Colorado DMV Permit Practice Test 51
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. You are on a city street with two lanes in your direction, cars parked along the curb and driveways every few yards. Which lane is usually safer?
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Answer B: The lane farther from the curb, away from opening doors and vehicles pulling out
Most of the hazards on such a street come from the curb side, so the inside lane gives you more space and more time to react.
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2. What change in the road does this sign announce?
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Answer B: The two directions of travel are about to be separated, and the driver must keep to the right of the separation
Ahead the roadway splits into separate one-way roadways on either side of a median, so the driver stays to the right of the divider and no longer meets oncoming vehicles.
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3. Unless otherwise posted, what is the Colorado speed limit on urban interstates and highways?
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Answer D: 55 mph
Colorado sets 55 mph on urban interstates and highways, while designated rural interstates and highways run between 65 and 75 mph.
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4. In a work zone, the flagger's instructions conflict with the pavement markings still visible on the road. Which do you follow?
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Answer B: The flagger, because a person directing traffic outranks the markings
An authorized flagger controlling a temporary traffic control zone overrides signs, signals and markings, and drivers must obey the flagger's signals.
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5. A flashing red arrow is displayed for your turning lane. What does it require?
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Answer D: Stopping, then turning when the way is clear
A flashing red arrow is treated like a stop sign for that movement: come to a full stop, then turn when it is safe and no one has to be cut off.
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6. A crash happens directly in front of you and vehicles are blocking both lanes. What should you do?
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Answer B: Stop at a safe distance, put on the hazards and warn the traffic behind
The greatest danger after a crash is a second collision, so stop short of it and make sure the traffic behind you can see the problem.
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7. A driver ahead brakes for no reason you can see, again and again. What should you do?
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Answer B: Increase your following distance and be ready for yet another stop
Unexplained braking tells you the driver is unsure or distracted, so the safe answer is more room, not less.
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8. Two solid white lines separate your lane from the lane beside it. What do they mean?
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Answer B: Crossing from one lane to the other is prohibited
A solid double white line marks a boundary that road users may not cross, such as the entrance to a preferential lane.
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9. You turn left onto a road that has a center two-way left-turn lane. In which lane should you be traveling once the turn is finished?
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Answer D: The first through lane to the right of the center turn lane
The shared center lane is only for turning movements, so even where a state lets you pause in it to merge you must end up in the first ordinary travel lane beside it.
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10. Your vehicle has antilock brakes. What should you never do in an emergency stop?
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Answer A: Pump the pedal up and down
The system already releases and reapplies the brakes many times a second. Pumping the pedal interrupts it and makes the stop longer.
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11. You need to reverse direction on a busy street. Which choice is usually safest?
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Answer D: Driving around the block and using the intersections instead
Going around the block uses normal turns at controlled intersections instead of stopping across live traffic lanes.
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12. You are driving through a long curve on a road with two lanes in your direction. What is correct?
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Answer A: Stay within your own lane all the way through, adjusting speed before you enter
Wandering out of your lane in a curve puts you into the path of a vehicle you cannot see, and the slowing belongs before the curve rather than in it.
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13. You are in a passing zone that continues over the crest of a hill ahead. May you start a pass?
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Answer B: Only if you can finish it well before the crest
Beyond the crest you cannot see oncoming traffic, so any part of the pass that happens there is being made blind.
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14. 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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15. You have just merged onto a freeway from an entrance ramp. What should you do next?
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Answer C: Settle into the right lane and build up speed before changing lanes
Crossing lanes while you are still below the speed of the traffic forces other drivers to brake, so the speed comes first and the lane change second.
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16. What does a sign reading Slower Traffic Keep Right require?
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Answer C: Traffic moving slower than the general flow must use the right-hand lane
The sign applies to any vehicle traveling below the speed of the traffic around it, which must keep right so faster vehicles can use the lanes to the left.
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17. You are turning left from a divided highway through a median opening into a business on the other side. Who has the right of way?
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Answer C: The traffic on the roadway you are crossing
Turning through a median opening means crossing the opposite roadway, so you yield to all traffic on it before you go.
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18. A regulatory message is normally carried on a sign whose shape is
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Answer A: a rectangle standing taller than it is wide
Regulatory signs that state a law, such as speed limits and turn restrictions, use a vertical rectangle with a black legend on a white background.
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19. Is it acceptable to watch a video on a screen positioned where you can see it while driving?
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Answer B: No, the screen pulls your eyes and attention away from the road
Moving pictures are among the strongest visual distractions. Video screens must be out of the driver's view while the vehicle is moving.
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20. Why is dusk one of the harder times of day to drive?
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Answer B: The failing light blurs shapes into the background
In fading light there is not enough contrast to pick objects out, yet it is not dark enough for headlights to do the work, so pedestrians and cyclists disappear.
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21. 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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22. As a center two-way left-turn lane reaches an intersection, the markings change into a single left-turn lane. What does that mean for you?
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Answer D: From that point it serves one direction only, so use it just to turn left
Where the shared lane becomes a marked turn bay it belongs to one direction of travel, and only vehicles making that left turn may occupy it.
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23. A large panel mounted on a trailer at the roadside displays a flashing arrow pointing left. What does it tell you?
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Answer B: Move into the lane to your left
An arrow panel directs traffic out of a closed lane, so the arrow shows the direction you must move rather than the shape of the road ahead.
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24. When must a Colorado driver yield to a transit bus?
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Answer B: When it signals to enter a lane and its rear yield sign is lit
Colorado requires drivers to yield the right of way to a transit bus that is signaling to enter a traffic lane when the yield sign on the rear of the bus is illuminated.
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25. 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?
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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.