Missouri DOR Permit Practice Test 36
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. A police officer is directing traffic at an intersection and waves you through a red light. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Follow the officer, whose directions come before signs and signals
Directions given by a police officer or an authorized flagger override signs, signals and pavement markings.
-
2. 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?
Show answer
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.
-
3. Why should you not switch the engine off while the vehicle is still moving fast?
Show answer
Answer B: You lose power steering and the steering may lock
With the engine off the steering becomes very heavy and on many vehicles the column can lock, so shift to neutral first and only shut down once stopped.
-
4. You are stopped at a steady red arrow pointing right, and no sign or state rule permits turning on a red arrow. May you turn right?
Show answer
Answer A: No, you must wait until the red arrow goes out and a green signal appears
A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points to until a signal permitting it appears. Only a posted sign or a specific state rule allows a turn on a red arrow after a complete stop, so without one you must wait.
-
5. There is a stop sign but no stop line and no crosswalk. Where must you stop?
Show answer
Answer A: Before entering the intersection, where you can see cross traffic
With no line or crosswalk, stop before you enter the intersection at the point where you can see traffic on the cross street.
-
6. You are stopped in slow traffic and a motorcycle comes up between the lanes. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Hold your position and avoid any sudden lane change
The danger to a rider between lanes comes from a vehicle moving sideways without warning, so staying predictable is what protects them.
-
7. A child in the back seat unfastens a seat belt while you are on the freeway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Pull off safely and refasten the belt
Turning or reaching back takes your eyes and hands off a high speed task, so leave the freeway or use the shoulder only if there is no exit, then fix the belt.
-
8. 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.
-
9. What do flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean?
Show answer
Answer A: The bus is about to stop to load or unload, so prepare to stop
The amber lights are the warning phase that comes before the red lights and the stop arm, so drivers should slow down and get ready to stop.
-
10. What is meant by keeping a space cushion?
Show answer
Answer C: Keeping open space on all sides of your vehicle so you always have somewhere to go
Open space ahead, behind and to the sides gives you time to react and an escape path when a hazard appears, which is the core idea of defensive driving.
-
11. A bicyclist ahead of you extends the left arm out with the forearm bent upward. What does that signal mean?
Show answer
Answer A: The bicyclist intends to turn right
Bicyclists use the same hand signals as drivers: left arm straight out means left, left arm bent up means right, and left arm bent down means stop or slow.
-
12. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you proceed?
Show answer
Answer C: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop
When a signal shows no indication at all, drivers on every approach must stop and then take turns, exactly as at an all-way stop.
-
13. A school crossing guard has returned to the curb but two children are still walking across the road. When may you go?
Show answer
Answer C: Only after the children have reached the far sidewalk
The guard leaving the road does not end your duty; you stay stopped until every child is clear of the roadway.
-
14. At a four-way stop another driver pulls out ahead of you when it was clearly your turn. What is the correct response?
Show answer
Answer B: Let that driver go through, then take your turn when the way is clear again
Right of way is something you give, never something you take, so yielding to a driver who takes it wrongly avoids a crash you would otherwise share.
-
15. A row of solid white triangles points toward you across your lane. What does it mark?
Show answer
Answer A: The place to yield to traffic or people ahead
A yield line of triangles shows drivers exactly where to give way, and it is used at roundabouts and at midblock crosswalks.
-
16. You have turned onto a ramp at night and your headlights pick out large white arrows painted on the pavement pointing straight back at you. What do they mean?
Show answer
Answer C: You are traveling against the flow and must turn back
Wrong-way arrows are laid so that a driver going the correct way never sees them head on, so an arrow pointing at you means you are on the ramp backwards.
-
17. Once you are moving, which way of using a navigation device costs you the least attention?
Show answer
Answer B: Listening to the spoken directions
Voice guidance lets you keep your eyes on the road, while anything that needs the screen takes glances that add up over a trip.
-
18. You are driving through a neighborhood where several children are riding bicycles. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down and expect sudden, unpredictable moves
Young riders lack the judgment and the mirror habits of adults and may swerve or cross without looking, so lower speed is your only reliable margin.
-
19. Your vehicle is burning at the roadside. How far away should everyone keep?
Show answer
Answer D: At least a hundred feet away from the vehicle and upwind, out of the drifting smoke
Burning vehicles give off toxic smoke and parts such as tires and struts can burst, so keep a long distance and stay upwind.
-
20. You want to turn right at a steady red light and no sign prohibits the turn. What is required?
Show answer
Answer B: Come to a complete stop, then yield to traffic and pedestrians before turning
A right turn on a steady red is permitted only after a complete stop and only after yielding to cross traffic and to pedestrians, and a posted sign can prohibit it entirely.
-
21. A car is coming straight at you in your lane and there is no time for it to move back. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Brake, sound the horn and steer to the right, toward the shoulder or ditch
Steering right takes you away from the other vehicle even if its driver corrects course, and the shoulder or ditch is survivable.
-
22. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?
Show answer
Answer C: Well before the maneuver, so other drivers have time to react
A signal is a warning to others, so it has to be given far enough ahead of the maneuver that drivers and pedestrians can adjust.
-
23. The red oil pressure warning light comes on while you are driving. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Pull over safely as soon as possible and shut off the engine
Loss of oil pressure means the engine is no longer being lubricated and can be destroyed within minutes. Stop, shut down and check before restarting.
-
24. What is the licensing consequence of a second Minor in Possession conviction in Missouri?
Show answer
Answer B: A 90-day suspension
Missouri suspends for 30 days on a first Minor in Possession conviction, 90 days on a second, and revokes for one year on a third.
-
25. Why are tall vehicles such as SUVs and vans at extra risk in sudden steering maneuvers?
Show answer
Answer B: Their higher center of gravity makes them more likely to roll over
The higher a vehicle's mass sits, the more it leans in an abrupt turn, and a sharp swerve can tip it over. Smooth, gradual steering inputs are essential in tall vehicles.