South Dakota DPS Motorcycle Practice Test 56
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. What does a marked crosswalk tell a driver approaching a corner?
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Answer D: Where pedestrians are expected to cross and must be given way
Crosswalk markings show pedestrians where to cross and warn drivers to yield to anyone using the crossing.
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2. A driver sees this sign on a quiet road with no other traffic in either direction. What is the correct response?
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Answer C: Slow down, look and listen for a train, and be ready to stop
The sign gives advance notice of a highway-rail grade crossing, so the driver reduces speed, checks both directions along the tracks and keeps enough room to stop short of the rails.
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3. A sign with a black legend on a fluorescent pink background is used for
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Answer A: traffic incident management
Fluorescent pink is set aside for signing that manages traffic around a crash, a spill or another unplanned incident, so it stands apart from routine work zone orange.
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4. Apart from other vehicles, who else must a driver let go first at this sign?
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Answer A: Pedestrians and cyclists already in or entering the crossing
The duty to give way covers every road user who has the right of way at that point, including people walking or cycling across the driver's path.
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5. 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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6. How should a long trip be broken up to keep the driver alert?
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Answer D: Stop for a break every couple of hours and share out the driving
Regular breaks and a change of driver are the only reliable answers to fatigue; caffeine only postpones it.
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7. A police officer is directing traffic at an intersection and waves you through a red light. What should you do?
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Answer C: Follow the officer, whose directions come before signs and signals
Directions given by a police officer or an authorized flagger override signs, signals and pavement markings.
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8. On a long drive you notice repeated yawning, missed exits and drifting toward the lane line. What should you do?
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Answer C: Pull off at a safe place and sleep, or change drivers
Those are warning signs that sleepiness is already interfering with driving, and only rest restores alertness. Fresh air, music and caffeine do not reverse it.
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9. How many alcoholic drinks does it take to begin affecting driving ability?
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Answer C: Even one drink can affect it
A single drink can slow reactions and weaken judgment before you feel any change. Impairment starts long before a person feels drunk.
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10. You are in the right-hand lane of a multilane street and that lane becomes a right-turn-only lane ahead, but you want to go straight. What should you do?
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Answer B: Change into a through lane before you reach the markings for the turn lane
A lane-use arrow is a regulatory marking, so a driver who wants to continue straight has to leave that lane before it becomes a mandatory turn lane.
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11. Under South Dakota's mobile electronic device law, which use is still allowed while driving?
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Answer D: Operating the device in a voice-operated or hands-free mode
The statute exempts use in a voice-operated or hands-free mode as long as the driver does not use their hands except to activate or deactivate a feature.
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12. A driver's destination lies along the street to the right, and this sign stands at that corner. How should the driver reach it?
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Answer D: By going on and using a later intersection where turning is allowed
When a movement is barred at one corner the driver has to reroute, normally by continuing and coming back to the destination from a permitted approach.
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13. As you approach an intersection, what is a sound search pattern?
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Answer A: Look left, then ahead, then right, then left again before you enter
Traffic from the left reaches the rider first, so it is checked first and then rechecked, with the road ahead and the traffic from the right covered in between.
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14. The rider behind you is closing right up on your machine and crowding you. What is the best response?
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Answer D: Let them go past and take a position behind them instead
Speeding up to escape a rider who is following too closely usually brings them with you, while letting them past removes the pressure entirely.
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15. Heavy rain has left standing water on the road where this sign is posted. What does the law expect of the driver?
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Answer C: Driving below the posted figure, at a speed that suits the conditions
Drivers must adapt to conditions, so in rain, fog, snow or dense traffic the safe speed falls below the posted maximum and keeping to that maximum can itself be an offense.
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16. You are waiting to enter a two-lane roundabout and traffic is circulating in both lanes. What must you do?
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Answer A: Yield to traffic in both circulating lanes before you enter
Every entry to a roundabout is a yield point, and at a two-lane roundabout that means giving way to vehicles in either circulating lane.
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17. A large truck passes and hits you with a blast of wind. Which lane position leaves you the most room for error?
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Answer A: The center portion of the lane
A rider in the center portion of the lane has space on both sides to absorb the push of a wind blast without being shoved out of the lane.
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18. A driver is following you far too closely. What is the best response?
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Answer D: Increase your own following distance and let the driver pass when it is safe
More room ahead of you means you can slow gradually instead of braking hard, which reduces the chance of being struck from behind, and letting the driver by removes the problem entirely.
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19. Where is this sign normally installed?
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Answer A: At an island or other obstruction in the roadway, to show which side traffic must take
It is placed at a divider, island or fixed obstruction so that drivers approaching it know without hesitating which side to pass on.
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20. What is the correct way to ride across a stretch of slippery pavement?
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Answer C: Reduce speed before you reach it, avoid sudden moves, and use both brakes gently if you must brake
The speed must come off before the slippery area, and once the tires are on it every input, braking included, has to be smooth and gentle.
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21. Which feature matters most in clothing meant to keep a rider warm?
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Answer C: A windproof outer layer, since moving air strips body heat fast
Wind blowing through clothing carries away heat faster than anything else, so a windproof outer shell over insulating layers is what keeps a rider warm.
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22. You enter a work zone at night where one lane is closed and a flagger is on duty. What is the safest approach?
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Answer A: Slow early, merge before the closure and be ready to stop
Merging early at a reduced speed keeps the queue orderly and leaves you room to stop for equipment, workers or traffic that has halted ahead.
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23. A motorcycle ahead of you is weaving slightly as it crosses a stretch of grooved pavement. What should you do?
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Answer D: Give the rider extra room until the surface improves
Grooves, metal plates and loose material affect a motorcycle far more than a car, so back off and let the rider deal with the surface.
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24. How does alcohol affect a driver's ability to handle several things at once?
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Answer B: It cuts the ability to divide attention between tasks
Driving means watching the road, the mirrors and the instruments together, and alcohol narrows attention so that one of those tasks is dropped without the driver noticing.
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25. What does a yield sign require of a driver?
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Answer A: Slow down, and stop when necessary, so conflicting traffic can go first
A yield sign obliges the driver to reduce to a speed suited to conditions and to stop when needed so that conflicting traffic or pedestrians are not interfered with.