AK Permit Practice Test 15

All 20 questions in test 15

Every question below comes from the Alaska question bank on this page. Open a question to see the correct answer and the explanation. Nothing here is hidden behind a signup.

1. 1. You prepare to back out of an Alaska parking place into traffic moving past the lot exit. What must you do before moving?

   1. Honk once and back out quickly before the traffic stream closes
   2. Back halfway out so approaching drivers must slow for you
   3. Look, signal, and yield the right of way before moving out
   4. Rely on mirrors alone because turning in the seat takes time
   Show answer

   Look, signal, and yield the right of way before moving out. Leaving a parking place is entering traffic, not claiming it. Looking carefully, signaling the intention, and yielding the right of way to vehicles and people already moving are all required before the first roll. Honking, nosing halfway out, or trusting mirrors alone shifts your duty onto drivers who cannot guess your timing. Wait for a genuine gap, then move out smoothly at a pace that rejoins the stream without forcing anyone to brake.

2. 2. At 55 mph in Alaska, how far does a car need to stop compared with a large truck?

   1. Both need about 200 feet at that speed on dry pavement
   2. A truck needs about 140 feet and a car 400 feet
   3. Each needs the same distance once both are traveling at 55 mph
   4. Cars need 130 to 140 feet; trucks need about 400 feet
   Show answer

   Cars need 130 to 140 feet; trucks need about 400 feet. Mass and brake systems give a loaded truck nearly three times the stopping run of a car at the same highway speed, and the space a truck driver leaves ahead is therefore working room rather than an invitation. Cutting into that space and braking halves the margin the truck needs and places your vehicle inside its unavoidable path. Equal figures deny the physics, and reversing the pairing misreads which vehicle labors to stop. Respect the long gap ahead of trucks as their braking runway and never spend it for them.

   Study this in the handbook: Following distance and large trucks

3. 3. You want a reliable way to judge whether your following gap is large enough behind a vehicle in Alaska. What method does the manual recommend?

   1. Count the car lengths between bumpers and keep at least one per ten miles per hour
   2. Match the gap the driver beside you keeps on the multi lane road
   3. Use the four second interval method to measure your following distance
   4. Watch the rear bumper ahead and brake only when it grows larger quickly
   Show answer

   Use the four second interval method to measure your following distance. Time gives a following gap that grows automatically with speed, which is why the four second interval works at any pace. Pick a fixed object, count as the vehicle ahead passes it, and require the full count before your vehicle arrives. Car length arithmetic is easy to misjudge, a neighbor interval belongs to another vehicle, and braking by bumper size starts after the danger develops. Recheck the count whenever speed, weather, or traffic density changes.

   Study this in the handbook: Following distance and large trucks

4. 4. What colors does Alaska use for construction and maintenance signs in work areas?

   1. Black lettering on a yellow diamond background
   2. White lettering on a green background
   3. White lettering on a blue background
   4. Black lettering on an orange background
   Show answer

   Black lettering on an orange background. Road work and temporary conditions use black lettering over orange. That pairing separates a work message from a general warning, from route guidance, and from service information. Yellow with black lettering covers danger warnings outside the work color scheme, green with white lettering guides travel, and blue with white lettering lists services. An orange background means the road pattern itself may change, so slow early and watch for workers, equipment, and lane shifts ahead.

   Study this in the handbook: Road signs by color and shape

5. 5. While backing in Alaska, which way should you move the steering wheel?

   1. Opposite to the direction where you want the rear of the vehicle to go
   2. In the direction you want the rear of the vehicle to go
   3. Always to the left side regardless of where the rear must travel to
   4. Only after the vehicle has already rolled backward freely for a while
   Show answer

   In the direction you want the rear of the vehicle to go. Backing confuses new drivers because the front swings opposite the rear, and the reliable rule ties the wheel directly to the end you are guiding. Turning the wheel toward the desired rear direction sends the back of the vehicle that way while you watch through the rear window. Opposite steering, fixed side habits, and rolling before steering each surrender that simple link. Set the wheel thoughtfully at creep speed, glance to all sides between corrections, and stop whenever the picture behind you becomes uncertain.

6. 6. In Alaska, why must drivers use special care near children riding bicycles?

   1. Children under nine always ride with an adult beside them
   2. Children under nine ride only on sidewalks and paths closed to cars
   3. Young riders lack the development for safe interaction in complex traffic
   4. Child riders move faster than adult riders in traffic
   Show answer

   Young riders lack the development for safe interaction in complex traffic. Young children have not yet built the judgment, balance of attention, and traffic reading that a mixed roadway demands, and a child under nine may wobble, stop, or dart without the signals an adult rider gives. No rule ensures an adult escort beside each child, and children plainly do ride where drivers travel. Their lower speed does not calm the risk because direction changes come without warning. Near any child rider, slow early, widen your passing space, and expect a sudden move toward your lane.

   Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists

7. 7. You leave an Alaska expressway and enter the exit ramp that curves toward a slower street. Where should your slowing happen?

   1. On the freeway itself, well before you reach the exit ramp
   2. Slow down inside the deceleration lane once you enter it
   3. Only after the ramp curve, once the slower street appears
   4. Gradually across both the freeway and the ramp without a set place
   Show answer

   Slow down inside the deceleration lane once you enter it. Exit ramps provide a deceleration lane precisely so freeway traffic keeps its pace while exiting drivers shed theirs. Move into that lane first, then slow there for the ramp and the street beyond. Braking early on the freeway endangers followers at speed, delaying past the curve overshoots it, and vague gradual slowing confuses everyone. Signal the exit, settle into the deceleration lane, and let your speed fall where the design expects it.

   Study this in the handbook: School buses, passing and railroad crossings

8. 8. At an Alaska crosswalk, the flashing hand appears with a countdown timer running. When may a pedestrian leave the curb?

   1. At any time while any numbers still show on the countdown display above the street
   2. Only after the countdown timer reaches zero and the display goes completely dark
   3. Only if that pedestrian can finish crossing before the timer reaches zero
   4. Without regard to the countdown timer whenever motor traffic happens to be stopped
   Show answer

   Only if that pedestrian can finish crossing before the timer reaches zero. The countdown tells a pedestrian how much time remains to get across. Leaving the curb is permitted only when the whole crossing can be finished before the numbers run out. Starting merely because some numbers still show can strand a slower walker in front of turning traffic. Waiting until zero reverses the meaning, since zero ends the flashing interval, and stopped traffic does not extend the time granted. Judge your own crossing speed honestly before you step off the curb.

   Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals and lane control signals

9. 9. Your headlights catch a glowing triangular outline on a slow farm vehicle ahead at night in Alaska. What does that outline tell you?

   
   1. A slow moving vehicle is ahead, shown by a hollow red triangle
   2. A wide load escort vehicle is parked on the shoulder ahead
   3. A railroad crossing beacon is flashing beside the roadway
   4. A detour route turns off the highway at the next opening
   Show answer

   A slow moving vehicle is ahead, shown by a hollow red triangle. At night the emblem border does the work: reflective red forms a hollow triangle that reads as slow traffic long before the vehicle shape is clear. That early recognition matters because closing speed builds fast against a tractor or implement moving far below highway pace. Escort signing, track beacons, and detour arrows look nothing like the triangle. Ease off early, judge the slow pace honestly, and pass only where sight distance and lane room are generous.

10. 10. In Alaska, a television style screen plays video inside a moving vehicle within driver view. What does the law say?

    1. Screens are legal when mounted to the dashboard
    2. Screens are legal for passengers in front seats
    3. Only screens larger than a phone are covered
    4. Driving with a visual screen device operating is illegal
    Show answer

    Driving with a visual screen device operating is illegal. A moving picture inside the cabin pulls eyes with a strength static distractions cannot match, so the distraction law bars operating a visual screen while driving rather than regulating its size or mount. Dashboard fixtures, front passenger viewing, and phone sized exemptions each preserve the moving image that captures driver glances at speed. Keep screens dark while the vehicle moves, let passengers use devices outside the driver field of view, and treat any video craving as a parked activity the trip can pause for safely.

11. 11. In Alaska, you drive through deep water that soaks your brakes. What should you do right after?

    1. Drive at highway speed to dry brakes with wind
    2. Ignore braking change because water cannot affect brakes
    3. Test the brakes lightly after leaving the deep water
    4. Pump the horn to warn others your brakes are wet
    Show answer

    Test the brakes lightly after leaving the deep water. Water between pads, drums, and rotors can erase friction for the first applications after a flood crossing, and a light test at low speed reveals whether the vehicle pulls aside or fails to hold before traffic demands a real stop. Highway drying speeds gamble that first real stop, ignoring the change denies the physics, and horn use addresses the wrong vehicle problem. Test gently where runoff room exists, then dry the brakes by slow driving in low gear with light applications until response feels even and firm again.

    Study this in the handbook: Vehicle emergencies, skids and stalls on the tracks

12. 12. In Alaska, an officer stops you while you have a wallet and glove box to search. When should you retrieve documents?

    1. Wait for the officer to ask before retrieving documents from wallet or compartments
    2. Retrieve them quickly before the officer reaches you
    3. Ask a passenger to search compartments during the stop approach
    4. Empty every compartment onto the seat as the officer nears
    Show answer

    Wait for the officer to ask before retrieving documents from wallet or compartments. An officer watches hands first, because hands determine whether a stop stays routine, and rummaging through wallets, purses, consoles, and glove boxes before being asked reads as concealment or weapon seeking from outside the glass. Waiting for the request keeps every movement explained and expected. Announce where documents live before you reach for them, move slowly, and mention any disability that limits compliance so the officer can adapt instructions. The pause costs seconds and buys the calm that protects everyone at the roadside.

    Study this in the handbook: Emergency vehicles and the Move Over law

13. 13. In Alaska, you drink coffee, eat food, and take a cold shower after drinking. What has sobered you?

    1. The coffee has burned the alcohol from your blood
    2. Only time, as the liver burns alcohol and kidneys and lungs eliminate it
    3. The cold shower has shocked alcohol out of your body
    4. The food has absorbed all alcohol before driving
    Show answer

    Only time, as the liver burns alcohol and kidneys and lungs eliminate it. Wakefulness masquerades as sobriety after coffee, food, fresh air, and cold showers, yet blood alcohol falls only as the liver burns it at its fixed pace and the kidneys and lungs shed their share. An alert feeling therefore licenses nothing, and driving on it places an awake impaired driver at the wheel. Food before drinking can slow the rise, never reverse it. Count hours from the last drink against drinks consumed, and when the count leaves any doubt, extend the wait rather than testing it on the road.

    Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, implied consent and under 21 rules

14. 14. In Alaska, why can the same drinks affect you differently on different days?

    1. Food in the stomach, physical and emotional condition, and other drugs change the effect
    2. Your personal tolerance becomes completely identical after the very first drink
    3. Only the brand name of the beverage changes how the effect varies daily
    4. The weather outside the vehicle decides how alcohol will affect your body
    Show answer

    Food in the stomach, physical and emotional condition, and other drugs change the effect. Alcohol meets a different body every day: an empty or full stomach changes absorption, fatigue and emotion change baseline alertness, and medicines or other drugs stack their own effects on top. Identical drink counts therefore produce unequal impairment, and yesterday tolerance offers no measurement for tonight. Brand and weather do not govern that variability. Treat any day involving drinking as automatically unfit for driving, because the honest test of impairment, your own judgment, is among the first abilities the alcohol compromises.

    Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, implied consent and under 21 rules

15. 15. Based on miles driven in Alaska, how does the fatal crash rate at night compare with daytime?

    1. Lower during nighttime hours because roads carry fewer vehicles at those times
    2. Exactly equal to the daytime rate once vehicle headlights are switched on
    3. Greater only on unlit rural roadways during the darkest winter months
    4. Greater at night than during daytime driving
    Show answer

    Greater at night than during daytime driving. Darkness compresses every driving judgment into the short lit distance ahead, so hazards appear later, smaller, and closer than in daylight even on familiar roads. That compression raises the fatal rate per mile above daytime despite thinner traffic. Headlights help without restoring daylight, and the penalty applies on lit streets as well as dark highways. Slow down at night, lengthen following intervals, keep lamps and glass clean, and never let a familiar route convince you that you can see what darkness has hidden.

    Study this in the handbook: Turn signals and pavement markings

16. 16. During an Alaska skid, what does overcorrecting the steering accomplish?

    1. It only changes the direction of the skid
    2. It straightens the vehicle at once every time
    3. It cancels the skid when done quickly enough
    4. It works when paired with sudden hard braking
    Show answer

    It only changes the direction of the skid. A skidding vehicle answers large steering with a swing the other way, and each panicked correction can grow the oscillation until the vehicle rotates or leaves the road. Overcorrection therefore trades one skid direction for another instead of restoring grip. Hard braking locks wheels that need to roll to steer, and speed of correction matters less than its size. Turn toward the skid in measured amounts, keep braking gentle or absent until grip returns, and let small patient inputs walk the vehicle back under control.

    Study this in the handbook: Vehicle emergencies, skids and stalls on the tracks

17. 17. In Alaska, you complete a left turn into the proper lane. What path error must you avoid at the corner?

    1. Turning into the proper lane after yielding to traffic and pedestrians
    2. Signaling through the final part of the turn
    3. Checking the turn path for pedestrians
    4. Looping or cutting the corner during the turn
    Show answer

    Looping or cutting the corner during the turn. Cutting a corner steals space from the lane and crosswalk you have not yet cleared, while looping wide sweeps into lanes meant for other traffic. Either shortcut shortens your view of pedestrians and places the vehicle where others do not expect it. Turning into the proper lane, signaling to the end, and scanning the path are parts of the clean maneuver rather than errors. Aim the vehicle around the corner points, keep the arc honest, and finish centered in the lane that belongs to your new direction.

18. 18. In Alaska, you realize in an intersection approach that you are in the wrong lane to turn. What should you do?

    1. Turn anyway from that lane while slowing the traffic that is following behind you
    2. Continue around the block instead of turning from the wrong lane
    3. Stop in the travel lane and wait for a chance to cut across the other lanes
    4. Back up along the approach until you can reach the proper lane for turning
    Show answer

    Continue around the block instead of turning from the wrong lane. A late lane mistake calls for a patient correction, not a sudden cut across traffic. Continuing around the block keeps traffic flowing and avoids crossing lanes where other drivers do not expect you. Turning anyway while holding others up, stopping inside the approach to wait for a gap across lanes, and backing toward the turn lane each create collision risk. Follow your lane movement through, circle the block calmly, and approach again in the proper lane with an early signal.

19. 19. In Alaska, the shared center lane is reserved for left turns. Which uses of it are barred?

    1. Using it as a driving, accelerating, or passing lane
    2. Using it to wait briefly before a left turn
    3. Using it to start a left turn from a driveway
    4. Using it only while signaling for a left turn
    Show answer

    Using it as a driving, accelerating, or passing lane. A shared center lane exists so left turning drivers can leave through traffic and wait or start a turn without blocking others. Traveling along it, gathering speed in it, or passing in it converts a turning refuge into a traffic lane and invites head on meetings with opposing turners. Brief waiting tied to a left turn, entering from a driveway to turn left, and signaling for that turn fit its purpose. Enter late, stay briefly, and complete the turn as soon as a safe gap opens.

    Study this in the handbook: Turn signals and pavement markings

20. 20. You are yielding to a person crossing during your turn in Alaska and want to confirm they see you waiting. What helps?

    1. Creep forward slowly into the crossing to get their attention
    2. Meet the pedestrian eyes while you hold your yield
    3. Flash your headlights repeatedly until they wave you on
    4. Roll down a window and call out that they may cross
    Show answer

    Meet the pedestrian eyes while you hold your yield. A turning driver and a walker often misread each other, one expecting a stop and the other expecting a hurried crossing. Eye contact confirms the walker knows you are yielding and will stay stopped. Creeping forward, flashing lights, or calling out permission can each be misunderstood and may push the person into another lane danger. Hold still, meet their eyes, and let them cross at their own pace before completing the turn.

    Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists