South Dakota DPS Permit Practice Test 32
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. How may a South Dakota restricted minor's permit holder with no traffic convictions upgrade to an operator's license?
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Answer D: By mail or electronically, with the eyesight test waived
A restricted minor's permit holder without a traffic conviction may upgrade by mail or electronically, and the eyesight test otherwise required is waived for this path.
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2. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?
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Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one
At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.
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3. What is the main function of the guide sign series?
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Answer D: To identify routes and lead road users to their destinations
Guide signs identify routes, name destinations and give distances, so drivers can navigate without stopping to consult a map.
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4. You are about to drive a rental car that you have never driven before. What should you do?
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Answer A: Adjust the seat and the mirrors and find the controls before moving off
Hunting for the wipers or the lights in traffic is a distraction, so learn the layout while the vehicle is stopped.
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5. At a rural intersection a beacon flashes yellow toward the main road and red toward the side road. How is each approach treated?
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Answer A: The main road slows and proceeds, the side road stops
An intersection control beacon assigns flashing yellow to the road with priority and flashing red to the approach that must stop and yield.
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6. You are approaching a horse and rider on a country road. What about your horn?
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Answer C: Do not sound it at all, because the noise can frighten the animal
A startled horse is dangerous to its rider and to you, so pass wide and slow and leave the horn alone.
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7. What is the maximum lawful speed set by South Dakota law for passing a school during recess or while children are arriving or leaving during opening or closing hours?
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Answer A: 15 miles per hour
The statute fixes the school zone speed at 15 miles per hour during recess and arrival or departure periods.
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8. You carry reflective warning triangles in your car. How should they be used after a breakdown?
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Answer B: Set out behind the vehicle, far enough back to warn traffic before it arrives
A warning device works only if drivers see it in time to react, so it is placed well back along the road they are traveling.
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9. You reach a T intersection where the cross street has a ONE WAY sign pointing to the right. What may you do?
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Answer B: Turn right only, because the street carries traffic in that direction
The arrow shows the only direction traffic may travel, so the only legal movement from the terminating road is a right turn.
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10. You have stopped on the shoulder of a busy freeway with a flat tire that you cannot change safely. Where should you and your passengers wait?
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Answer A: Well away from the traffic side, behind a barrier or up the bank if there is one
People struck on the shoulder are a common cause of roadside deaths, so wait away from the traffic side and behind any barrier.
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11. You are using the parking brake to slow a vehicle whose brakes have failed. How should you apply it?
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Answer D: Gradually, holding the release so you can let it off if the rear slides
The parking brake works on two wheels only, so applying it hard can lock them and spin the vehicle. Keep the release held so you can back it off instantly.
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12. An arrow panel at a work zone displays a flashing arrow pointing to the left. What does it require?
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Answer C: Move out of the closed lane into the lane on the left
A flashing or sequential arrow on an arrow panel directs traffic out of a closed lane and into the lane the arrow points to.
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13. A flashing red lamp is mounted above a stop sign at a rural intersection. What does it add?
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Answer C: Emphasis, while the required stop stays the same
A stop beacon makes an easily missed stop sign more visible, but it neither adds to nor takes away from the obligation the sign already imposes.
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14. Where are children in the greatest danger around a school bus?
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Answer B: In the roadway right around the bus, especially in front
The danger zone is the band of roadway around the bus where the driver's view is poorest, and children crossing in front of the bus are hardest to see.
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15. Why does safety guidance say a child should ride in the back seat rather than in front of an active passenger airbag?
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Answer D: Because the airbag inflates with enough force to injure a small child badly
Airbags deploy at very high speed and are sized for adults, so a child seated close to one can be badly hurt by the bag itself, which is why the back seat is recommended for children.
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16. You are in a minor collision on a busy road. No one is hurt and both vehicles can be driven. What is the recommended thing to do?
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Answer C: Move the vehicles out of the travel lanes to a safe spot before exchanging information
Vehicles left in traffic after a minor crash invite a second, often worse, collision. Clearing the lane protects everyone, and you still exchange details and report as required.
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17. You are driving at night through heavy falling snow. Which headlight setting works better and why?
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Answer C: Low beams, because high beams bounce off the falling flakes back at you
Falling snow reflects light the way fog does, so high beams build a white wall of glare while low beams still give a usable view.
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18. Where is a strong crosswind most likely to hit you suddenly?
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Answer D: Coming out of a tunnel or a cut onto an open bridge
Gusts arrive the moment you leave shelter, which is why bridge approaches and the ends of cuts and tunnels catch drivers out.
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19. You have just had bad news and you feel very upset. What should you do?
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Answer B: Wait until you have calmed down, or else let somebody else drive
Strong emotion takes attention away from the road as surely as alcohol or fatigue, so it is a reason not to drive yet.
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20. A driver in the leftmost lane reaches this sign at an intersection. What must the driver do?
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Answer B: Go straight on or turn right, and reach the destination another way
The restriction holds whatever the traffic or the signal is doing, so the driver has to pass the intersection and plan a different route.
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21. When is a driver at the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel?
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Answer B: Late at night, early morning and mid afternoon
The body clock produces its deepest dips in alertness in the small hours and again in the middle of the afternoon, and crash records follow those dips.
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22. Your navigation device tells you to turn where a road sign says the turn is closed. What should you do?
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Answer B: Follow the signs and what you can see
A device works from stored data that can be out of date, while signs and the road in front of you show the situation now, so the road wins every time.
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23. Why is repeatedly changing lanes to work through heavy traffic a poor idea?
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Answer A: It raises the crash risk and saves almost no time
Each lane change adds a conflict with another vehicle, and in congestion the lanes move at similar average speeds, so the gain is negligible.
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24. Besides alcohol, what else does South Dakota's implied consent statute allow a chemical test to check for?
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Answer B: Marijuana or other controlled drugs or substances that could impair driving
The implied consent law authorizes testing not only for alcohol but also for marijuana and other controlled substances that may impair driving ability.
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25. You are making a legal U-turn at an intersection. Who has the right of way?
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Answer C: Everyone else, until your turn is complete
A U-turn crosses several paths at once, so you yield to oncoming vehicles, to crossing traffic and to pedestrians before starting it.