Iowa DOT Permit Practice Test 17
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. School warning signs use which background and legend colors?
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Answer A: A black legend and border on a fluorescent yellow-green background
School warning signs carry a black legend and border on a fluorescent yellow-green background, a shade chosen so they stand out from ordinary yellow warning signs.
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2. A flagger turns the paddle to the orange face reading SLOW. What does that tell approaching drivers?
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Answer D: Reduce speed and continue through the work area with care
The SLOW face keeps traffic moving at a reduced speed while workers or equipment are close to the travel lanes.
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3. An upward-pointing pentagon with a yellow legend and border on a blue background is used as
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Answer D: a county route marker
The pentagon serves both the school warning series and county route markers, and the blue background with yellow legend identifies the county route version.
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4. Smoke from a nearby fire is drifting across the highway. What should you do?
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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.
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5. When should you enter a destination into a navigation device?
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Answer B: Before you start driving, or after parking in a safe place
Programming a route is a visual, manual and mental task at the same time, so it belongs to the moments before the vehicle moves rather than to any point in traffic.
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6. Which combination best reduces the chance of hydroplaning?
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Answer D: Good tread depth, correct tire pressure and lower speed in the rain
Tread channels water away, correct pressure keeps the tire's shape, and lower speed gives the tire time to push water aside. Hydroplaning can begin at surprisingly modest speeds.
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7. Why should you dim the instrument panel and keep interior lights off when driving at night?
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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.
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8. You make eye contact with a driver waiting to pull out of a side street. What should you assume?
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Answer D: The driver may still not have seen you, so stay ready to slow or stop
Drivers can look directly at you and still not register your vehicle, especially a small one. Eye contact helps, but never rely on it.
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9. For an alert driver, about how long is the reaction time once a hazard has been recognized?
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Answer A: About three quarters of a second
Reaction alone takes roughly three quarters of a second for an alert driver, and perception takes about as long again, so a second and a half of travel is added before the brakes bite.
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10. You want to turn right at a steady red light and no sign prohibits the turn. What is required?
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Answer B: Come to a complete stop, then yield to traffic and pedestrians before turning
A right turn on a steady red is permitted only after a complete stop and only after yielding to cross traffic and to pedestrians, and a posted sign can prohibit it entirely.
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11. Your car begins to lose power on a freeway and you must stop. Where should you try to bring it to a halt?
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Answer A: As far off the right side of the road as you can get, beyond the edge line
A disabled vehicle should be moved completely clear of the travel lanes, on the right, so that traffic can pass without changing course.
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12. You are about to pass a bicyclist on a narrow two-lane road. What is the correct way to do it?
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Answer A: Wait for a clear gap and move well left, giving the rider wide space
Pass a cyclist as you would a car: wait for clear road, change lane position to leave generous clearance, and return only when the rider is well behind you.
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13. You are turning left out of a driveway onto a busy two-way street. What must you do?
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Answer D: Wait for a gap in both directions before you start to move
The turn crosses one direction of traffic and joins the other, so you need a gap in both before leaving the driveway rather than stopping across a lane.
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14. A sign at the intersection prohibits U-turns, but the opening looks wide and clear. What may you do?
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Answer B: Obey the sign and turn around somewhere else
A prohibition applies whatever the traffic looks like at that moment, usually because of sight distance or conflicts you cannot see from the lane.
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15. For how long is a license withheld from a person declared an Iowa habitual offender under the serious offense definition?
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Answer C: Not less than two years nor more than six years
Iowa Code section 321.560 bars a license for not less than two years and not more than six years for a person declared an habitual offender under the serious offense definition.
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16. A bicyclist ahead of you extends the left arm out with the forearm bent upward. What does that signal mean?
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Answer A: The bicyclist intends to turn right
Bicyclists use the same hand signals as drivers: left arm straight out means left, left arm bent up means right, and left arm bent down means stop or slow.
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17. A bike lane on your right is marked with a dashed line for the last stretch before the corner. What does that dashed section allow you to do?
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Answer D: Merge into the bike lane after checking, and turn right from there
The dashed section is where drivers are meant to merge into the bike lane before turning, which puts cyclists behind the vehicle instead of beside it.
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18. You are driving on a rural road with no sidewalk. Where should you expect to meet pedestrians?
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Answer A: Walking toward you on your side of the road
Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians are taught to walk facing traffic, so they appear on your side of the road coming toward you.
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19. You are driving on a road covered with a layer of wet fallen leaves. What should you expect?
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Answer B: As little grip as on ice, plus hidden markings and hidden holes
Wet leaves are as slippery as ice and they hide the lane lines and any potholes underneath, so slow well before curves and stops.
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20. The road ahead is broken up with potholes and rough patches. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down, since a hole hit at speed can wreck a tire or wheel
A lower speed cuts the impact on tires, wheels and suspension and gives you time to choose a line through the rough surface.
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21. A ball rolls into the street from between parked cars ahead of you. What should you expect and do?
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Answer A: Expect a child to follow it and be ready to stop
A ball is usually followed by a child who is watching the ball and not the traffic. Slow down and be prepared to stop immediately.
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22. A shared-use path crosses the road ahead at a marked crossing and people are already crossing on it. What should you do?
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Answer C: Yield and let them finish crossing the road
People already crossing at a marked crossing have the right of way, and a path crossing is a crossing of the roadway like any other.
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23. You have stopped on an uphill grade close behind a large truck at a traffic signal. What is the risk?
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Answer B: The truck may roll back into you when it starts to move
Heavy vehicles can roll backward a short distance when the driver moves from the brake to the accelerator on a hill. Leave extra room when stopped behind a truck on a grade.
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24. The route marker used for an Interstate highway is a shield with
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Answer A: white numerals on a blue field under a red band carrying the word INTERSTATE
The Interstate route marker is a cutout shield with a white border, the word INTERSTATE in white on red across the top and the route number in white on blue.
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25. You are stopped at an intersection where bushes block your view of cross traffic. What should you do?
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Answer A: Edge forward slowly until you can see, then proceed when clear
Creeping forward a little at a time lets you gain a view without committing to the crossing. Never enter an intersection you cannot see into.