South Dakota DPS Permit Practice Test 30
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. Why are sign shapes and colors standardized across the whole country?
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Answer D: So a driver knows the kind of message before reading it
Uniform shapes and colors let a driver classify a sign as regulatory, warning or guide from a distance, before the legend can be read.
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2. How does braking distance change if you double your speed?
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Answer D: It grows much more than twice as long
Braking distance increases with the square of speed, so doubling speed roughly quadruples the distance needed to stop.
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3. What do two solid yellow lines down the middle of a two-way road mean?
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Answer D: Passing is prohibited for traffic in both directions
A double solid yellow line marks a two-direction no-passing zone, so neither direction may cross it to overtake another vehicle.
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4. You have printed directions or paperwork you need to check. When should you read them?
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Answer C: Before you leave, or after you park
Reading takes eyes and mind off the road for far longer than any safe glance, and a light that changes while you read leaves you moving off blind.
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5. It is dusk and a jogger in dark clothing is running along the edge of the road. What should you do?
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Answer D: Slow down and scan the edges of the road
Dusk is the hardest light for spotting people, and dark clothing removes most of your warning, so lower speed and a careful scan of the roadsides are the answer.
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6. What audibility standard does South Dakota law set for a vehicle's horn?
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Answer C: Audible from at least 200 feet under normal conditions
State law requires a horn capable of being heard from at least 200 feet away under normal conditions.
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7. Should you drive with your hazard lights flashing while moving in fog?
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Answer A: No, they hide your turn signals and suggest you are stopped
Hazard lights on a moving vehicle tell other drivers you are stopped or disabled, and they cancel out your turn signals just when clarity matters most.
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8. You are behind three slow vehicles on a two-lane road and the way ahead looks clear. What is the sound decision?
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Answer D: Pass one vehicle at a time, if the road allows it
Passing several vehicles in one move keeps you in the oncoming lane far too long and leaves nowhere to go if a vehicle appears.
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9. A small plaque mounted under this sign shows a numeral such as 2 or 3. What does that numeral report?
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Answer A: How many sets of tracks the crossing carries
The plaque states the number of tracks at that location, which is a warning that a second train may be running on another track behind the first.
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10. You are driving through patchy fog on a highway. What should you be ready for?
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Answer B: Sudden dense banks where visibility drops within a few car lengths
Patchy fog can go from clear to nearly blind in a moment, so keep your speed low enough that a sudden bank does not leave you without room.
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11. After a third DUI conviction, a driver caught operating a vehicle during the license revocation period faces what mandatory minimum jail term?
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Answer B: Ten days
Driving during the revocation that follows a third DUI conviction carries a mandatory, non-suspendable minimum of ten days in jail.
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12. Once you are moving, which way of using a navigation device costs you the least attention?
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Answer B: Listening to the spoken directions
Voice guidance lets you keep your eyes on the road, while anything that needs the screen takes glances that add up over a trip.
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13. How should you position your vehicle for a right turn from a two-way street?
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Answer B: As close as practical to the right curb or edge, then turn into the nearest right lane
Right turns are made from the lane nearest the right edge into the nearest available lane, which keeps the turn tight and prevents a wide sweep into other traffic.
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14. Warning signs such as stop ahead, yield ahead and signal ahead are installed mainly where
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Answer B: the traffic control device cannot be seen from far enough away
These advance warning signs are used when a crest, curve or obstruction keeps the stop sign, yield sign or signal from coming into view in time for a driver to react.
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15. You are involved in a collision, even a minor one. What is your first legal duty?
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Answer A: Stop at or near the scene without blocking traffic more than necessary
Every driver involved in a crash must stop at the scene, and leaving before meeting that duty is a serious offense. Move the vehicles only as far as needed to clear the traffic lanes.
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16. You have fitted small convex blind spot mirrors to the door mirrors. What is true of them?
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Answer A: They help a good deal, but you should still look over your shoulder as well
Add-on mirrors reduce but do not remove the blind spot, and they make vehicles look smaller and further away.
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17. What does a yield sign require of a driver?
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Answer A: Slow down, and stop when necessary, so conflicting traffic can go first
A yield sign obliges the driver to reduce to a speed suited to conditions and to stop when needed so that conflicting traffic or pedestrians are not interfered with.
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18. A regulatory message is normally carried on a sign whose shape is
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Answer A: a rectangle standing taller than it is wide
Regulatory signs that state a law, such as speed limits and turn restrictions, use a vertical rectangle with a black legend on a white background.
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19. A driver ahead brakes for no reason you can see, again and again. What should you do?
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Answer B: Increase your following distance and be ready for yet another stop
Unexplained braking tells you the driver is unsure or distracted, so the safe answer is more room, not less.
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20. The posted limit is 55 mph, but heavy traffic and rain make that speed unsafe. What does the law expect of you?
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Answer D: You must slow to a speed that is safe for the conditions
The basic speed rule requires a speed that is reasonable for the traffic, weather and road, and that speed is often well below the posted maximum.
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21. You park a manual transmission car facing uphill at a curb. What is the correct combination?
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Answer A: First gear, wheels turned away from the curb, parking brake set
Facing uphill the car would roll back, so first gear resists that, the wheels turned out let a tire catch the curb, and the parking brake holds it.
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22. What is meant by keeping a space cushion?
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Answer C: Keeping open space on all sides of your vehicle so you always have somewhere to go
Open space ahead, behind and to the sides gives you time to react and an escape path when a hazard appears, which is the core idea of defensive driving.
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23. You are the first driver on a road just after a storm. What should you plan for?
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Answer B: Branches, mud and other debris hidden around the next bend
Storm debris lands where nobody has cleared it yet, often just beyond a curve or a crest, so reduce speed and look much further ahead.
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24. You back into an unattended parked car in a lot and cause visible damage. What must you do?
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Answer A: Try to find the owner, or leave a note with your name and contact details, and report the crash
Hitting an unattended vehicle carries the same duties as any crash. Leaving without identifying yourself is a hit-and-run offense.
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25. Where among these is parking specifically prohibited?
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Answer A: On a bridge, in a tunnel or on railroad tracks
Bridges and tunnels have no safe refuge and cannot be widened, and a vehicle left on railroad tracks cannot be avoided by an approaching train.