CA Permit Practice Test 21

All 20 questions in test 21

Every question below comes from the California 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. A pedestrian using a wheelchair is crossing. How should a driver treat that person?

   1. As a pedestrian or vulnerable road user
   2. As a slow vehicle that must yield
   3. As a bicyclist only in a marked lane
   4. As traffic only when using a motor
   Show answer

   As a pedestrian or vulnerable road user. California includes a person with a disability using a wheelchair for transportation among pedestrians or vulnerable road users. Calling the wheelchair a slow vehicle is wrong because pedestrian right-of-way and crossing duties still apply. The cue is the person crossing the roadway, not whether the chair is manual or electric. Reduce speed or stop as needed so the person can finish crossing safely.

   Study this in the handbook: Right of way: who goes first

2. 2. What is the purpose of a center left-turn lane?

   
   1. To begin or finish a left turn or permitted U-turn
   2. To wait before entering a freeway ramp
   3. To pass slow traffic before a driveway
   4. To travel continuously when both through lanes are crowded
   Show answer

   To begin or finish a left turn or permitted U-turn. A center left-turn lane sits in the middle of a two-way street, and drivers use it to prepare for and make a left turn or a U-turn. It is not a passing lane or a way to bypass congestion. The continuous-travel choice is especially risky because opposing drivers may enter the same lane for their own left turns. Look for the broken inner line and solid outer line on both sides, drive no more than 200 feet in it, and use it only for the turn.

   Study this in the handbook: Lane markings and special lanes

3. 3. Does a court decision automatically determine the outcome of a DMV administrative action?

   1. Only if the driver requests the DMV hearing first
   2. Yes, DMV must use the same outcome
   3. Yes, if both concern the same incident
   4. No, court action is independent of DMV action
   Show answer

   No, court action is independent of DMV action. A court proceeding and a DMV administrative action are separate processes. The same incident can lead to both, but a result in one does not automatically settle the other. Do not assume that resolving a court case completes every requirement affecting your driving privilege. Read notices from each agency and respond to each process on its own terms, even when the facts behind the proceedings are closely related.

   Study this in the handbook: Tickets, points and suspensions

4. 4. Before driving down a steep hill on a slippery road, what should you do?

   1. Shift to low gear before going down.
   2. Coast in neutral to reduce tire spin.
   3. Keep high gear and brake hard as needed.
   4. Turn off traction control before descending.
   Show answer

   Shift to low gear before going down.. For slippery-surface skid prevention, California tells drivers to shift to low gear before going down a steep hill. Low gear helps control speed without relying on abrupt braking. The neutral option removes engine braking and can make speed harder to manage. The cue is the combination of downgrade and poor traction: prepare before the hill begins, slow early, and avoid quick stops or fast turns that can start a skid.

   Study this in the handbook: Scanning, following distance and skids

5. 5. When is stopping or parking on a freeway allowed?

   1. For a phone call if you keep your hazard lights on
   2. In an emergency or when a law enforcement officer requires it
   3. Any time the shoulder is wider than your vehicle
   4. Only during daylight outside commute periods
   Show answer

   In an emergency or when a law enforcement officer requires it. Freeway stopping or parking is generally illegal, with exceptions such as an emergency, a law enforcement requirement, or a specifically permitted stop. The phone-call choice is not an emergency and leaves you exposed to freeway-speed traffic. The cue is the freeway setting itself; unless a real emergency or official direction exists, continue to an exit or another lawful stopping place.

   Study this in the handbook: Parallel parking, hills and colored curbs

6. 6. Cargo extends more than 4 feet beyond the rear bumper during the day. What marker is required?

   1. Two amber reflectors on the cargo end.
   2. One white light visible from 300 feet.
   3. A 12-inch red or fluorescent orange square flag.
   4. A blue warning flag at least 6 inches wide.
   Show answer

   A 12-inch red or fluorescent orange square flag.. California requires a 12-inch red or fluorescent orange square flag when cargo projects more than 4 feet behind the rear bumper. The white-light option borrows lighting language from other visibility rules and does not describe daytime rear cargo marking. At night, the handbook calls for two red lights instead. The cue is the overhang length: once the load extends beyond 4 feet from the back, mark its far end conspicuously.

   Study this in the handbook: School buses and railroad crossings

7. 7. Someone is injured in your California collision. How soon must a report go to law enforcement?

   1. Within 10 days
   2. Within 24 hours
   3. Within 30 days
   4. Only if police came to the scene
   Show answer

   Within 24 hours. When anyone is injured or killed, the collision must be reported to law enforcement within 24 hours. Your insurance agent, broker, or legal representative can file it for you. Ten days is the deadline for the separate SR 1 report to DMV, so the two deadlines are easy to swap. Thirty days is too late for either report. The duty does not depend on officers coming to the scene, and law enforcement will not file the DMV report on your behalf.

   Study this in the handbook: Insurance, collisions and paperwork deadlines

8. 8. A 17-year-old in California is convicted of using alcohol. What will the court order DMV to do?

   1. Add one point and take no other action
   2. Suspend the privilege for 30 days
   3. Suspend the privilege for one year, or delay eligibility for a license
   4. Require a new vision test
   Show answer

   Suspend the privilege for one year, or delay eligibility for a license. For anyone 15 to 20 years old convicted of using alcohol or a controlled substance, the court orders DMV to suspend the driving privilege for one year. If the young person has no license yet, eligibility to apply is delayed instead. A single point with no other action and a 30 day suspension both understate the penalty. A vision test has nothing to do with an alcohol conviction. The rule reaches teens who are not yet licensed, which is why it is written as a suspension or a delay.

   Study this in the handbook: Tickets, points and suspensions

9. 9. What happens to fines in a highway construction or maintenance zone when workers are present?

   1. Fines are waived for first offenses
   2. Fines stay the same as elsewhere
   3. Only the driver, not the owner, is fined
   4. Fines are doubled when workers are present
   Show answer

   Fines are doubled when workers are present. Doubled fines reflect the deadly record of work-zone crashes, where laborers on foot have no protection whatsoever from passing traffic. The same doubling applies in designated Safety Enhanced-Double Fine Zones because of their history of collision injuries and deaths. Through any cone zone, slow down early, move over where possible, obey flaggers and posted limits, and give workers the widest berth the lane allows.

   Study this in the handbook: Trucks, emergency vehicles, bicycles and work zones

10. 10. A collision blocks the road ahead and you are not involved. What should you do?

    1. Stop to watch and take photos
    2. Slow down to stare at the scene
    3. Follow the ambulance closely
    4. Avoid the area so help reaches victims faster
    Show answer

    Avoid the area so help reaches victims faster. Gawking queues block lanes that fire trucks and ambulances need, and staring drivers rear-end the car ahead. The handbook's advice is blunt: stay away when possible so other vehicles do not choke the scene. If you must pass, keep moving, watch the road, and never stop in the travel lanes. Keep moving past the scene and watch the road, never the wreckage.

    Study this in the handbook: Insurance, collisions and paperwork deadlines

11. 11. In high winds, why should you reduce your speed?

    1. It gives you better control and more time to react to gusts
    2. It lets cruise control steer more accurately
    3. It prevents all debris from reaching your lane
    4. It allows you to drive with parking lights only
    Show answer

    It gives you better control and more time to react to gusts. California advises reducing speed in high winds because slower travel improves control and gives more reaction time if a gust hits. The cruise control choice conflicts with the same section, which tells drivers not to use cruise control in those conditions. The cue is an open bridge, gap between buildings, truck corridor, or blowing debris where a sudden side push could move the vehicle off line.

    Study this in the handbook: Blowouts, breakdowns and brake failure

12. 12. At a four-way stop, who has the right-of-way when vehicles arrive at different times?

    
    1. The vehicle with the brightest headlights
    2. The vehicle on the widest road
    3. The driver making a right turn
    4. The vehicle that arrives first
    Show answer

    The vehicle that arrives first. California's right-of-way rule begins with arrival order: the vehicle that arrives at the intersection first has the right-of-way. When there is a stop sign on all four corners, the handbook says to stop first and then proceed by that same rule, and if two road users arrive at the same time, yield to the one on your right. Headlights, road width, and turn direction do not decide who goes first. Still yield to pedestrians, who always have the right-of-way at intersections.

    Study this in the handbook: Right of way: who goes first

13. 13. How close may you follow an emergency vehicle with its siren or flashing lights on?

    1. No closer than 100 feet
    2. No closer than 300 feet
    3. No closer than 500 feet
    4. Any distance if you are not using the same lane
    Show answer

    No closer than 300 feet. Do not follow within 300 feet of any fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle when its siren or flashing lights are on. The 500-foot choice may sound safer, but the handbook's figure is 300 feet, and 100 feet is too close. Using a different lane does not change the rule. The cue is an active emergency vehicle ahead: drop back instead of using its path through traffic, and when one approaches with siren and red lights, drive to the right edge of the road and stop until it has passed.

    Study this in the handbook: Trucks, emergency vehicles, bicycles and work zones

14. 14. When may you park in a tunnel or on a bridge in California?

    1. Whenever traffic is light
    2. Only where signs permit it
    3. For up to 15 minutes with flashers on
    4. Only commercial vehicles may do so
    Show answer

    Only where signs permit it. Tunnels and bridges leave no shoulder to escape to, so a parked vehicle becomes a fixed obstacle in a narrow, low-visibility corridor. California therefore bans the practice outright unless signs at that specific spot permit it. Light traffic does not change the geometry, flashers do not protect a car with nowhere to go, and commercial plates grant no exemption. If signs allow parking, follow their limits exactly; otherwise keep moving until you reach ground with a real shoulder.

    Study this in the handbook: Parallel parking, hills and colored curbs

15. 15. In California, when may a driver turn left against a red light?

    1. From any street onto a one-way street after stopping.
    2. From a two-way street onto a divided highway.
    3. From a one-way street onto a one-way street, after stopping and yielding, if no sign prohibits it.
    4. From a left turn lane whenever cross traffic has stopped.
    Show answer

    From a one-way street onto a one-way street, after stopping and yielding, if no sign prohibits it.. California's left on red permission is narrow. It applies only when you turn from a one-way street onto a one-way street and no sign prohibits the turn. A red light still means stop first, then yield to other vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists who have a green light, look both ways, and turn when it is safe. Turning from a two-way street, or onto a divided highway, goes beyond what the handbook allows. If either street is not one-way, or a sign says not to turn, wait for a green signal.

    Study this in the handbook: Turns, U-turns, merging and passing

16. 16. Where may you legally make a U-turn on green?

    1. Never, under any circumstance
    2. At a green light, even where a NO U-TURN sign is posted
    3. On a freeway, at a gap in the median
    4. At an intersection on green, unless a NO U-TURN sign is posted
    Show answer

    At an intersection on green, unless a NO U-TURN sign is posted. Green-ball and green-arrow intersections offer the protected gap U-turns need, since cross traffic holds red while you swing. The NO U-TURN sign overrules the permission wherever engineers have judged the move unsafe. Even where legal, U-turns demand clear sight lines and zero interference with other road users. Sight lines must stay clear and no other road user may be interfered with.

    Study this in the handbook: Turns, U-turns, merging and passing

17. 17. Besides DMV, who has authority to suspend a person’s driving privilege?

    1. Any licensed driving instructor
    2. Any auto repair shop
    3. The courts
    4. The vehicle’s previous owner
    Show answer

    The courts. Courts can suspend a person’s driving privilege as well as DMV. Licensing consequences are not controlled exclusively by the agency that issues the license. A repair shop, instructor, or former owner does not have the authority described in this rule. If a court order affects driving, take it seriously and understand its terms rather than assuming that only a separate letter from DMV could limit your privilege.

    Study this in the handbook: Tickets, points and suspensions

18. 18. How must a motorized bicycle rider treat other bicyclists?

    1. Use caution around bicyclists and travel at a reasonable, safe speed
    2. Ride as fast as the engine allows
    3. Weave between bicycles closely
    4. Ignore bicyclists entirely
    Show answer

    Use caution around bicyclists and travel at a reasonable, safe speed. Motorized bicycles split the difference between bikes and motorcycles, sharing lanes with pedal cyclists who cannot match their pace. Reasonable speed and a wide berth keep the speed mismatch from becoming sideswipes. Endangering other bicyclists with aggressive moped riding violates the same rule that protects the rider. Wide berths and moderate speed keep the pace mismatch from causing sideswipes. Aggressive moped riding around cyclists violates the protective rule itself.

    Study this in the handbook: Lane markings and special lanes

19. 19. You are in a collision and do not have proper insurance coverage. What happens to your driving privilege?

    1. Nothing, provided the other driver caused the collision
    2. It can be suspended for up to four years, whoever was at fault
    3. It is suspended only if you are found at fault
    4. It is suspended for thirty days and then restored
    Show answer

    It can be suspended for up to four years, whoever was at fault. California suspends the driving privilege for up to four years when a driver is in a collision without proper insurance coverage, and the handbook is explicit that fault does not matter. Being the blameless party is no protection, and a short thirty day suspension is not the rule. There is a route back: during the last three years of the suspension you can get your license back by providing a California Insurance Proof Certificate, the SR 22 or SR 1P, and maintaining it during that period. Carry proof of financial responsibility whenever you drive.

    Study this in the handbook: Insurance, collisions and paperwork deadlines

20. 20. What movement does this sign prohibit?

    
    1. A left turn only
    2. A right turn only
    3. A U-turn
    4. A lane change
    Show answer

    A U-turn. A red circle with a red slash means the pictured movement is not allowed. On this sign, the U-shaped arrow is crossed out, so a U-turn is prohibited at that location. The left-turn choice is wrong because the symbol is not a simple left arrow. A cue is the exact picture inside the circle: identify the movement shown, then understand that the red slash cancels that movement.

    Study this in the handbook: Road sign shapes, colors and meanings