Colorado DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 51

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. You are passing a large truck on an open highway in a strong crosswind. What should you expect?

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    Answer A: A push toward the truck, then a push the other way as you clear it

    The truck shelters you as you go by and then releases you into the full gust, so the load on the steering changes twice during the pass.

  2. 2. Where should a passenger sit on the motorcycle?

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    Answer A: As far forward as possible without crowding the operator

    Sitting well forward keeps the passenger weight close to the center of the motorcycle, which helps it handle closer to normal.

  3. 3. A yellow diamond shows an arrow bent into a series of reversing turns. What does it warn about?

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    Answer A: Three or more changes of direction close together

    The winding road sign replaces a string of separate curve signs where several bends follow one another with only short straights between them.

  4. 4. How can the vehicle ahead of you help you read the road at night?

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    Answer A: Its headlights light the road further ahead than yours can reach

    The lights of the vehicle ahead reach beyond your own beam, so its brake lights and the way it moves warn you about holes, turns and hazards you cannot yet see.

  5. 5. No plaque stating days or hours accompanies this sign at the intersection. When does the restriction apply?

    A white square showing an arrow turning left inside a red circle with a red diagonal line through it
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    Answer D: At all times, since nothing limits it to particular periods

    A regulatory restriction runs continuously unless a supplemental plaque states the days or hours during which it applies.

  6. 6. About how far behind a tractor-trailer does the driver's rear blind spot reach?

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    Answer C: Around 30 feet

    The area behind a large truck is hidden for roughly 30 feet, so a driver tucked in there cannot be seen at all.

  7. 7. A load has been packed onto the seat behind you. What else must it not do?

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    Answer A: Restrict how you move on the seat or reach the controls

    Baggage that pins the rider in place or gets in the way of the handlebars and levers takes away the control the rider needs in an emergency.

  8. 8. When should a passenger get on the motorcycle?

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    Answer D: After the engine has been started and the operator is ready

    Mounting after the engine is running and the operator is settled keeps the motorcycle stable and spares the operator a long balancing act with the extra weight aboard.

  9. 9. A pedestrian is waiting to cross ahead of you and you have slowed down. What helps most?

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    Answer D: Making eye contact, so that you both know you have seen each other

    Eye contact confirms that you have seen each other; waving someone across can send them into the path of another vehicle.

  10. 10. 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.

  11. 11. What should the clutch be doing during a quick stop?

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    Answer C: Pulled in as the motorcycle slows, so the engine does not stall

    Disengaging the clutch as the machine slows keeps the engine running, so the rider can pull away again immediately if that becomes necessary.

  12. 12. A wide solid white line separates the through lanes from an exit lane. What does it tell drivers?

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    Answer B: The choice of lane should already have been made

    A channelizing line marks where the paths separate and crossing it is discouraged or prohibited, so the lane change has to happen upstream.

  13. 13. An emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder ahead with its lights flashing. What does the move over principle require?

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    Answer D: Change lanes away from it, or slow down if you cannot

    Move over laws ask you to give responders an empty lane, and where traffic or a two-lane road makes that impossible, you slow down instead.

  14. 14. You have stopped on the shoulder of a busy freeway with a flat tire that you cannot change safely. Where should you and your passengers wait?

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    Answer A: Well away from the traffic side, behind a barrier or up the bank if there is one

    People struck on the shoulder are a common cause of roadside deaths, so wait away from the traffic side and behind any barrier.

  15. 15. Colorado law requires drivers in a roundabout to yield the right of way to which vehicles?

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    Answer D: Trucks, buses, emergency vehicles and recreational vehicles

    Colorado requires drivers to yield to the driver of a truck, bus, emergency vehicle or recreational vehicle entering, exiting or driving in a roundabout.

  16. 16. You are driving at night on an unlit road using low beams. How should you choose your speed?

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    Answer C: So you could stop within the distance your headlights light up

    Driving faster than you can stop within the lit area is called overdriving your headlights. Anything beyond the beam is invisible until it is too late to react.

  17. 17. Why is reflective material more useful than bright color once it is dark?

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    Answer C: It throws headlight light back toward the driver, while color goes unseen

    Color needs daylight to be seen, while reflective material returns the beam of an approaching vehicle straight back to its driver.

  18. 18. What is the job of the hard outer shell of a motorcycle helmet?

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    Answer D: To spread impact force and to resist objects punching through

    The shell distributes a concentrated blow over a wide area and stops sharp objects from reaching the head, while the liner underneath absorbs the energy.

  19. 19. You are on a two-lane road where a broken yellow line runs on your side of the center. What does that pattern allow?

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    Answer C: Passing when the way ahead is clear and it is otherwise legal

    A broken yellow center line marks a stretch where passing is permitted for traffic on that side when it can be completed safely.

  20. 20. How does higher speed affect the outcome of a crash?

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    Answer A: It leaves less time to react and greatly increases the force of impact

    Speed shortens the time available to avoid a hazard and raises the energy released in an impact, so both the likelihood and the severity of a crash increase.

  21. 21. A bicyclist is riding around a single-lane roundabout in the middle of the lane as you wait to enter. What is your duty?

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    Answer C: Yield to the bicyclist just as you would to a car

    A bicyclist using the roundabout is traffic like any other vehicle and has the same claim to the circulating lane.

  22. 22. How do strong emotions affect driving?

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    Answer B: They narrow your attention and make risky decisions more likely

    Anger, worry and excitement all take attention away from the driving task and push drivers toward decisions they would not normally make.

  23. 23. Besides motorist services and tourist information, a blue sign background is also used for

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    Answer B: evacuation route signing

    Blue is assigned to road user services, tourist information and evacuation routes, so hurricane and other evacuation routes are signed in blue.

  24. 24. The signal ahead turns yellow while you are approaching it. What does the yellow light mean?

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    Answer C: The red is coming; stop if you can do so safely

    A steady yellow warns that the red is next. Stop if you can do so safely; enter the intersection only when stopping would be dangerous.

  25. 25. In a staggered formation, where does the second rider belong?

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    Answer C: In the right portion of the lane, about one second behind the leader

    The second rider uses the opposite side of the lane roughly one second behind the leader, which staggers the group without stretching it out or putting the two riders alongside each other.