Iowa DOT Motorcycle Practice Test 17
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
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1. Which of these places should never be used to turn your vehicle around?
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Answer C: The driveway of a fire station or the roadway in front of it
Turning around in or in front of a fire station driveway can block emergency vehicles leaving, and most states prohibit it.
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2. The signal ahead has a sign prohibiting left turns, and your route needs a left. What should you do?
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Answer D: Go straight on and find a legal place to turn and come back
A turn prohibition applies to every driver, so you continue through and reach your route by another legal turn.
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3. A yellow diamond shows the two edges of the road pinching toward each other. What does it mean?
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Answer B: The pavement gets narrower but the lanes continue
The road narrows sign warns that the traveled way becomes tighter, leaving less room beside passing vehicles even though no lane is dropped.
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4. Where should a rider with a disabled motorcycle try to stop?
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Answer D: Well clear of the traffic lanes, off the shoulder where there is room
Getting completely away from moving traffic protects the stopped rider and anyone helping, and a shoulder alone is not a safe place to work on a machine.
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5. You realize your tires are running on ice. Which set of inputs is safest?
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Answer C: Gentle steering, no sudden braking, and no sudden acceleration
Whatever grip is left is used up at once by any sudden input, so every movement of wheel, brake and accelerator must be slow and small.
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6. You enter a work zone at night where one lane is closed and a flagger is on duty. What is the safest approach?
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Answer A: Slow early, merge before the closure and be ready to stop
Merging early at a reduced speed keeps the queue orderly and leaves you room to stop for equipment, workers or traffic that has halted ahead.
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7. You are in the acceleration lane and the gap you were aiming for is now beside you. What is the best adjustment?
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Answer A: Change your speed a little to line up with a gap, then merge smoothly
The acceleration lane is for matching both the speed and the position of a gap, and small speed adjustments are what line the two up.
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8. What must a driver be ready for beyond this sign?
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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.
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9. You notice that the driver ahead of you is holding a phone to the ear. What should you do?
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Answer C: Assume slower reactions and leave extra space, or else hold back
A driver on the phone reacts late and misses things, so the safe response is distance rather than a lesson.
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10. On a busy multilane highway, where is the best place to travel?
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Answer B: In a gap in the traffic, with space open on both sides
Travelling in a gap keeps escape routes open on both sides, while riding alongside other vehicles removes the room you would need to swerve.
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11. You are approaching a yield sign on a ramp that joins a busy street. What does the sign require?
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Answer A: Slow down, be ready to stop, and let the other traffic go first
A yield sign means you must slow, be prepared to stop and give way to traffic on the road you are entering; a full stop is required only when traffic makes it necessary.
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12. You are turning left at an intersection just beyond the crest of a hill. What is the added risk?
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Answer B: Oncoming vehicles appear with very little warning and close quickly
A crest hides approaching traffic until it is close, so the gap you thought was empty can fill in the time the turn takes.
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13. In which crash must the police always be notified?
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Answer D: Any crash in which somebody has been injured or killed, whatever the damage
Injury or death always makes a crash reportable, whatever the amount of vehicle damage or the opinions of the drivers.
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14. A person in a wheelchair is traveling in the roadway because the sidewalk is blocked by construction. What should you do?
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Answer B: Pass slowly with plenty of room, or wait
A blocked sidewalk leaves the person no choice but the road, and a chair cannot move aside quickly, so pass wide and slow or wait for room.
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15. A sign reads END SCHOOL ZONE. What does it tell a driver?
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Answer A: The regular limit for that road applies again
An end of restriction sign marks the downstream limit of a special zone, after which the ordinary speed limit for that road governs again.
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16. Besides fitting the machine, what else must a passenger be capable of?
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Answer B: Following the rider's instructions throughout the ride
Instructions such as staying still, holding on and not getting off until told are what keep the pair balanced, and a passenger who cannot follow them is unsafe.
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17. A yellow sign ahead of an underpass reads LOW CLEARANCE 12 FT 6 IN. What does the figure tell you?
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Answer B: The greatest height that can pass beneath the structure
The figure is the actual clearance available, so a vehicle taller than that must leave the road and take a marked alternative route.
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18. A pedestrian starts to cross against a Do Not Walk signal, right in front of you. What should you do?
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Answer D: Slow or stop and let the person reach safety
Even when a pedestrian is crossing unlawfully, a driver must take reasonable care to avoid hitting that person.
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19. Which of these requires the Iowa DOT to revoke a driver's license?
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Answer D: Convictions on two charges of reckless driving
Iowa Code section 321.209 lists conviction, or forfeiture of bail not vacated, upon two charges of reckless driving among the offenses requiring mandatory revocation.
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20. You are pulling out of a farm entrance onto a rural highway. What is your obligation?
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Answer C: Yield to every vehicle already on the highway before you enter the roadway
A driver entering a highway from a private road or driveway yields to every vehicle already on the highway.
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21. 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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22. A sign on a divided highway reads Keep Right Except to Pass. What does it require of you?
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Answer A: Use the left lane only to overtake, then return to a lane on the right
The left lane on such a highway is reserved for overtaking, so a driver who has finished a pass must move back to the right.
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23. You are approaching a driveway where a car waits to pull out and the driver is looking your way. What should you assume?
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Answer D: The driver may not have seen you, so cover the brakes and be ready to slow
Looking in your direction is not proof that a driver has registered a motorcycle, so cover the brakes and be ready to slow until the car is clearly staying put.
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24. You receive a phone call that you feel you must answer while driving. What is the safest way to take it?
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Answer D: Pull off the road, stop in a safe place and then answer
No call is worth a crash. Stopping in a safe location removes the distraction completely, while every other option divides your attention.
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25. A deer crosses the road ahead of you and disappears into the trees. What should you expect?
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Answer A: More animals may follow, since deer usually move in groups
Deer commonly travel in groups, so one animal crossing is a warning that others are close by. Slow down and stay ready to stop well past the point where it crossed.