AZ Permit Practice Test 25

All 20 questions in test 25

Every question below comes from the Arizona 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. Your car starts to skid on a wet Arizona road. Which steering response does the manual recommend?

   1. Steer away from the direction of the skid to straighten it
   2. Steer in the direction you want the car to go
   3. Hold the wheel straight and brake hard
   4. Take your hands off the wheel
   Show answer

   Steer in the direction you want the car to go. If your car begins to skid, turn the wheel quickly in the direction you want your vehicle to follow, which is the direction of the skid. That brings the front tires back in line with the way the car is moving. Braking hard or steering against the skid can worsen it, and taking your hands off the wheel gives up control. Keep your attention on where you want to go.

   Study this in the handbook: Stopping distance, bad weather and night driving

2. 2. Your vehicle breaks down on an Arizona highway. How far off should you pull?

   1. Just outside the fog line barely
   2. Onto the nearest ramp gore area
   3. Off the highway as far as you can
   4. Only two feet from the travel lane
   Show answer

   Off the highway as far as you can. Every extra foot between a stopped vehicle and live lanes reduces strike energy and gives occupants room to exit away from traffic. Pulling as far off as the surface safely allows is therefore the breakdown rule. Gore areas sit in merge paths and two feet keeps doors inside the danger zone. After stopping far right, flashers, raised hood, and dome light at night mark the vehicle. Occupants stay with or behind the vehicle, never walking along the freeway to seek help on foot.

   Study this in the handbook: Freeway and highway driving

3. 3. An emergency vehicle approaches on a crowded Arizona highway and changing lanes is unsafe. What should you do?

   1. Make the lane change anyway to clear the way
   2. Stop in the traffic lane until it passes
   3. Proceed with caution and reduce your speed
   4. Speed up to get ahead of the emergency vehicle
   Show answer

   Proceed with caution and reduce your speed. If changing lanes is not possible or unsafe, the manual says to proceed with due caution and reduce the speed of your vehicle. Slowing gives the emergency vehicle time to find a safe way around you and gives you more time to react. An unsafe lane change, stopping in a travel lane, or speeding up each add danger without helping the emergency vehicle.

   Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals and red light running

4. 4. You come to a busy Arizona intersection with no traffic lights, stop signs, or yield signs. How should you treat it?

   1. As a yield for the cross street only
   2. Like a four-way stop
   3. As an open road, slowing only if cars are near
   4. As a stop only for the vehicles on your right
   Show answer

   Like a four-way stop. When approaching an intersection with no traffic lights, stop signs, or yield signs, or with an inoperative signal, treat it as you would a four-way stop. Every driver stops, looks, and takes turns using the right-of-way rules, so the first to arrive goes first and the driver on the left yields when two arrive together. Slowing without stopping, or yielding to just one direction, leaves drivers guessing.

   Study this in the handbook: Signaling, passing and U turns

5. 5. Where are wrong-way drivers usually traveling, and how do they enter Arizona highways?

   1. In the right lane, entering by on-ramps
   2. In the center lane, entering from rest areas
   3. Left or HOV lane, entering via off-ramps
   4. On the shoulder, entering from side streets
   Show answer

   Left or HOV lane, entering via off-ramps. Wrong way drivers most often settle in the left or HOV lane, which they may perceive as their right lane, after entering the highway from the right side through an off ramp. Knowing that pattern tells a driver where the greatest danger usually sits during night travel. Center lanes and shoulders are not the usual path. The entry point also explains why a vehicle can appear suddenly from the right at a ramp area. Extra caution near ramps and the fast lane reduces surprise.

   Study this in the handbook: Crashes, wrong way drivers and traffic stops

6. 6. A yellow arrow appears and you have not entered the Arizona intersection. What must you do?

   1. Speed up to finish the turn
   2. Stop and wait for a green arrow
   3. Turn slowly without stopping
   4. Follow the vehicle ahead through
   Show answer

   Stop and wait for a green arrow. A yellow arrow warns the protected turn phase is ending and red is near. A driver who has not entered must stop and wait for the next green arrow rather than chase the phase. Speeding into the turn meets opposing traffic released on green. Rolling slowly still enters against the coming red. A vehicle already inside the intersection finishes and clears safely, which differs from a driver still behind the stop line. Waiting one cycle is safer than forcing a closing gap.

   Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals and red light running

7. 7. You see a center lane bordered on both sides by two yellow lines, with the inner line broken and the outer line solid. What is it?

   1. A passing lane for slow traffic
   2. A lane reserved for through traffic
   3. A bicycle lane in the center
   4. A two-way left turn lane
   Show answer

   A two-way left turn lane. A two-way left turn lane in Arizona is bordered on either side by two yellow lines, with the inner line broken and the outer line solid. The lane is for drivers turning left from either direction, who enter it to slow down and wait for a gap. It is not for passing, through travel, or bicycle use, and drivers should enter only shortly before their turn.

   Study this in the handbook: Pavement markings and turning lanes

8. 8. You hear a train and think you can cross an Arizona railroad crossing before it arrives. What does the manual say?

   1. Never race with a train or other on-track equipment
   2. Cross if the train looks far away and no gate is down
   3. Cross quickly if you can see clearly down the track
   4. Cross first if you are the first vehicle in line
   Show answer

   Never race with a train or other on-track equipment. Trains are much faster and heavier than they look and cannot stop quickly or swerve. The Arizona manual says never to race with a train or other on-track equipment. Judging distance and speed is difficult, and a mistake can be fatal. Wait until the train has passed, the signals have stopped, and the crossing is clear before moving, even if you are the first vehicle in line.

9. 9. How should a driver merge across the solid white line into or out of an Arizona HOV lane?

   1. Skip the signal because the lane is already reserved
   2. Cross only after slowing well below the speed of traffic
   3. Signal and use caution as you merge across the line
   4. Cut in front of a vehicle so it must slow for you
   Show answer

   Signal and use caution as you merge across the line. The solid white line beside an Arizona HOV lane marks the lane edge. When you merge across it into or out of the HOV lane, the manual says to always signal and use caution. Signaling tells nearby drivers what you plan to do, and caution means checking for traffic moving at a different speed. Slowing far below the flow of traffic or cutting in front of another vehicle makes the merge more dangerous.

   Study this in the handbook: Parking rules, hills and painted curbs

10. 10. You approach a red signal at an Arizona intersection that has a painted stop line. Where should you stop?

    1. With your front tires on the line
    2. In the crosswalk, past the line
    3. After you enter the intersection
    4. Before reaching the stop line
    Show answer

    Before reaching the stop line. For a red signal, you must come to a complete stop before you reach the intersection, stop line, or crosswalk. Stopping before the line keeps the crosswalk clear for pedestrians and keeps your vehicle out of the path of cross traffic. Stopping on the line, in the crosswalk, or in the intersection can create hazards for walkers and other drivers.

    Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals and red light running

11. 11. Which crash type commonly occurs in Arizona work zones from drivers going too fast?

    1. Rear end collisions
    2. Rollover crashes on curves
    3. Wrong way freeway crashes
    4. Parking lot backing crashes
    Show answer

    Rear end collisions. Work zones compress lanes, shift paths, and force sudden slowing, so speed from behind turns small gaps into rear end collisions. Fixed object strikes and workers being hit share the same speed root. Curve rollovers and wrong way events belong to other settings, and backing crashes are low speed parking problems. Entering a work area at the posted reduced speed, with extra following space, protects the queue ahead. Brake lights in a work zone deserve an immediate foot off the accelerator and early gentle braking.

12. 12. As a skidding Arizona car straightens, what steering step follows?

    1. Hold the first turn fully through recovery
    2. Turn back the other way against overshoot
    3. Release the steering wheel at once fully
    4. Turn only after the vehicle fully stops
    Show answer

    Turn back the other way against overshoot. A recovering vehicle can swing past straight and start a skid toward the other side if the first correction stays in too long. Turning quickly back catches that overshoot, and repeated small corrections settle the car onto its normal path. Holding the turn or abandoning the wheel invites the second skid. Waiting for a stop wastes the recovery already underway. The back and forth rhythm should stay quick but measured, matching each swing with less input as the vehicle calms.

    Study this in the handbook: Stopping distance, bad weather and night driving

13. 13. You have just passed another car on an Arizona road. When may you move back into the right lane?

    1. When you can see both of its headlights in your mirror
    2. As soon as your rear bumper clears the front bumper of that car
    3. After you count to two and signal
    4. When the other driver flashes the headlights
    Show answer

    When you can see both of its headlights in your mirror. The manual says you may return to the right lane when you can see the entire front or both headlights of the vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror. That gives the passed driver enough room to continue without braking sharply. Pulling in too early, relying on a count, or waiting for a flash can cut off the driver you passed.

    Study this in the handbook: Signaling, passing and U turns

14. 14. It has just started to rain on an Arizona road that has not seen rain for weeks. Why is the road especially slippery now?

    1. The rain heats the pavement and makes it soft and slick
    2. Oil and grime on the surface mix with the water
    3. Water makes the tires wear down faster
    4. The road is slippery only after hours of rain
    Show answer

    Oil and grime on the surface mix with the water. The manual advises being extra careful during the 30 minutes after rain begins. Grime and oil on the road surface mix with the water and make the road slippery. In dry areas such as Arizona, those deposits build up between rains, so the first rain can leave a slick film. Reduce speed and increase following distance early, instead of waiting until the pavement is soaked.

    Study this in the handbook: Stopping distance, bad weather and night driving

15. 15. After passing a motorcycle in Arizona, when is returning to the lane too soon?

    1. When the return squeezes the rider aside
    2. After the rider waves you back over
    3. After exactly one car length of clear space
    4. Whenever the rider is beside your door
    Show answer

    When the return squeezes the rider aside. A motorcycle needs the full lane width and room to react to wind and pavement flaws. Cutting back early squeezes the rider toward traffic or the road edge with no safe line. A wave, one car length, and door position all give poor clearance judgments. The mirror rule used for cars protects riders too: return only after the passed vehicle appears fully with space to spare. Extra patience during the pass acknowledges how little error room two wheels provide at highway speed.

    Study this in the handbook: Bicycles, motorcycles, trucks and light rail

16. 16. A triangular sign faces you where your road meets cross traffic in Arizona. What does it require?

    1. Stop completely every time, even when no traffic is near
    2. Speed up so you merge ahead of other vehicles
    3. Sound the horn and keep going at the same speed
    4. Yield to cross traffic or to merging traffic
    Show answer

    Yield to cross traffic or to merging traffic. In Arizona, the triangular sign tells drivers to yield the right-of-way. When cross traffic or merging traffic is present, you must slow down and let those vehicles go first, stopping if needed. You do not have to stop when the way is clear, which separates it from the stop sign. Speeding up, using the horn, or holding your speed does not meet the duty to give way.

    Study this in the handbook: Traffic signs, railroad crossings and work zones

17. 17. How should the front wheels point when parking uphill beside an Arizona curb?

    1. Toward the curb, as on a downhill grade
    2. Straight ahead, with the parking brake alone holding the car still
    3. To the right, pointing the car away from the curb face
    4. To the left, until the right front tire can rest against the curb
    Show answer

    To the left, until the right front tire can rest against the curb. On an uphill grade with a curb, wheels turned left let a rolling car move backward until the right front tire meets the curb and stops. Wheels toward the curb on a hill point the car into the street if brakes fail, which is the downhill setup instead. Straight wheels give the curb nothing to catch. After the tire rests against the curb, the parking brake goes on. The curb becomes a backup block, but only when wheel direction matches the slope direction.

    Study this in the handbook: Parking rules, hills and painted curbs

18. 18. The sun is behind you on an Arizona road. What visibility problem may oncoming drivers have?

    1. They see your signals more clearly
    2. They gain extra stopping distance
    3. Glare may hide your signals and your car
    4. Their windshields clean themselves
    Show answer

    Glare may hide your signals and your car. Sun position flips the glare burden: a driver with the sun behind travels comfortably while opposing drivers stare into it. Those drivers may miss your signals and even the vehicle itself against the brightness. Extra distance and clean glass do not arrive automatically for them. Defensive responses include low beam headlights to stand out, larger gaps, and no assumption that a turn signal was seen. Expect late reactions from the glare side at morning and evening hours on east west roads.

    Study this in the handbook: Freeway and highway driving

19. 19. An orange sign recommends a speed for a curve in Arizona. How should you drive that location?

    1. At the white sign limit in every condition
    2. Slow until you are sure you can navigate it safely
    3. Speed up to clear the curve much sooner
    4. At exactly 25 mph through every curve
    Show answer

    Slow until you are sure you can navigate it safely. An orange advisory speed assumes a curve, grade, or special condition ahead that may not suit the general limit. The driver slows until certain the location can be navigated safely, judging grip, load, and visibility on the day. White limit signs set legal ceilings elsewhere and cannot certify a curve. Hurrying through raises runoff risk, and a fixed curve speed ignores vehicle and weather differences. The small yellow square below a curve sign carries the same advisory purpose.

    Study this in the handbook: Speed limits and work zones

20. 20. You brake on ice and the wheels lock. What should you do with the brake pedal?

    1. Press down harder to stop sooner
    2. Release it fully and coast
    3. Pump it hard several times
    4. Ease off slightly, but not completely
    Show answer

    Ease off slightly, but not completely. If the wheels lock on a slippery surface, ease slightly off the brakes, but do not release them completely. Easing off lets the wheels turn again so they can grip the surface and give you steering. Staying lightly on the brake keeps the vehicle slowing down. Pressing harder keeps the wheels locked, and releasing fully gives up braking altogether. Reapply the brakes gently as the tires grip again.

    Study this in the handbook: Stopping distance, bad weather and night driving