South Dakota DPS Permit Practice Test 44
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
-
1. What does a tire with worn tread do on a wet road?
Show answer
Answer B: It loses grip and it hydroplanes at a lower speed than a good tire
Tread grooves carry water away from the contact patch, and a worn tire cannot do that, so it floats on the water sooner.
-
2. How does going a long time without sleep compare with drinking?
Show answer
Answer A: It can impair a driver in much the same way
Long periods awake produce slow reactions, poor judgment and lapses of attention that resemble the effects of alcohol, which is why fatigue counts as impairment.
-
3. What must a South Dakota driver do before a license suspended under the financial responsibility law can be reinstated?
Show answer
Answer C: Pay the reinstatement fee to the department
The statute requires payment of the reinstatement fee to the department before a financial-responsibility suspension can be lifted.
-
4. Well before an intersection, an overhead sign shows a diagram of the lanes with an arrow above each one. What is its purpose?
Show answer
Answer C: To let drivers pick the correct lane in good time
Advance intersection lane control signs display the lane assignment far enough back that drivers can move over calmly instead of at the last moment.
-
5. During the first six months on a South Dakota restricted minor's permit, who may ride as a passenger?
Show answer
Answer A: Only immediate family or members of the household
For the first six months the restricted permit holder may carry only immediate family members or members of the household.
-
6. You are stopped at a red light ready to turn right when a person pushing a stroller steps into the crosswalk. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stay stopped until they have crossed your path
A turn on red gives way to every pedestrian in the crosswalk, and someone pushing a stroller has even less room to react.
-
7. On what recurring schedule does a standard South Dakota operator's license expire, according to state law?
Show answer
Answer A: On the licensee's birthday in the fifth year after issuance
South Dakota operator's licenses expire on the holder's birthday in the fifth year following issuance, not on a fixed calendar date unrelated to birthday.
-
8. When are South Dakota drivers excused from stopping for a school bus that has its red signal lights flashing?
Show answer
Answer B: When they are traveling in the opposite direction on a highway with two or more lanes of travel in each direction
A driver approaching a school bus with flashing red signal lights must make a complete stop, except on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction when the bus is traveling in the opposite direction.
-
9. What does South Dakota generally require of an applicant renewing a driver license or permit?
Show answer
Answer A: An eyesight examination, unless an exception applies
State law directs the Department of Public Safety to examine an applicant's eyesight upon renewal, subject to a statutory exception for mail or electronic renewal.
-
10. What is the first thing to do once your disabled vehicle is stopped on the shoulder?
Show answer
Answer A: Switch on the hazard warning lights so other drivers can see the vehicle
Hazard lights are the fastest way to make a stopped vehicle visible, and everything else can follow once traffic has been warned.
-
11. A marked accessible space is signed as van accessible. What is different about it?
Show answer
Answer B: It has a wider aisle for a ramp or a lift to come out
The extra width beside the space is there so a side ramp or lift can deploy and a wheelchair can get clear of the vehicle.
-
12. Why is parking next to a fire hydrant or in a marked fire lane prohibited?
Show answer
Answer D: It would delay firefighters who need immediate access to the hydrant or the building
Fire hydrants and fire lanes must remain clear at all times so emergency crews can connect hoses and reach a building without delay.
-
13. When is passing another vehicle on the right generally permitted?
Show answer
Answer C: When the road has two or more lanes in your direction, or the vehicle ahead is turning left and there is room without leaving the pavement
Passing on the right is limited to situations where a lawful lane exists for it or the vehicle ahead is turning left, and it may never be done by driving onto the shoulder.
-
14. Why is hard braking the wrong response to a tire blowout at speed?
Show answer
Answer C: Because it can pull the vehicle further out of line and start it spinning
With one tire gone the braking forces are uneven, so heavy braking increases the pull to one side and can spin the vehicle.
-
15. Two lanes at the corner are marked for right turns. What does that require of you?
Show answer
Answer A: Keep your own lane through the turn and into the matching new lane
Dual turn lanes work only if each vehicle stays in its own lane all the way round and finishes in the corresponding lane of the new street.
-
16. A pedestrian waiting at a curb faces a steady upraised hand. What does that indication mean?
Show answer
Answer A: Do not start to cross in that direction
A steady upraised hand forbids entering the crosswalk, while a flashing hand only forbids starting a new crossing.
-
17. Why is a U-turn on a one-way street a problem?
Show answer
Answer A: You would end up facing the wrong way against all the traffic
Every lane of a one-way street runs the same way, so turning around leaves you driving head-on against all of the traffic.
-
18. How do you avoid the sharp nod at the end of a stop?
Show answer
Answer A: Ease the pedal pressure off slightly just before the vehicle stops
The nod comes from the suspension unloading at the instant the wheels stop. Releasing a little pressure at the end lets the vehicle settle smoothly.
-
19. A black on white regulatory sign at an intersection reads NO TURNS. What may a driver do there?
Show answer
Answer B: Only continue straight through the intersection
The NO TURNS sign bans turns in every direction at that intersection, so the only lawful movement from that approach is straight through.
-
20. Why should you not switch the engine off while the vehicle is still moving fast?
Show answer
Answer B: You lose power steering and the steering may lock
With the engine off the steering becomes very heavy and on many vehicles the column can lock, so shift to neutral first and only shut down once stopped.
-
21. You are passing a line of slow traffic in the lane beside you and you notice a gap in that line ahead. What should you expect?
Show answer
Answer A: A vehicle may pull out of that gap into your lane
A gap in a slow line is an invitation to any driver waiting to turn out of a side street or to change lanes, and they are looking at the gap rather than at you.
-
22. The word SCHOOL is painted in large letters across the roadway. What is it doing?
Show answer
Answer D: Backing up the signs marking a school zone
Word markings on the pavement reinforce a message that is already signed, and a driver looking at the road ahead cannot miss them.
-
23. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you proceed?
Show answer
Answer C: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop
When a signal shows no indication at all, drivers on every approach must stop and then take turns, exactly as at an all-way stop.
-
24. What score does the South Dakota Department of Public Safety require on the knowledge test?
Show answer
Answer C: 80 percent or higher
The Department of Public Safety states that applicants must pass the knowledge test with a score of 80 percent or higher, and the same standard applies to the driving test.
-
25. How often should the spare tire be checked?
Show answer
Answer C: Regularly, because a spare loses pressure while it sits unused
Spares lose air slowly over months, and a flat spare is useless at the moment you need it.