Missouri DOR Permit Practice Test 42

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age15 years

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

  1. 1. Is it a good idea to shift into neutral and coast down a long hill to save fuel?

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    Answer B: No, you lose engine braking and some control of the vehicle

    In neutral the engine cannot help slow the vehicle, so the brakes do all the work and can overheat. Stay in gear so the drivetrain helps hold your speed.

  2. 2. A driver disregards this sign and turns so as to travel against the direction it establishes. What is the immediate danger?

    A black rectangle with a white arrow and white lettering
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    Answer D: The driver will face traffic head on, because every lane comes the other way

    Turning against the established direction puts the vehicle nose to nose with all the traffic on that street, which is why the mistake has to be corrected at once.

  3. 3. How should the outside mirrors be aimed to reduce your blind spots?

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    Answer A: Outward, so each one covers the lane beside you rather than repeating the inside mirror

    Mirrors aimed too far inward show you the same road three times and leave a large gap beside the vehicle, so aiming them outward shrinks the blind spot.

  4. 4. You have signaled and pulled up level with the car in front of an empty curb space. What comes next?

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    Answer A: Reverse slowly while turning the wheel toward the curb

    From alongside the forward car you back in on a turn toward the curb, then straighten and swing the front in as the rear reaches the space.

  5. 5. What injury does a correctly set head restraint help prevent?

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    Answer A: A neck injury of the kind caused when your vehicle is struck from behind

    In a rear impact the body is pushed forward and the head restraint stops the head from whipping backward.

  6. 6. You are driving through a residential area where parked cars hide the side streets. What is the safest approach?

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    Answer C: Slow down and cover the brake as you pass each opening

    Where parked vehicles hide side streets and driveways, lower speed and a covered brake buy the time you lose in sight distance.

  7. 7. Many signs use a symbol instead of words. The main advantage is that a symbol

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    Answer C: can be read from farther away and by more people

    A symbol is recognized at greater distance than a line of text and does not depend on the reader knowing English.

  8. 8. Why is the road often most slippery during the first few minutes of rain after a long dry spell?

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    Answer C: Oil and dust on the surface mix with the water into a slick film

    Oil drippings and road dust build up on dry pavement, and the first light rain lifts them into a slippery film before heavier rain washes it away.

  9. 9. You are about to pull out of a driveway when someone on the sidewalk is walking toward it. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Wait, because traffic on the sidewalk has the right-of-way

    A vehicle entering the roadway from a driveway yields to people on the sidewalk as well as to traffic on the street.

  10. 10. What does a broken line indicate, whatever color it is painted?

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    Answer C: That crossing it is permitted

    A broken line always describes a permissive condition, and the color then tells the driver whether the traffic beyond it runs the same way or the opposite way.

  11. 11. Driving at night you notice that the raised markers along the line beside you are throwing back red light. What does that tell you?

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    Answer C: You are facing traffic and must get off that roadway

    Red retroreflection is shown only toward traffic that should not be there, so a red return means the vehicle is heading the wrong way.

  12. 12. In which situation do Missouri's intermediate license passenger limits not apply?

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    Answer C: When the driver is doing agricultural work-related activities

    Missouri exempts an intermediate license holder engaged in agricultural work-related activities from the limits on passengers under 19.

  13. 13. How should a turn at an intersection be taken on a wet road?

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    Answer C: Slow earlier than usual and steer smoothly through the corner

    Wet pavement leaves less grip, so the speed must come off before the turn and the steering must be gentle enough not to break traction.

  14. 14. Your right-turn lane shows a green arrow while the through lanes face a red ball. What does that mean?

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    Answer C: Only the right turn is allowed, and it is protected while the arrow lasts

    A green arrow gives a protected movement in that direction only; the red ball still stops the through traffic in the other lanes.

  15. 15. Where do you find how much weight your vehicle may carry?

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    Answer C: On the placard in the driver door opening

    The certification placard in the driver door opening gives the load limit and the recommended cold tire pressures for the vehicle as built.

  16. 16. How many points does Missouri assess for speeding under state law compared with speeding under a municipal ordinance?

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    Answer C: 3 points under state law and 2 under a municipal ordinance

    A Missouri speeding conviction under state law carries three points, while the same offense under a county or municipal ordinance carries two.

  17. 17. A driver stopped on suspicion of impaired driving refuses to take a chemical test. What happens?

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    Answer D: A license penalty follows for the refusal itself

    Under implied consent, holding a license means agreeing to testing, so a refusal brings its own suspension separately from anything the court decides.

  18. 18. While you are still on an entrance ramp, where should your attention be?

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    Answer D: Along the ramp ahead and back at the highway traffic in the mirrors and over your shoulder

    A merge needs both halves of the picture at once: the ramp curving ahead of you and the traffic you are about to join behind and to your left.

  19. 19. A yellow sign reading DEAD END is posted at the entrance to a street. What does it mean?

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    Answer D: The street ends and there is no way through

    A dead end street stops at its far end, so a driver who enters must come back out the same way.

  20. 20. A freeway sign reads BUSES ONLY ON SHOULDER 6 AM TO 9 AM. Who may drive on the shoulder then?

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    Answer A: Only the vehicles named on the sign, during the hours shown

    Shoulder running is granted by the sign to the class of vehicle and the hours the sign names, and it does not turn the shoulder into a general travel lane.

  21. 21. You are traveling beside a solid white lane line. What does it tell you?

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    Answer B: Crossing it is discouraged or prohibited, so stay in your lane

    A solid white line separates lanes going the same direction where lane changing is discouraged or prohibited, such as where a through lane meets a mandatory turn lane.

  22. 22. You come upon a crash that has just happened and decide to help. Where should you stop your vehicle?

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    Answer A: Well beyond the scene, completely off the road, with the hazard lights on

    Stopping past the crash and off the pavement keeps you from becoming another victim and leaves the approach clear for emergency vehicles.

  23. 23. Which common non-prescription medicine is most likely to make a driver drowsy?

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    Answer C: A cold or allergy remedy containing an antihistamine

    Antihistamines in cold and allergy remedies are a leading cause of drowsiness behind the wheel, which is why the label carries a warning.

  24. 24. Which vehicle is most affected by a strong side wind?

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    Answer D: A van or a car towing a tall trailer

    Wind pushes against the side area of a vehicle, so tall boxy shapes and trailers are moved far more than low heavy ones.

  25. 25. A driver extends the left arm out the window and bends it upward at the elbow. What does this signal mean?

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    Answer B: A right turn

    The left arm bent upward at the elbow is the standard hand signal for a right turn.