South Dakota DPS Motorcycle Practice Test 12
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. Why is the road often most slippery during the first few minutes of rain after a long dry spell?
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Answer C: Oil and dust on the surface mix with the water into a slick film
Oil drippings and road dust build up on dry pavement, and the first light rain lifts them into a slippery film before heavier rain washes it away.
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2. You are stopped in a line of traffic on a steep uphill grade. What should you do about the gap to the vehicle ahead?
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Answer B: Leave more room than usual, because vehicles can roll back as they pull away
A vehicle ahead can roll back a foot or more as its driver releases the brake, and a motorcycle stopped tight behind it has nowhere to go.
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3. What actually lowers the amount of alcohol in a person's blood?
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Answer D: The passage of time
The body eliminates alcohol at its own steady rate, so only time reduces blood alcohol. Coffee or a cold shower may make a person feel more awake while still impaired.
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4. What is the safest way to deal with a vehicle sitting in your blind spot?
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Answer A: Slow a little or move ahead so that it is no longer beside you
You cannot control the other driver, but you can change your own speed so that the vehicle is no longer hidden beside you.
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5. Railroad tracks cross the road at a slight angle. What is normally the safest way to cross them?
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Answer B: Ride straight across while staying inside your own lane
Riding straight ahead within your lane is usually safe on tracks that cross the road, because swerving to square them up can carry you into another lane or into oncoming traffic.
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6. A vehicle in the lane beside you has stopped at a crosswalk. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stop as well, because that driver may be yielding to a pedestrian you cannot see
The stopped vehicle hides the crosswalk from you, and passing it is a leading cause of collisions with pedestrians who are already crossing.
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7. You want to turn left across the oncoming lane into a shopping center driveway. Who must you yield to?
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Answer B: Oncoming traffic and anyone using the sidewalk
A left turn into a driveway crosses both the oncoming lane and the sidewalk, so you give way to traffic and to pedestrians before completing it.
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8. You are traveling at 55 mph and see a vehicle ahead moving at about 15 mph. What is the hazard?
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Answer A: You reach it far sooner than you expect
At a 40 mph difference you cover the gap in a few seconds, which is why drivers strike slow vehicles they saw in plenty of time.
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9. Why is this restriction so common beside fire hydrants, crosswalks and intersection corners?
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Answer C: To keep sight lines open and leave access for emergency crews
A vehicle left in those places hides pedestrians from approaching drivers, blocks the path of turning vehicles and can keep firefighters from reaching a hydrant.
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10. You are approaching a yield sign and no other vehicle is anywhere in sight. What does the sign require?
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Answer A: Slow down and be ready to stop, but stop only if needed
A yield sign requires you to slow and give way, and to stop only when traffic or pedestrians make stopping necessary.
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11. What do flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean?
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Answer A: The bus is about to stop to load or unload, so prepare to stop
The amber lights are the warning phase that comes before the red lights and the stop arm, so drivers should slow down and get ready to stop.
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12. With the engine off, a rider turns the handlebars fully to the left and to the right. What is being checked?
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Answer A: That the steering moves freely and no cable is pinched or binding
Cables and wiring that catch at full lock can hold the throttle open or stiffen the steering exactly when the rider needs a tight turn.
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13. You have just driven through a deep puddle and your brakes feel weak. What should you do?
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Answer D: Drive slowly while lightly applying the brakes until they dry and work normally
Wet brakes grip poorly and may pull to one side. Gentle braking at low speed generates heat that dries the pads and discs quickly.
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14. How does a rider open the throttle to increase speed?
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Answer C: By rolling the right handgrip toward the rider
Rolling the right handgrip toward you opens the throttle, and rolling it away closes it so the engine slows.
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15. Why is it risky to brake hard and steer sharply at the same moment?
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Answer C: The tires have a limited amount of grip that braking and turning must share
Each tire can deliver only so much grip, and asking it to slow the vehicle and change direction at once can exceed that limit and start a skid.
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16. Why are ordinary denim jeans a poor choice for riding?
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Answer C: They wear through in a slide, giving little abrasion protection
Light denim abrades away in a fraction of a second on pavement, while leather or purpose made textile gear stays intact long enough to protect the skin underneath.
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17. What does a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 mean for the driver of a car?
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Answer B: It is the level almost every state treats as legally intoxicated
In almost every state a driver at 0.08 or above is legally intoxicated whatever the driver seems like, but impairment starts well before that level is reached.
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18. A traffic signal ahead is showing a flashing red light. What does it require?
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Answer C: Stop completely, then go when the way is clear, as at a stop sign
A flashing red light has the same meaning as a stop sign: stop completely, yield to traffic and pedestrians, then proceed when it is safe.
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19. The traffic around you is moving well above the limit on a wide highway. What should you do?
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Answer D: Keep to the limit and stay to the right, letting faster traffic pass
The limit is a legal maximum, and the safe way to differ from the traffic around you is to keep right and let it go by.
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20. How many points does a conviction for improper passing add to a South Dakota driving record?
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Answer C: Four points
Improper passing carries four points, the same value assigned to failure to yield the right-of-way and driving on the wrong side of the roadway.
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21. You are approaching a sharp curve. When should you reduce your speed?
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Answer D: Before you enter the curve, so you can accelerate gently through it
Braking hard inside a curve uses up the traction that is already being demanded for cornering, so the slowing must be finished before you enter.
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22. What does it mean to ride the clutch?
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Answer C: Holding the lever part way in while riding, which wears the clutch plates
Cruising with the clutch partly disengaged makes the plates slip against each other, which wears them out and removes engine braking.
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23. Some states allow a left turn against a red light. Which movement is it?
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Answer A: A left turn from a one-way street onto another one-way street
The movement generally allowed on red is one-way to one-way, because the turn does not cross any lane of oncoming traffic; a few states also extend it to a two-way street turning onto a one-way street.
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24. You are approaching a highway-rail grade crossing marked only with a crossbuck sign. What does that sign require?
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Answer A: Yield to any approaching train and cross only when the tracks are clear
The crossbuck is a regulatory yield sign, and a train can never stop or steer around a vehicle, so the driver must always give way.
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25. How should a driver respond to this sign?
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Answer C: Slow down before reaching the rough spot and cross it at a steady, low speed
Losing speed before a sharp rise in the pavement keeps the vehicle settled, while braking or accelerating on top of it unsettles the suspension and costs grip.