
-
17. The signal ahead has a sign prohibiting left turns, and your route needs a left. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Go straight on and find a legal place to turn and come back
A turn prohibition applies to every driver, so you continue through and reach your route by another legal turn.
-
18. When a railroad crossing signal gives a warning, within what distance must a South Dakota driver stop, according to state law?
Show answer
Answer A: Within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail
State law requires stopping within 50 feet but not closer than 15 feet from the nearest rail when a crossing signal gives warning.
-
19. School warning signs use which background and legend colors?
Show answer
Answer A: A black legend and border on a fluorescent yellow-green background
School warning signs carry a black legend and border on a fluorescent yellow-green background, a shade chosen so they stand out from ordinary yellow warning signs.
-
20. A bicyclist is riding around a single-lane roundabout in the middle of the lane as you wait to enter. What is your duty?
Show answer
Answer C: Yield to the bicyclist just as you would to a car
A bicyclist using the roundabout is traffic like any other vehicle and has the same claim to the circulating lane.
-
21. Can a driver be charged with impaired driving after taking a legal over the counter medicine?
Show answer
Answer C: Yes, if the medicine impairs the ability to drive safely
Impaired driving laws cover any substance that affects driving, including cold remedies, allergy pills and sleep aids sold without a prescription.
-
22. What should you do before you back out of your own driveway at home?
Show answer
Answer A: Walk around the vehicle and check behind it for children or objects
A small child, a bicycle or a toy can sit entirely inside the blind area behind a vehicle, and a walk-around is the only way to be sure it is clear.
-
23. You are circulating in the inner lane of a two-lane roundabout, your exit is next, and a vehicle is beside you in the outer lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Keep circulating around the island and take that same exit on your next time around
You may not cut across a vehicle in the outer lane; if you cannot exit safely, continue around the circle and try again.
-
24. Why does the situation ahead of this sign deserve extra care from a motorcyclist?
Show answer
Answer C: Because a narrow machine is easy to overlook in a mirror or a blind spot
A motorcycle fills very little of a mirror and disappears easily into a blind spot, so the rider should adjust speed and lane position to stay visible where the streams come together.
-
25. A bicyclist ahead of you puts the left arm straight out to the side. What is being signaled?
Show answer
Answer B: A left turn or a move to the left
The left arm held straight out is the bicycle signal for a left turn, so hold back and give the rider room to cross toward the center.