Iowa DOT Permit Practice Test 24
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
-
1. A vehicle in the lane beside you has stopped at a crosswalk. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stop as well, because that driver may be yielding to a pedestrian you cannot see
The stopped vehicle hides the crosswalk from you, and passing it is a leading cause of collisions with pedestrians who are already crossing.
-
2. You are stopped at a steady red arrow pointing right, and no sign or state rule permits turning on a red arrow. May you turn right?
Show answer
Answer A: No, you must wait until the red arrow goes out and a green signal appears
A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points to until a signal permitting it appears. Only a posted sign or a specific state rule allows a turn on a red arrow after a complete stop, so without one you must wait.
-
3. At an intersection where turning right on red is permitted and no sign prohibits it, what must you do before turning?
Show answer
Answer A: Come to a complete stop and yield to pedestrians and cross traffic
A right turn on red is allowed only after a full stop, and the turning driver must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to traffic already using the intersection.
-
4. Why is wearing headphones over both ears a problem while driving?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not hear horns, sirens or other warning sounds
Hearing is part of your awareness of traffic. Covering both ears blocks emergency sirens, horns and the sound of an approaching vehicle you cannot yet see.
-
5. If you must abandon a vehicle stuck on the tracks with a train coming, why do you move toward the train and away at an angle?
Show answer
Answer D: Because debris from the impact is thrown forward, away from the train
A train pushes wreckage down the track ahead of it, so walking toward the train and off to the side keeps you out of the debris path.
-
6. What happens to an Iowa motorized bicycle license when the holder is convicted of a moving traffic violation?
Show answer
Answer C: It is canceled, and the holder may reapply thirty days later
Iowa Code section 321.189 cancels a license valid only for a motorized bicycle upon a conviction for a moving traffic violation, and allows reapplication thirty days after the date of cancellation.
-
7. A preferential lane sign reads HOV 2+ and lists the hours it applies. During those hours, which vehicles may use the lane?
Show answer
Answer A: Vehicles carrying at least two people, counting the driver
The number on an HOV sign is the minimum number of occupants, driver included, that a vehicle must carry to use the lane while the restriction is in effect.
-
8. May you park across the entrance to a fire station?
Show answer
Answer D: No, an emergency exit must never be blocked
Emergency vehicles must be able to leave the moment a call comes in, so their entrances and exits are kept clear at all hours.
-
9. The tire pressure monitoring symbol lights up on your dashboard. What is the system telling you?
Show answer
Answer A: At least one tire is significantly underinflated
The system warns when a tire falls well below the recommended pressure. Check all four with a gauge and inflate to the placard figure while they are cold.
-
10. You are approaching a multilane roundabout. When should you choose your lane?
Show answer
Answer C: Before you enter, using the lane-choice sign on the approach
You select your lane on the approach the way you would at any multilane intersection, then stay in that lane all the way around, because changing lanes inside a roundabout creates side-impact conflicts.
-
11. Every signal head at an intersection is flashing red in all directions. How should you treat the intersection?
Show answer
Answer C: As an all-way stop, stopping and then going in turn
Red flashing in every direction means each approach must stop, so the intersection works exactly like an all-way stop.
-
12. A pedestrian is crossing at a corner where no crosswalk is painted on the pavement. What is your duty?
Show answer
Answer A: Yield, because a legal crosswalk exists at the corner even without paint
Every intersection has a crosswalk whether or not it is marked, and drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing there.
-
13. What is the safest way to handle an unrestrained pet or a child who needs attention while you are driving?
Show answer
Answer D: Secure pets before the trip and pull over safely before attending to a child
A loose animal or an urgent situation in the back seat can capture a driver's attention completely, so restrain pets beforehand and stop in a safe place when someone needs help.
-
14. A car is coming straight at you in your lane and there is no time for it to move back. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Brake, sound the horn and steer to the right, toward the shoulder or ditch
Steering right takes you away from the other vehicle even if its driver corrects course, and the shoulder or ditch is survivable.
-
15. After turning right you see a sign showing that your lane ends a short way ahead. What should you do?
Show answer
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.
-
16. It is cold and the road looks wet, but you notice the tires of vehicles ahead are throwing up no spray. What does this suggest?
Show answer
Answer B: The surface has frozen and is probably icy
Water throws spray, but ice does not. A shiny road with no spray in freezing temperatures is a strong sign of black ice, so slow down and avoid sudden inputs.
-
17. A parking space is marked with the international symbol of access. Who may use it?
Show answer
Answer A: Only a vehicle displaying the required placard or plate
Accessible spaces may be used only by a vehicle that displays a valid disability placard or plate, no matter how short the stop would be.
-
18. How much moving water is generally enough to float and carry away most passenger vehicles?
Show answer
Answer D: About one foot
About a foot of moving water will float most cars, and even less will stall an engine. That is why the rule is to turn around instead of judging the depth.
-
19. A traffic signal is dark and you reach the intersection at the same moment as a vehicle on your right. Who goes first?
Show answer
Answer A: The vehicle on your right, as at any all-way stop
A dark signal is treated as an all-way stop, and the usual tie-breaker then applies: the vehicle on the right goes first.
-
20. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
Show answer
Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
-
21. Why are drivers required to turn the front wheels when parking on a grade?
Show answer
Answer A: So that a vehicle that starts to roll leaves the traffic lanes instead of entering them
The wheel position is a last line of defense if the parking brake or transmission fails, directing the vehicle into the curb or off the roadway.
-
22. Why should your thumbs rest along the rim rather than hook inside the spokes?
Show answer
Answer D: A jolt can spin the wheel and injure hooked thumbs
A pothole or a dropped wheel can snap the wheel round violently, and thumbs hooked through the spokes are trapped when it happens.
-
23. How far may an Iowa special minor's restricted license holder drive unsupervised between the point of origin and the destination?
Show answer
Answer C: No more than 25 miles
Iowa Code section 321.194 limits unsupervised driving under a special minor's restricted license to a driving distance of no more than twenty-five miles between the point of origin and the destination.
-
24. Your light turns green and a driver on the cross street enters against a red. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Hold back and let that vehicle go through
Giving up a right of way you are entitled to is the only way to avoid a crash with a driver who has already failed to yield.
-
25. Why would this sign be installed on an approach?
Show answer
Answer B: Because the signal cannot be seen from far enough back for a driver to react in time
Advance notice of a signal is used where a crest, a curve, trees or a building keep the signal heads out of view until a driver is already too close to stop comfortably.