Connecticut DMV Permit Practice Test 40

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. What is the proper use of the horn?

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    Answer C: To give a brief warning when another road user may not have seen you

    The horn is a warning device meant to alert someone to your presence when a collision is possible, and using it in anger tends to escalate conflict rather than prevent crashes.

  2. 2. In slow summer traffic the temperature gauge climbs into the red. What should you do first?

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    Answer A: Turn off the air conditioner and turn on the heater to draw heat from the engine

    The heater core acts as an extra radiator, and shutting off the air conditioner reduces engine load. If the gauge keeps climbing, pull over and shut off the engine, and never open a hot radiator cap.

  3. 3. You are waiting inside the intersection to turn left when your light turns red. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Complete the turn as soon as the way is clear

    Once you have legally entered the intersection you should clear it as soon as the oncoming traffic has stopped, rather than sit in the path of cross traffic.

  4. 4. Freeway traffic ahead of you has come to a stop. Besides braking early, how can you warn the drivers behind you?

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    Answer B: By switching on the hazard lights for a few seconds

    A short burst of hazard lights is a recognized way to tell following traffic that the queue ahead has stopped, and it carries much further back than brake lights. Some states restrict hazard lights on a moving vehicle, so use them only for the moment you are slowing.

  5. 5. It is dark, it is raining and you are towing a trailer. How should you set your following gap?

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    Answer B: Add extra seconds for each condition, well beyond three

    Each factor that lengthens your stopping distance or shortens your view calls for another second or more, and they add up when several occur together.

  6. 6. 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?

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    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.

  7. 7. A driver's destination lies along the street to the right, and this sign stands at that corner. How should the driver reach it?

    A white square showing an arrow turning right inside a red circle with a red diagonal line through 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.

  8. 8. A hands free phone conversation is which kind of distraction?

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    Answer C: Cognitive, because your mind leaves the road

    Hands free equipment removes the manual and visual parts of a call but not the mental load, and it is the mental load that makes a driver miss hazards.

  9. 9. A driver extends the left arm out the window and bends it upward at the elbow. What does this signal mean?

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    Answer B: A right turn

    The left arm bent upward at the elbow is the standard hand signal for a right turn.

  10. 10. You have strapped luggage to the roof rack for a long trip. What should you expect?

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    Answer D: A higher center of gravity, so take the curves and lane changes gently

    Weight on the roof raises the center of gravity and makes the vehicle lean and respond more slowly to steering.

  11. 11. A yellow pennant-shaped sign is posted on the left side of a two-lane road facing you. What is it telling you?

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    Answer B: You are entering a no-passing zone and may not start a pass

    The pennant is placed on the left so that it faces the driver who might pull out, and it marks the beginning of a no-passing zone.

  12. 12. Why is passing another vehicle a bad idea in dense fog?

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    Answer C: You cannot see far enough ahead to know the passing lane is clear

    A pass needs a clear view of the road well beyond the vehicle you are overtaking, and fog takes exactly that away.

  13. 13. A small signal face beside a bikeway shows red, yellow and green lenses that each carry a bicycle symbol. Whom does it control?

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    Answer C: Bicyclists using that crossing or bikeway

    A bicycle signal face governs bicycle movements only, and people on foot at the same corner still follow the pedestrian signal.

  14. 14. You enter a corner faster than the turn can be taken. What is the most likely result?

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    Answer A: The vehicle runs wide and may cross into another lane

    Excess speed uses up the available grip, so the vehicle follows a wider arc than intended and drifts out of its lane.

  15. 15. You are on an entrance ramp joining a busy freeway. What should you do with your speed in the acceleration lane?

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    Answer D: Build it up to about the speed of the traffic you are joining

    Merging works when your speed matches the traffic stream, because a large speed difference forces the drivers already on the freeway to brake or swerve.

  16. 16. A Connecticut teen who trains at a commercial or secondary school driving program must hold the learner's permit for at least how long before the road test?

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    Answer C: 120 days

    Training through a commercial driving school or a secondary school program shortens the required permit period to 120 days.

  17. 17. What does a flashing yellow traffic light mean?

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    Answer B: Slow down and proceed with caution

    A flashing yellow lets you enter the intersection cautiously after yielding to pedestrians and to conflicting traffic that is already there.

  18. 18. You are traveling in the same direction as a funeral procession and want to get ahead of it. What should you not do?

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    Answer B: Driving in between the vehicles of the procession

    Most states prohibit driving into or through a funeral procession, and cutting into the line leaves the drivers behind with no lead vehicle to follow, so go around only where passing is permitted.

  19. 19. How long should a young child ride in a rear-facing child seat?

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    Answer D: Until the child outgrows the height or the weight limit of the seat

    Rear facing is the safest position and should be kept until the child reaches the top height or weight allowed by the seat.

  20. 20. On which approach is this sign normally installed?

    A yellow diamond showing a black T shape
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    Answer C: On the road that ends, far enough ahead for the driver to slow down

    The warning belongs on the approach that terminates, placed early enough that the driver can lose speed and choose a direction before reaching the junction.

  21. 21. Loose gravel has been swept into the middle of your lane on a downhill bend. Which controls are affected most?

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    Answer D: Steering and braking, since the loose stones roll under the tires

    Gravel rolls between rubber and pavement, so the tires can neither turn the vehicle nor slow it as they would on a clean surface.

  22. 22. After turning right you see a sign showing that your lane ends a short way ahead. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Signal and merge into the next lane while there is still room

    Merge early and smoothly while a gap is still available, rather than running out of pavement or forcing your way in at the last moment.

  23. 23. A driver who wants to reverse direction arrives at this sign. What is allowed?

    A white square showing a U shaped arrow inside a red circle with a red diagonal line through it
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    Answer C: Going on and reversing direction only where the maneuver is permitted

    The restriction removes that maneuver at that spot entirely, so the driver has to continue and turn the vehicle around at a place where it is not prohibited.

  24. 24. What must a driver be ready for beyond this sign?

    A yellow diamond showing two black lanes merging into one around a central island
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    Answer C: Vehicles approaching from the opposite direction in the next lane over

    The separation between the two directions runs out, so from that point oncoming vehicles share the same pavement and the driver has to keep right.

  25. 25. You stop at the curb on a busy street to let passengers out. What should you tell them?

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    Answer A: To get out on the curb side, away from traffic

    Passengers should always leave on the side away from moving traffic, which keeps both them and the door out of the travel lane.