Iowa DOT Motorcycle Practice Test 44
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years
-
1. May you exceed the posted speed limit in order to complete a pass?
Show answer
Answer C: No, the posted limit applies while you are passing too
The limit does not lift for passing; if you cannot complete the pass within it, there is not enough room and you should stay back.
-
2. A train has just passed a crossing that carries more than one set of tracks. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Wait until the warning devices stop and you can see clearly along every track
A passing train can hide a second one coming on another track, so wait for the signals to clear and check each track before moving.
-
3. What additional penalty does Iowa allow when a listed moving violation causes another person's death?
Show answer
Answer A: A fine of one thousand dollars or a suspension of up to one hundred eighty days
Iowa Code section 321.482A allows a fine of one thousand dollars or a suspension of driving privileges for not more than one hundred eighty days, or both, when the violation causes death.
-
4. Besides alcohol, what else makes a driver guilty of operating while intoxicated under Iowa law?
Show answer
Answer A: Any amount of a controlled substance present in the blood or urine
Iowa Code section 321J.2 makes it an offense to operate a motor vehicle while any amount of a controlled substance is present in the person, as measured in the blood or urine.
-
5. The vehicle in front of you has stopped and is waiting to turn left, and there is a paved shoulder to the right. May you use it to get by?
Show answer
Answer D: No, in most states a pass may not be made by leaving the paved travel lanes
Passing on the right is normally lawful only inside the marked travel lanes, and most states prohibit driving onto the shoulder to get around a turning vehicle; the few states that allow it attach strict conditions.
-
6. You must park on soft ground or on asphalt softened by heat. What should you do about the sidestand?
Show answer
Answer A: Put a flat, firm object under the stand to spread the load
A sidestand concentrates the weight of the machine onto a very small area, and on soft ground it sinks in until the motorcycle falls over.
-
7. A sign at the intersection prohibits U-turns, but the opening looks wide and clear. What may you do?
Show answer
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.
-
8. Which of these does NOT affect how fast alcohol reaches the bloodstream?
Show answer
Answer A: How confident the drinker feels
Food, the strength of the drinks and the speed of drinking all change how fast alcohol is absorbed, but a drinker's confidence changes nothing at all.
-
9. A turn restriction sign at the corner shows a range of times below the symbol. What does that mean?
Show answer
Answer A: The turn is banned only during the hours shown on the sign
Times posted under a regulatory symbol set the period during which the restriction applies; outside those hours the movement is permitted.
-
10. How does weight transfer during braking change what each brake can do?
Show answer
Answer A: Weight moves forward, so the front tire grips harder and the rear grips less
Deceleration pitches the machine forward onto the front wheel, which is why the front brake supplies most of the stopping power and the rear locks easily.
-
11. Well before an intersection, an overhead sign shows a diagram of the lanes with an arrow above each one. What is its purpose?
Show answer
Answer C: To let drivers pick the correct lane in good time
Advance intersection lane control signs display the lane assignment far enough back that drivers can move over calmly instead of at the last moment.
-
12. A notification appears on your smart watch while you are driving. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Treat it as you would a phone and leave it
A watch screen demands the same eyes and the same attention as a phone, and a wrist is no safer a place to read a message than a dashboard.
-
13. What is the main danger of grabbing the front brake lever abruptly?
Show answer
Answer D: The front wheel can lock, and a locked wheel cannot steer or balance
The front brake must be squeezed progressively so that weight transfers onto the front tire before full braking force is asked of it.
-
14. As you approach an intersection, what is a sound search pattern?
Show answer
Answer A: Look left, then ahead, then right, then left again before you enter
Traffic from the left reaches the rider first, so it is checked first and then rechecked, with the road ahead and the traffic from the right covered in between.
-
15. A sign with a yellow background and a black legend generally conveys
Show answer
Answer B: a general warning
Yellow is the background color used for general warning signs, so a yellow sign tells the driver to expect something ahead rather than to obey a rule.
-
16. You are about to pass another vehicle at night with your high beams on. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Switch to low beams as you come up behind it and while you are alongside
High beams shining into the mirrors of the vehicle ahead blind the very driver whose reaction you depend on during the pass.
-
17. Your light turns green, but a vehicle is still in the middle of the intersection. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait until the intersection is clear before you move ahead
A green light means go only when the way is clear. Drivers already inside the intersection must be allowed to finish crossing.
-
18. While you swerve around an obstacle, what should the rest of your body be doing?
Show answer
Answer C: Staying upright with the knees against the tank while the motorcycle leans
A swerve happens through the handlebars, and a body that stays still and anchored to the tank lets the motorcycle move quickly beneath the rider.
-
19. Studies of damaged helmets show that the most frequently struck area is which part?
Show answer
Answer C: The chin and jaw area, which an open face helmet leaves uncovered
The chin and face area takes a large share of helmet impacts, which is the main safety argument for a full face helmet over an open face one.
-
20. How can you keep space at the sides of your vehicle in heavy traffic?
Show answer
Answer D: Drive in the gaps between the other vehicles rather than beside them
Travelling in the open spaces rather than alongside others keeps a way out open on at least one side.
-
21. You are riding along a street lined with parked cars. What is the safest approach?
Show answer
Answer D: Move away from the parked cars, slow down, and watch for doors and people
Doors open, drivers pull out and pedestrians step between vehicles, so extra space and a lower speed give the rider time to see and react.
-
22. The vehicle you have borrowed is larger and heavier than your own. How should you drive it?
Show answer
Answer B: Allow more room for stopping and for turns until you are used to it
Extra weight and length mean longer stopping distances and wider turns, so give yourself more room until you are used to it.
-
23. The engine begins to lose power, makes a loud noise and starts to seize. What should the rider do?
Show answer
Answer C: Pull in the clutch at once and coast off the road to a safe place
A seizing engine can lock the rear wheel, and pulling in the clutch separates it from the wheel so the motorcycle keeps rolling under control.
-
24. You reach an intersection showing a steady red light, and a stop line is painted across your lane. Where must you bring the vehicle to a complete stop?
Show answer
Answer C: Before the stop line
A steady red requires a complete stop before the marked stop line. Where there is no stop line you stop before the crosswalk, and where there is neither, before entering the intersection.
-
25. Why should a rider avoid riding through a puddle that spans the lane?
Show answer
Answer D: It can hide a deep hole or broken pavement under the surface
Standing water conceals what is underneath it, so treat a puddle as an unknown surface and go around it whenever you safely can.