New Jersey MVC Permit Practice Test 22
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
-
1. What should you do before you back out of your own driveway at home?
Show answer
Answer A: Walk around the vehicle and check behind it for children or objects
A small child, a bicycle or a toy can sit entirely inside the blind area behind a vehicle, and a walk-around is the only way to be sure it is clear.
-
2. Smoke from a nearby fire is drifting across the highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down, use low beams, and close the windows and vents
Smoke cuts visibility like fog and can make your eyes water. Low beams, a much lower speed and closed vents protect both your view and the air in the car.
-
3. How does heavy cargo on a roof rack change the way a vehicle handles?
Show answer
Answer D: It raises the center of gravity, so the vehicle tips more in turns and needs gentler steering
Weight carried high makes the vehicle lean more and roll over more easily, and extra weight lengthens stopping distance. Drive slower and steer smoothly with a loaded roof.
-
4. When is it acceptable to reach into the back seat for something while driving?
Show answer
Answer A: Never; stop somewhere safe instead
Twisting round takes your eyes off the road and your control of the wheel with it, so anything in the back seat waits until the car is stopped.
-
5. How should speed and following distance be adjusted beyond this sign?
Show answer
Answer D: Cut speed and leave a longer gap, because traffic can stop without warning
Traffic in these areas stops and starts unexpectedly and there is little room to steer around a problem, so extra space is what prevents a rear-end collision.
-
6. A deer crosses the road in front of you and disappears into the trees. What should you expect?
Show answer
Answer B: That other deer are likely to follow it across the very same stretch of road
Deer usually move in groups, so one crossing the road is a warning that more may follow.
-
7. Reaching for a drink in the cup holder is which kind of distraction?
Show answer
Answer A: Manual and visual at the same time
Your hand leaves the wheel and your eyes flick down to find the cup, so a task that feels trivial takes away two of the three things driving needs.
-
8. The traffic signal is green, but the crossing lights on the tracks inside the intersection begin to flash. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stop clear of the tracks and wait, even though the signal is green
Active crossing warning devices outrank the green indication, so you stop short of the rails and wait until the warning stops.
-
9. A city transit bus at a stop ahead of you switches on its left signal. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow and let the bus pull back into traffic
A bus needs a long gap to rejoin traffic, and yielding to a signaling transit bus keeps the whole line of traffic moving safely.
-
10. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?
Show answer
Answer C: A patch of pavement that simply looks wet or slightly glossy
Black ice is clear, so you see the dark road through it and read it as a wet patch. In freezing weather, treat any wet looking patch as ice.
-
11. Why is it often safer to back into a parking space than to back out of one?
Show answer
Answer D: Because you leave the space going forward, with a clear view
Backing into the space puts the difficult maneuver where you are stopped and looking around, and lets you drive out facing the traffic and pedestrians.
-
12. How does alcohol affect a driver's ability to handle several things at once?
Show answer
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.
-
13. Why should you not switch the engine off while the vehicle is still moving fast?
Show answer
Answer B: You lose power steering and the steering may lock
With the engine off the steering becomes very heavy and on many vehicles the column can lock, so shift to neutral first and only shut down once stopped.
-
14. 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.
-
15. In normal operation, which indication always comes between a green and a red on the same signal face?
Show answer
Answer C: A steady yellow
The yellow change interval must follow every green or green arrow, so a signal can never jump straight from green to red.
-
16. A driver leaves the vehicle at the curb where this sign is posted and walks away for two minutes. Is that allowed?
Show answer
Answer B: No, leaving the vehicle unattended there is prohibited whatever the length of the absence
Walking away leaves the vehicle parked, and the prohibition holds regardless of how long the driver is gone or whether the engine is left running.
-
17. How much of a traffic lane is a motorcycle entitled to use?
Show answer
Answer D: The full width of the lane
A motorcycle is entitled to the full lane, and riders move within it to stay visible and to avoid surface hazards, so drivers should never try to share a lane with one.
-
18. Traffic has built up behind you while you wait for a gap to turn left. How should that affect your decision?
Show answer
Answer C: It should not change it; wait for a gap that is genuinely safe
Pressure from behind does not make a small gap bigger, and rushing a left turn across traffic is a common cause of serious crashes.
-
19. In slow summer traffic the temperature gauge climbs into the red. What should you do first?
Show answer
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.
-
20. You are in the open lane where another lane is merging into yours. What is your part in the merge?
Show answer
Answer A: Keep a steady speed and leave a gap for one vehicle to come in
A merge works when each driver in the through lane lets one vehicle in, which keeps both lines moving instead of stopping them both.
-
21. Why is a U-turn on a one-way street a problem?
Show answer
Answer A: You would end up facing the wrong way against all the traffic
Every lane of a one-way street runs the same way, so turning around leaves you driving head-on against all of the traffic.
-
22. The school bus stop ahead sign is installed where
Show answer
Answer C: a school bus stop cannot be seen from far enough away by approaching drivers
This school warning sign is used in advance of a bus stop that lacks adequate sight distance and cannot be relocated, so drivers are warned before the stopped bus comes into view.
-
23. Your vehicle stalls on a railroad crossing and will not restart. What should you do first?
Show answer
Answer A: Get everyone out and away from the tracks immediately
Everyone must leave the vehicle and move well clear of the tracks at once, walking toward the train at an angle so that debris from an impact travels away from you.
-
24. Your right-turn lane shows a green arrow while the through lanes face a red ball. What does that mean?
Show answer
Answer C: Only the right turn is allowed, and it is protected while the arrow lasts
A green arrow gives a protected movement in that direction only; the red ball still stops the through traffic in the other lanes.
-
25. Heavy trucks have worn deep ruts into a highway lane and rain has filled them. What is the danger?
Show answer
Answer D: Water collects in them, so the tires can lose contact with the road
Ruts hold standing water long after the rest of the lane has drained, which makes them the most likely place to start hydroplaning.
-
26. A sign warns that your exit leaves from the left side of the freeway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Move into the left lane in good time before you reach the exit
Left-hand exits are unusual, which is exactly why they are signed well in advance and why the lane changes should be finished early.
-
27. You realize you have turned the wrong way onto a one-way street. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Pull to the right, stop, and back into the street you came from when clear
Get out of the traffic stream first: pull right and stop, then back out into the street you came from once you can see it is safe.
-
28. You are at a red light where right turns on red are allowed, you cannot see clearly, and the driver behind sounds the horn. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stay stopped until you can see that the turn is safe
Turning right on red is permitted, never required, so you wait until you can see that the way is clear no matter what the driver behind does.
-
29. The traffic around you is moving well above the limit on a wide highway. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
30. You are driving at night through heavy falling snow. Which headlight setting works better and why?
Show answer
Answer C: Low beams, because high beams bounce off the falling flakes back at you
Falling snow reflects light the way fog does, so high beams build a white wall of glare while low beams still give a usable view.
-
31. About how far ahead do low beam headlights let you see on a dark road?
Show answer
Answer B: About 250 feet
Low beams light roughly 250 feet of road, and high beams roughly 350 to 500 feet, which sets the limit on a safe night speed.
-
32. You have strapped luggage to the roof rack for a long trip. What should you expect?
Show answer
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.
-
33. The cars in front of and behind your parallel parked car have left you very little room. How do you get out?
Show answer
Answer D: Ease back and forth, turning the wheels each way, until you clear
Short movements with the wheels turned first one way and then the other walk the car out of a tight space without touching anything.
-
34. You park a manual transmission car facing uphill at a curb. What is the correct combination?
Show answer
Answer A: First gear, wheels turned away from the curb, parking brake set
Facing uphill the car would roll back, so first gear resists that, the wheels turned out let a tire catch the curb, and the parking brake holds it.
-
35. You signaled a lane change and the signal did not switch itself off afterwards. Why does that matter?
Show answer
Answer B: Other drivers may act on a turn you do not intend to make
A signal left on tells other drivers you are about to turn, and someone may pull out in front of you. Cancel it as soon as the maneuver is finished.
-
36. You are parking facing uphill on a street with a curb. What is the correct wheel position?
Show answer
Answer B: Turn the front wheels away from the curb and let the vehicle roll back until a tire touches it
Facing uphill the vehicle would roll backward, so the wheels point away from the curb and the tire is rested against it to act as a block.
-
37. 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.
-
38. Why should you dim the instrument panel and keep interior lights off when driving at night?
Show answer
Answer C: Bright light inside the vehicle reduces your ability to see the dark road ahead
Your eyes adapt to the brightest light they see. A bright cabin keeps them from adjusting to the darkness outside and creates reflections on the windshield.
-
39. 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.
-
40. On a school speed limit sign, the part carrying the word SCHOOL is shown
Show answer
Answer A: in black on a fluorescent yellow-green background
The SCHOOL portion of the school speed limit sign uses the same fluorescent yellow-green background as school warning signs, while the speed portion keeps the standard regulatory appearance.
-
41. From what age may a New Jersey resident who does not drive apply for a non-driver identification card?
Show answer
Answer A: 14 years old
New Jersey issues non-driver identification cards from age 14, which is also the age at which a person may join the Donate Life Registry and the Next-of-Kin Registry.
-
42. You are about to open your door after parking on the traffic side of the street. What should you do first?
Show answer
Answer C: Check the mirror and look back for approaching vehicles and bicyclists before opening the door
A door opened into traffic can strike a passing bicyclist or vehicle, so you check behind you first and keep the door open no longer than necessary.
-
43. Besides a chemical test, what else supports an impaired driving charge?
Show answer
Answer B: The officer's observations of the driving and the driver
Weaving, slow responses, speech and balance observed by the officer are evidence in their own right, which is why a driver can be charged on behavior alone.
-
44. An ambulance with lights and siren is coming toward you on an undivided two-lane road. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Pull to the right edge and stop until it passes
On an undivided road, drivers in both directions clear the way, pulling to the right edge and stopping.
-
45. At a four-way stop another driver pulls out ahead of you when it was clearly your turn. What is the correct response?
Show answer
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.
-
46. How fast may a New Jersey motorist drive when approaching or passing a horseback rider or a horse-drawn vehicle?
Show answer
Answer A: No faster than 25 mph
New Jersey requires motorists to reduce speed to 25 mph or less and proceed with caution near horses, and to stop entirely if the rider signals.
-
47. What is sensible when you drive in an unfamiliar town for the first time?
Show answer
Answer C: Drive a little slower and give yourself more time to read the signs
In unfamiliar surroundings you need longer to take in signs, junctions and markings, and lower speed buys that time.
-
48. You are backing out of a home driveway onto a street with a sidewalk. Who must you yield to?
Show answer
Answer D: All traffic on the street and everyone on the sidewalk
A driver entering the roadway from private property yields to everyone already using the sidewalk and the street.
-
49. An oncoming driver flashes their headlights while you are waiting to turn left. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Judge the situation yourself, since the flash may mean something else
A flash is not a legal signal and may mean many things, so the decision to turn stays yours and must be based on what you can see.
-
50. When should you adjust your seat, mirrors and steering wheel?
Show answer
Answer B: Before you start moving
Adjusting the driving position while moving takes your attention and often your hands away from driving. Make every adjustment while parked, every time.