South Dakota DPS Motorcycle Practice Test 21
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. How much following distance should you keep behind a motorcycle?
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Answer C: At least three to four seconds
A motorcycle can slow or stop very quickly and is easily upset by a surprise, so allow three to four seconds instead of the usual car gap.
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2. A driver holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?
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Answer B: The vehicle runs wide toward the outside and can cross into another lane or leave the pavement
Holding speed into a change of alignment asks the tires for more side grip than they can supply, so the vehicle runs wide and the driver is left with less room to correct.
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3. Two left-turn lanes are available and you must turn right again a short distance after the turn. Which of the two should you use?
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Answer D: The right one, so you finish nearer the right side of the new street
Each turn lane feeds the matching lane of the new street, so choosing the right-hand of the two left-turn lanes leaves you closer to the side you will need.
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4. How should a rider use a motorcycle fitted with antilock brakes in an emergency stop?
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Answer D: Apply firm, steady pressure to both brakes and keep it there
An antilock system releases and reapplies pressure far faster than a rider can, but only while the rider keeps holding the brakes on.
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5. What is the danger of releasing the brake too early when moving off uphill?
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Answer C: The motorcycle rolls backward before the clutch has taken hold
On a grade the brake has to stay on until the engine is actually pulling, otherwise the machine runs back into whatever is behind it.
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6. You are approaching the crest of a hill and cannot see the road beyond it. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down and keep well to the right
Beyond a blind crest there may be a stopped vehicle, a cyclist or an oncoming driver crossing the center line, so reduce speed and hold your own side.
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7. At a four-way stop another driver pulls out ahead of you when it was clearly your turn. What is the correct response?
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Answer B: Let that driver go through, then take your turn when the way is clear again
Right of way is something you give, never something you take, so yielding to a driver who takes it wrongly avoids a crash you would otherwise share.
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8. A driver passes this sign on an open road. Over what stretch does the figure it sets stay in force?
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Answer A: From the sign onward, in every lane, until another sign sets a different figure
The figure governs the road from the sign onward and binds every lane, and it stays in force until a later sign sets a different one.
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9. How should you use your mirrors while another vehicle overtakes you on a multilane road?
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Answer C: Follow it from the inside mirror to the side mirror and then to your own view
Handing the vehicle from one mirror to the next keeps it in sight through the blind spot instead of losing it there.
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10. The temperature gauge climbs toward the red while you sit in slow moving traffic. What should you do?
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Answer A: Get out of the traffic as soon as it is safe and let the engine cool
A stationary motorcycle gets almost no airflow through the engine or radiator, so the cure is to stop creeping along in traffic and let it cool.
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11. Where should the rider be looking during a U-turn?
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Answer B: All the way around toward the point where the turn will finish
A motorcycle follows the eyes, so turning the head to the exit of the turn keeps the machine coming round instead of drifting wide.
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12. What tells you that you are following the rider ahead of you too closely in a group?
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Answer C: You have stopped being able to see the road surface ahead of them
If the machine ahead blocks your view of the pavement it is about to cross, you will not see a hazard until you are already on it.
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13. A truck ahead of you is spreading salt or grit on the road. What should you do?
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Answer B: Drop back so the material does not reach your car
Spreaders throw material backward and sideways, and following close means stone chips and a screen full of spray, so leave extra distance.
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14. You are following another vehicle down a long, steep grade. What should you do about the gap?
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Answer D: Make it longer, because both of you need more room to stop
Everything takes longer to stop on a downgrade, including the vehicle ahead, so the gap that works on the flat is no longer enough.
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15. Your group arrives at a stop sign at a busy crossroad. How should each rider treat it?
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Answer C: Stop and pull out only when there is an adequate gap of your own
Following the machine ahead through a junction without looking is a common cause of group crashes, because the gap the leader used has already closed.
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16. With the chin strap fastened, how can you check that a helmet is the right size?
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Answer A: Try to roll it forward off your head, since a good fit will not come off
The roll off test shows whether the helmet will stay on in a crash. If it can be rolled off the front of your head with the strap done up, it is too big.
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17. You receive a phone call that you feel you must answer while driving. What is the safest way to take it?
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Answer D: Pull off the road, stop in a safe place and then answer
No call is worth a crash. Stopping in a safe location removes the distraction completely, while every other option divides your attention.
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18. You are traveling beside another vehicle on a multilane highway at nearly the same speed. Why is this a poor position?
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Answer B: You may be sitting in that driver's blind spot with nowhere to go if they move over
Driving alongside removes your side escape route and often puts you where the other driver cannot see you. Speed up or drop back to open space beside you.
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19. Why is it dangerous to make a left turn from the second lane from the center?
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Answer C: Because a driver in the lane beside you is turning into the same space
Drivers in the proper turn lane are entitled to that space, and turning across them puts two vehicles into one path through the intersection.
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20. The low sun is directly ahead and glare makes it hard to see. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down, use the sun visor or sunglasses, and increase following distance
Sun glare can hide pedestrians, brake lights and signals. Reducing speed and adding space gives you time to react to what you cannot yet see.
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21. In near freezing weather, which part of an otherwise clear road is most likely to still be icy?
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Answer D: A shaded dip under trees or beside a rock cut
Sun clears most of the road, but shaded hollows never warm up and can hold ice long after the rest of the pavement is dry.
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22. What do the numbers on a pedestrian countdown display show?
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Answer A: The seconds remaining to finish a crossing already under way
The countdown runs during the pedestrian change interval and shows how many seconds are left before the crossing time ends.
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23. Beyond the point this sign refers to, which movement becomes unlawful?
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Answer D: Driving on the far side of the separation, against the flow
Once the two directions are separated, each roadway carries one-way traffic, so crossing to the other side means driving into oncoming vehicles.
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24. What does a posted speed limit sign represent?
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Answer B: The maximum speed permitted under ideal conditions
A speed limit is an upper limit that assumes good weather, good visibility and light traffic, so the safe speed is often lower than the posted figure.
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25. Which feature suggests that a helmet is an uncertified novelty helmet?
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Answer D: A shell less than one inch thick with no firm foam liner
Novelty helmets are typically thin and very light because they lack the stiff energy absorbing liner that a certified helmet uses to manage an impact.