Iowa DOT Permit Practice Test 33
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. When is switching traction control off sometimes useful?
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Answer A: When you need spinning wheels to rock out of deep snow or mud
Rocking a stuck vehicle free needs the wheel spin that the system normally prevents. Switch it back on as soon as you are moving again.
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2. Why do bridges and overpasses deserve extra caution when temperatures are near freezing?
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Answer A: They lose heat from above and below, so they ice over before the surrounding road
A bridge deck is exposed to cold air on both surfaces and has no ground beneath it to hold heat, so ice can form there while the connecting road is still only wet.
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3. A pedestrian with a white cane draws the cane back and steps away from the curb as you approach. What does that usually mean?
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Answer B: They are signaling you to go ahead and drive on
Pulling the cane in and stepping back from the curb is the customary way a blind pedestrian tells drivers to proceed.
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4. Someone stops drinking heavily at two in the morning and drives to work at eight. What is true?
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Answer A: They may still be impaired and over the limit
The body removes alcohol at a slow, fixed rate, so a heavy night can leave a driver impaired well into the next morning no matter how they feel.
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5. Your lane is ending ahead in slow, heavy traffic and drivers in the next lane are already bumper to bumper. What is the recommended way to merge?
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Answer C: Take turns, one vehicle from each lane at the merge point
Alternating one for one at the merge point keeps both lanes moving and is the safest way to combine slow traffic.
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6. You are towing a trailer and turning right at an intersection. What must you allow for?
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Answer D: The trailer cuts the corner, so swing wider than usual
A trailer follows a shorter path than the towing vehicle, so its wheels track inside your line and can mount the curb unless you take the turn wide.
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7. What is a good habit when you open the door on the traffic side of a parked car?
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Answer C: Use the hand farther from the door, which turns you to look back
Reaching across with the far hand rotates your body and brings the mirror and the road behind into view before the door moves.
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8. Your right wheels drop off the edge of the pavement onto a soft shoulder. What should you do?
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Answer C: Ease off the accelerator, hold the wheel straight and steer back gently once you have slowed
Yanking the wheel while the tires are pressed against a pavement lip can throw the vehicle across the road, so slow down first and then make a gentle correction.
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9. You see a shield for a three-digit Interstate whose first digit is even. What does that tell you about the route?
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Answer C: It loops around a city and rejoins its parent route
A three-digit Interstate beginning with an even digit is a loop or beltway that connects back to the main route at both ends, while an odd first digit marks a spur.
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10. What is the safest way to leave a perpendicular parking space in a busy lot?
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Answer B: Back out slowly, checking both ways and yielding
Backing out gives you the poorest view of any maneuver, so it must be done slowly, with checks in both directions and with yielding to whoever is already there.
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11. Besides the holding period and the logged hours, what driving record does Iowa require before issuing a full driver's license to a seventeen-year-old?
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Answer A: No accidents or violations for the twelve months immediately preceding the application
Iowa Code section 321.180B requires the applicant to have been accident and violation free continuously for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the application for a full driver's license.
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12. The center line beside your lane is a broken yellow line. What does it allow?
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Answer D: You may cross into the opposing lane to pass when it is safe and clear
A broken yellow center line marks a passing zone where traffic in that direction may cross into the opposing lane to pass when the way ahead is clear.
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13. You are driving on a two-lane road approaching the crest of a hill. Where should you position your vehicle?
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Answer D: Toward the right side of your lane, in case an oncoming vehicle is over the center line
You cannot see what is beyond a crest, and oncoming drivers sometimes drift across the center. Keeping right and slowing gives you a margin.
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14. The divided highway ends warning sign means that
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Answer D: the median separating the directions ends and the road returns to two-way operation
Beyond this sign opposing traffic is no longer separated by a median, so the driver must keep right and expect vehicles approaching in the adjacent lane.
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15. The driver ahead of you is straddling the lane line and is not signaling. How should you respond?
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Answer B: Stay back until you can see which lane that driver will take
A vehicle astride the line could move either way, so the only safe place is behind it where both possibilities are still covered.
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16. How does going a long time without sleep compare with drinking?
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Answer A: It can impair a driver in much the same way
Long periods awake produce slow reactions, poor judgment and lapses of attention that resemble the effects of alcohol, which is why fatigue counts as impairment.
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17. You are slowing to turn right at an intersection and a bicyclist is riding beside your right side in a bike lane. What should you do?
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Answer D: Let the bicyclist go through the intersection before you begin the turn
Turning across the path of a bicyclist who is going straight causes the classic right-hook crash. The rider continuing straight has the right-of-way over your turn.
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18. What should a driver expect a short distance beyond this sign?
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Answer C: Another road crossing the one being traveled
Traffic may enter or cross from either side at the intersection ahead, so the driver should ease off, cover the brake and check both approaches.
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19. Two left-turn lanes are available and you must turn right again a short distance after the turn. Which of the two should you use?
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Answer D: The right one, so you finish nearer the right side of the new street
Each turn lane feeds the matching lane of the new street, so choosing the right-hand of the two left-turn lanes leaves you closer to the side you will need.
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20. An exit ramp is separated from the highway by a triangle of pavement painted with white stripes. What may you do there?
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Answer C: Nothing; keep off it and choose either the lane or the ramp
The striped area between a ramp and the through lanes is not for driving, stopping or last-second changes of direction.
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21. What civil penalty does the Iowa DOT assess whenever it revokes a license under the operating while intoxicated chapter?
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Answer C: Two hundred dollars
Iowa Code section 321J.17 requires a civil penalty on every revocation under the chapter, half of which is deposited in the victim compensation fund and half in the general fund.
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22. When is a child ready to use a vehicle seat belt without a booster seat?
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Answer A: When the lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt crosses the chest
Belt fit, not age, decides readiness. Until the child is tall enough for the lap belt to sit on the thighs and the shoulder belt on the chest, a booster is needed.
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23. You have stopped on the shoulder of a highway and want to rejoin the traffic. What is the correct way?
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Answer D: Signal, build up speed along the shoulder, then merge into a gap
Entering a fast lane at a slow speed is what causes the conflict, so the shoulder is used to gain speed before the merge in the same way as an acceleration lane.
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24. You see brake lights several vehicles ahead of you in your lane. What is the best first step?
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Answer C: Ease off the gas and cover the brake pedal
Reacting to the trouble several vehicles ahead, rather than waiting for the car in front, cuts your reaction time and warns the driver behind you.
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25. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?
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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.