South Dakota DPS Motorcycle Practice Test 37
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
-
1. Halfway through a curve you realize you are going too fast. What is the best response?
Show answer
Answer C: Ease off the gas gently and look where you want to go
Easing off transfers a little weight to the front tires without upsetting the balance, and looking through the curve keeps your steering smooth.
-
2. A yellow diamond shows an arrow bent into a series of reversing turns. What does it warn about?
Show answer
Answer A: Three or more changes of direction close together
The winding road sign replaces a string of separate curve signs where several bends follow one another with only short straights between them.
-
3. Which surfaces usually offer less grip than the pavement around them when wet?
Show answer
Answer B: Painted markings, metal plates and bridge decks
Paint, steel and bridge decks all shed grip when wet or cold, so brake before you reach them rather than on top of them.
-
4. A yellow diamond showing a truck is posted beside a quarry entrance. What is it warning about?
Show answer
Answer A: Trucks turning onto the highway from that entrance
A truck crossing or trucks entering sign is used where heavy vehicles pull onto the road from a site, and they accelerate slowly once they are on it.
-
5. You come upon a crash that has just happened and decide to help. Where should you stop your vehicle?
Show answer
Answer A: Well beyond the scene, completely off the road, with the hazard lights on
Stopping past the crash and off the pavement keeps you from becoming another victim and leaves the approach clear for emergency vehicles.
-
6. What are painted curb markings mainly used for?
Show answer
Answer D: Conveying parking and stopping regulations
Colored curbs tell drivers where waiting or parking is restricted, and because the exact color meanings are set locally a driver should also read the posted signs.
-
7. The light turns yellow when your front wheels are already past the stop line inside the intersection. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Keep going and clear the intersection without speeding up
Once you are legally in the intersection the safest and correct action is to continue through and clear it, without accelerating.
-
8. A person in a wheelchair is traveling in the roadway because the sidewalk is blocked by construction. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Pass slowly with plenty of room, or wait
A blocked sidewalk leaves the person no choice but the road, and a chair cannot move aside quickly, so pass wide and slow or wait for room.
-
9. You want to move into the right lane just as an entrance ramp joins the highway at that point. What is the better choice?
Show answer
Answer B: Wait until you are past the merge area so you do not squeeze the entering traffic
The merge area is where ramp traffic has to find a gap, so adding a lane change of your own into the same space creates a conflict.
-
10. The rear tire loses air suddenly while you are riding. Which symptom should you expect and how should you respond?
Show answer
Answer D: The rear sways or feels heavy, so ease off and slow with the front brake
A rear flat makes the back of the motorcycle wallow or sway, so hold your line, close the throttle gently and slow mainly with the brake on the wheel that still has air.
-
11. How should following distance change when you ride at night?
Show answer
Answer D: Open it up to three seconds or more
Less light means hazards appear later, so a rider should slow down and stretch the following distance to three seconds or more.
-
12. The red lights on a stopped school bus go out and the bus begins to move away. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Move off slowly and keep watching for children near the road
Children who have just left the bus may still be near the roadway or crossing behind it, so pull away gently and keep looking for them.
-
13. A yellow diamond reading DIP warns a driver about
Show answer
Answer A: a short, sharp depression in the road surface
A dip is an abrupt low point that can jolt a vehicle or scrape its underside, so speed should be reduced before reaching it.
-
14. Once the motorcycle is leaned over and settled in a curve, what should the throttle be doing?
Show answer
Answer C: Held steady or rolled on gently through the curve
A steady or slightly increasing throttle keeps the suspension settled and the weight balanced, while closing it mid-curve unloads the rear tire.
-
15. You pass into a work zone with a reduced speed limit but you see no workers. What speed applies?
Show answer
Answer D: The posted work zone limit, whether or not workers are present
A posted work zone speed limit is a regulatory limit in force at all times, and narrow lanes and uneven surfaces remain dangerous when nobody is working.
-
16. Someone stops drinking heavily at two in the morning and drives to work at eight. What is true?
Show answer
Answer A: They may still be impaired and over the limit
The body removes alcohol at a slow, fixed rate, so a heavy night can leave a driver impaired well into the next morning no matter how they feel.
-
17. You reach a red light with a sign reading NO TURN ON RED. What may you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait for the green; no turn is allowed while the light is red
That sign removes the usual permission to turn on red at the intersection, so you must wait for a green indication.
-
18. A wide crosswalk you are turning across has a refuge island in the middle. What should you assume about people standing on it?
Show answer
Answer D: They may step off the island into your path at any moment
An island is a pause in a crossing, not the end of one, so treat anyone on it as a pedestrian who is still crossing.
-
19. You are waiting to pull out of a driveway when a bicyclist comes along the bike lane in front of you. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait until the bicyclist has gone past
A driver leaving a driveway yields to everything already on the road, and a bike lane is part of the roadway.
-
20. An overhead lane-use control signal shows a steady red X above the lane you are traveling in. What does it require?
Show answer
Answer D: Leave that lane, because it is closed to you
A steady red X means road users are not permitted to use the lane beneath it, so you must move into a lane that is open.
-
21. You want to pass on a two-lane road where several people are walking on the narrow shoulder ahead. What should you consider?
Show answer
Answer D: There is no escape room if the pass goes wrong, so wait for a better place
A pass depends on having somewhere to go if it goes wrong, and a shoulder occupied by pedestrians removes that option for both vehicles.
-
22. Why are motorcycles so often missed by other drivers?
Show answer
Answer C: Their narrow shape is easily hidden in traffic
A motorcycle presents a narrow outline that disappears behind pillars, mirrors and other vehicles, and it is harder to judge its speed and distance.
-
23. In most states, how far before a turn must your signal already be on in city traffic?
Show answer
Answer B: At least 100 feet, roughly the length of six or seven cars
Most states require the signal for at least 100 feet before a turn in city driving, which gives drivers behind you time to react before you slow; several require more at higher speeds.
-
24. What is meant by a crowned road?
Show answer
Answer B: A road built higher along its center so that water drains toward the sides
The crown is the built-in slope from the middle of the road down toward each edge, and it exists so rain runs off instead of standing on the surface.
-
25. What is the purpose of the padding built into the shoulders, elbows and knees of riding gear?
Show answer
Answer C: It absorbs impact energy at the joints most likely to strike first
Armor at the joints spreads and absorbs the force of an impact in the places that usually hit the ground first in a fall.