AK Permit Practice Test 24

All 20 questions in test 24

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. An oncoming truck passes at night in Alaska and its high beams flood your windshield. What happens in the seconds after it passes?

   1. Your night vision improves because the pupils open wider at once
   2. Your eyes adjust instantly when you look back to your lane center
   3. Near blindness while your pupils adjust back to the dimmer light
   4. Only drivers wearing sunglasses at night suffer any glare delay
   Show answer

   Near blindness while your pupils adjust back to the dimmer light. Bright beams shrink the pupil, and when the light vanishes the eye needs seconds to open again to the weaker road lighting. During that glare recovery you drive nearly blind at whatever speed you carry. Looking back to lane center or removing sunglasses cannot hurry the pupil, and the effect spares nobody. Slow before the meeting, look toward the right edge line while beams approach, and keep speed modest until shapes ahead regain definition.

   Study this in the handbook: Turn signals and pavement markings

2. 2. You drive a dark Alaska road at twilight with only your parking lights switched on to save the headlights. What does lighting law say?

   1. Parking lights may replace headlights whenever traffic is light
   2. Parking lights are allowed on rural roads until full darkness
   3. Parking lights mark a parked vehicle, so do not drive on them alone
   4. Parking lights suffice when your reflectors are clean and bright
   Show answer

   Parking lights mark a parked vehicle, so do not drive on them alone. Parking lights exist to mark a vehicle standing still, and the law forbids driving on them alone day or night. They neither light the road ahead nor announce a moving vehicle the way headlights do. Light traffic, rural surroundings, and clean reflectors change none of that. Drive with proper headlights whenever the vehicle moves in dim conditions, and reserve parking lights for the parked marking they were designed to provide.

   Study this in the handbook: Turn signals and pavement markings

3. 3. While backing in Alaska toward a street or sidewalk, what must you always do for traffic there?

   1. Proceed because backing vehicles hold right of way
   2. Yield only to motor vehicles, not to people
   3. Sound the horn and continue backing steadily
   4. Yield to vehicles and people there and be prepared to stop
   Show answer

   Yield to vehicles and people there and be prepared to stop. The street and sidewalk already belong to the people using them, and a backing vehicle enters that space as a guest with the duty to yield and to stop. Motor vehicles and pedestrians alike hold the claim, and a horn announces your presence without purchasing priority. Creep with your foot over the brake, watch both directions along the sidewalk and street, and halt the roll the instant any user could enter your path. A driveway or parking exit ends only when the whole vehicle rests clear without forcing anyone aside.

4. 4. You wait inside an intersection to turn left across oncoming traffic in Alaska. How should your front wheels sit while you wait?

   1. Turned left, so the turn can start the instant a gap opens
   2. Kept straight while you wait for oncoming traffic to clear
   3. Turned right, to angle the vehicle away from opposing flow
   4. Alternating left and right to signal that you are waiting
   Show answer

   Kept straight while you wait for oncoming traffic to clear. Waiting with wheels straight keeps your vehicle pointed safely if anything nudges it from behind. Wheels cocked left would roll you into opposing traffic after even a light rear impact, while angling right or weaving adds confusion without shortening the wait. Creep only to the waiting position, hold the wheel straight, and turn decisively once the opposing lane is truly clear. The small delay costs seconds and removes a severe crash path.

5. 5. Halfway through reversing direction on a narrow residential street in Alaska, your car sits broadside while vehicles may arrive from either end. Who must you scan for and give way to?

   1. Only vehicles approaching from your left side
   2. Only the first vehicle that arrives after you begin
   3. Nobody, because a three point turn grants temporary priority
   4. Every road user closing in from either end, people riding and walking included
   Show answer

   Every road user closing in from either end, people riding and walking included. A three point turn leaves your vehicle broadside across lanes more than once, exposed to traffic arriving from either side. Watching and yielding to approaching traffic from both directions, including people riding bicycles and walking, covers the whole exposure. Checking one side or only the first arrival leaves the second approach unwatched, and the maneuver grants no priority of its own. Choose a quiet moment, keep scanning both ways between each leg, and abandon the turn if traffic closes in.

6. 6. You pass an unposted Alaska school zone under good conditions during the hours it operates. What legal maximum applies?

   1. 15 mph in the school zone
   2. 25 mph in the school zone
   3. 35 mph in the school zone
   4. 20 mph in the school zone
   Show answer

   20 mph in the school zone. Children crossing, buses loading, and parents stopping make a school zone a place for the protective urban maximum rather than ordinary street speed. The alley figure sits lower for its tighter space, the residential figure governs ordinary neighborhood streets, and a much higher figure would remove the stopping margin children need. Watch for zone signs and operating times, because posted limits replace the default when shown. Slow before the first crosswalk, scan sidewalks and between parked cars, and hold the lower pace until you are fully past the zone.

   Study this in the handbook: Speed laws and impact

7. 7. The pictured five sided sign stands near a neighborhood corner in Alaska where children walk each morning. What does it warn drivers to expect?

   
   1. A school zone or crossing where speed must be reduced
   2. A playground entrance where parking is allowed at midday
   3. A bus stop where children wait behind a yellow curb line
   4. A crossing guard post that operates only during rain
   Show answer

   A school zone or crossing where speed must be reduced. The five sided shape is reserved for school areas and school crosswalks, places where children cross with less predictable movement than adults. Reduced speed there buys stopping distance for a child who darts from between parked cars. It does not mark playground parking, a bus stop, or a rain only guard post. Slow to the school pace, scan curbs and crosswalks continuously, and be ready to stop until every child is fully clear of the roadway.

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

8. 8. In Alaska, solid white lines mark lanes set aside for certain uses. What do they say about changing lanes?

   1. Changing lanes there is fully encouraged
   2. Changing lanes there is to be discouraged
   3. Changing lanes there is required at once
   4. The lines mark only the outside shoulder edge
   Show answer

   Changing lanes there is to be discouraged. Solid white paint around a lane meant for a certain use warns drivers away from casual lane changing. The movement is discouraged rather than encouraged or demanded on the spot. These lines do more than mark the outside shoulder edge, though solid white also serves at pavement edges. Respect the discouragement: plan your lane early, follow signs for the reserved use, and change only when safety and direction clearly require it rather than drifting across on impulse.

   Study this in the handbook: Turn signals and pavement markings

9. 9. In Alaska, traffic is heavy as you approach a railroad crossing. When should you start across the tracks?

   1. As soon as the vehicle ahead moves forward onto the crossing
   2. Whenever your vehicle can reach the tracks before a train arrives
   3. Only when you are sure you can clear the crossing completely
   4. After stopping on the tracks to check both directions for trains
   Show answer

   Only when you are sure you can clear the crossing completely. A crossing is safe only when the far side can receive your whole vehicle, because a train cannot stop for a car trapped between traffic ahead and the rails behind. In heavy traffic the wait belongs on the approach: hold back until space beyond the crossing is certain, then cross without stopping. Starting because the vehicle ahead moved, racing to beat a train, or pausing on the tracks to look each invite the one collision a driver cannot survive by luck. Patience on the approach is the entire defense.

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

10. 10. On Alaska divided or one way roadways, where are yellow left edge lines used?

    1. Only on two way roadways at the right edge
    2. Only inside center left turn lanes
    3. Only where parking is allowed at the curb
    4. On all divided or one way roadways at the left edge
    Show answer

    On all divided or one way roadways at the left edge. Yellow at the left edge appears across divided and one way roadways, warning that opposing traffic or a divider lies beyond that side. It is not a right edge treatment for two way roads, it does not belong only inside turn lanes, and curb parking rules do not decide its placement. Seeing yellow on your left helps confirm your orientation, especially at night or in poor weather. Keep it on the left and use white edging on the right to hold your lane.

    Study this in the handbook: Turn signals and pavement markings

11. 11. Rain slicks the road while you follow a motorcyclist through Alaska curves and braking zones. How should your following distance change?

    1. Shorten it, because motorcycles stop faster than cars in rain
    2. Allow more following distance for the motorcyclist in wet weather
    3. Keep a car interval, because rain affects both vehicles equally
    4. Close up so the rider can see you clearly in the mirrors
    Show answer

    Allow more following distance for the motorcyclist in wet weather. A motorcycle on a wet road balances on two small contact patches that lose grip and stability far sooner than a car tires do. Allowing the rider more following distance protects both of you when braking grows delicate or the bike wobbles on painted lines and metal covers. Closing up for visibility or matching car intervals ignores that fragility. Open the gap early in rain and hold it through every braking zone.

    Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists

12. 12. A driver feels wide awake after two drinks and insists judgment is sharper than usual in Alaska. How is alcohol actually classified?

    1. A stimulant that quickens reflexes for the first hour of driving
    2. A depressant drug: reflexes slow, alertness drops, vision suffers
    3. A neutral substance whose effects depend only on driver confidence
    4. A pain reliever that leaves driving senses untouched at low doses
    Show answer

    A depressant drug: reflexes slow, alertness drops, vision suffers. Alcohol is a depressant, slowing reflexes, reducing alertness, and impairing vision from the first drinks onward. The wide awake confidence drinkers report is itself a symptom, because judgment about personal impairment is among the first casualties. Stimulant, neutral, and harmless low dose readings all reverse the pharmacology. Count drinks rather than feelings, arrange a sober driver before drinking begins, and treat personal confidence after alcohol as evidence against driving, not for it.

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

13. 13. Your one year old weighs under twenty pounds for an Alaska trip across town in winter. How must that child ride by law?

    1. In a rear facing child safety seat for the trip
    2. On an adult lap with the adult belt around both of them
    3. In a forward facing seat because the child is over one year old
    4. In a booster seat secured by the vehicle seat belt system
    Show answer

    In a rear facing child safety seat for the trip. Small children ride rear facing because their heads and spines cannot withstand forward crash forces, and Alaska law requires a rear facing child safety seat for a one year old under twenty pounds. Lap riding, early forward facing, and booster seats each expose a body not built for them. Install the rear facing seat tightly in the back, harness the child snugly, and keep this arrangement until the law and the seat limits both allow the next stage.

    Study this in the handbook: Safety belts and child seats

14. 14. In Alaska, people are hurt in your crash. Which care actions does the handbook direct?

    1. Move every injured person found at the crash scene to the road shoulder right away for fresh air and shade
    2. Leave injured people unmoved unless needed, call an ambulance, stop serious bleeding, keep them warm
    3. Give warm food and hot drink to any injured person who complains of feeling faint or cold
    4. Walk each injured person slowly and carefully to the nearest building for help and shelter
    Show answer

    Leave injured people unmoved unless needed, call an ambulance, stop serious bleeding, keep them warm. Crash injuries hide beneath calm appearances, and spinal or internal harm can turn a helpful move into permanent damage, so an injured person stays put unless fire or traffic makes moving necessary. Calling an ambulance, pressing serious bleeding, and keeping the person warm are the helps that protect without adding harm. Food, drink, and walking assistance each gamble with injuries you cannot see. Work quietly, keep the person talking and still, and hand over to medical responders with what you observed about the crash and the injuries.

    Study this in the handbook: Vision, insurance and the point system

15. 15. Your Alaska crash leaves both vehicles sitting in a live traffic lane with no serious injuries reported. What must you do first?

    1. Stop right away, then clear your vehicle from the lane if you can
    2. Leave the vehicles in place for photographs before moving anything
    3. Drive both vehicles to the nearest police station together
    4. Wait in the lane until an officer directs every movement
    Show answer

    Stop right away, then clear your vehicle from the lane if you can. Stopped wreckage in a live lane is a second crash waiting for the next driver, so the first duty is to stop and then move the vehicles out of the way whenever that can be done. Photographs, station trips, and waiting for direction all come after the lane is safe. Check for injuries as you act, switch on hazard lights, and complete the move to a shoulder or side street before exchanging information and documenting the scene.

    Study this in the handbook: Vision, insurance and the point system

16. 16. An orange chart sign warns that a construction area lies ahead on your Alaska route. How far ahead does it say that area begins?

    1. 500 feet ahead, where you must adjust driving for construction
    2. One mile ahead, posted early for high speed rural highways
    3. At the sign itself, with work starting beside the post
    4. Five miles ahead, so drivers can choose another highway
    Show answer

    500 feet ahead, where you must adjust driving for construction. Advance work warnings are timed so drivers can slow and sort lanes before reaching workers and machinery, and the chart sign puts that construction area 500 feet ahead. A mile or five miles would waste the warning, while work at the post itself would give no preparation at all. Use those feet to ease speed down, watch for flaggers and equipment entering the lane, and arrive at the work area already in the correct lane and pace.

17. 17. In Alaska, you finish parallel parking beside a curb. How close must your wheels sit to that curb?

    1. Within 24 inches of the near curb
    2. Within 36 inches of the near curb
    3. Touching the near curb with both tires
    4. Within 12 inches of the near curb
    Show answer

    Within 12 inches of the near curb. A parallel parked vehicle should hug the curb closely enough that its body stays out of the traffic stream while its tires stay off the curb itself. The allowed gap is measured in inches, and two or three feet abandons that protection entirely. Riding the tires against concrete damages rubber and can bend a wheel during the maneuver. Finish by straightening the vehicle parallel to the curb, count the gap honestly, and reset the maneuver when the rear wheel sits wide of the allowed distance.

18. 18. In Alaska, what does the law say about composing or reading texts while driving?

    1. Texting while driving is prohibited by law
    2. Texting is allowed at speeds below 25 mph
    3. Texting is allowed only at red traffic lights
    4. Only sending texts is prohibited, never reading
    Show answer

    Texting while driving is prohibited by law. Texting consumes eyes, hands, and mind in a single act, and the prohibition covers the whole behavior while driving without carving speed, stoplight, or reading exemptions into it. Below limit creep, intersection pauses, and incoming only reading each preserve the diversion through a claimed loophole. Silence the device before departure, let automatic replies carry your manners, and pull fully off the road for any message that truly cannot wait for arrival. The lawful text is the one sent from a parked vehicle.

19. 19. An animal walks along the edge of an Alaska highway ahead of you in daylight with traffic behind you. What care is required?

    1. Hold speed, because animals beside the road rarely enter it
    2. Pass closely so the animal learns to fear the traffic lane
    3. Exercise care, slow when circumstances require, and be able to stop
    4. Stop in the lane and wait until the animal wanders far away
    Show answer

    Exercise care, slow when circumstances require, and be able to stop. Animals near the pavement are unpredictable, and the duty is measured care: slow when circumstances require and keep the ability to stop if the animal turns into your path. Holding speed assumes a restraint animals do not possess, crowding them invites a startled leap, and parking in the lane exposes you to following traffic. Ease off, widen the gap as you pass at reduced speed, and watch for a second animal following the first.

    Study this in the handbook: Night driving, lighting, weather and animals

20. 20. At night in Alaska, how can the four second following rule protect you beyond spacing?

    1. It lets you follow closer in darkness safely at highway speed
    2. It replaces the need for low beams in rain
    3. It keeps you from overdriving your headlights
    4. It allows higher speed on lit highways
    Show answer

    It keeps you from overdriving your headlights. Headlights draw a bright pool with a hard edge, and stopping must fit inside that pool after dark. Counting a full interval behind the vehicle ahead keeps your stopping need inside the light you actually have, instead of carrying you blind beyond it. Darkness never licenses a closer follow, low beams keep their own duties in glare and rain, and street lighting does not extend your private pool as far as speed assumes. Count the interval honestly at night and slow until light and stopping room match.

    Study this in the handbook: Following distance and large trucks