CA Permit Practice Test 24

All 20 questions in test 24

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. When may you make a U-turn in a residential district?

   1. Whenever your turn signal has flashed for 100 feet
   2. If no vehicle is approaching within 200 feet
   3. Only at a traffic light showing a green arrow
   4. Only when the street has two lanes in each direction
   Show answer

   If no vehicle is approaching within 200 feet. A residential U-turn is allowed only when no vehicles are approaching within 200 feet and no other listed ban applies. The green-arrow choice is too restrictive because the handbook separately allows some intersection U-turns, but residential districts have their own 200-foot condition. The cue is neighborhood driving with driveways and parked vehicles; check both directions for approaching traffic before starting the turn.

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

2. 2. A California lane is signed for public transit buses only. When may a car cross it?

   1. To make a right turn
   2. Never, for any reason
   3. Whenever no bus is in sight
   4. To pass slow traffic
   Show answer

   To make a right turn. It is illegal to drive, stop, park or leave a vehicle in an area designated for public transit buses, and signs are posted to show which lanes are bus only. The one exception the handbook gives is that you may cross a bus lane to make a right turn. An empty lane is still a bus lane, and it is never a passing lane. Check for buses before crossing, then complete the turn without traveling along the lane.

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

3. 3. Your vehicle kills or injures an animal on the road. What must you do?

   1. Move the animal off the road yourself
   2. Leave the scene without reporting
   3. Keep the animal as a pet
   4. Call the humane society or law enforcement, and do not move an injured animal
   Show answer

   Call the humane society or law enforcement, and do not move an injured animal. An injured animal can bite or thrash from pain, and moving it may worsen internal injuries, so professionals must handle the rescue. The humane society or law enforcement will dispatch trained responders and document the incident. Leaving without calling abandons a suffering animal and skips the collision report the handbook requires for property and animal strikes alike. Keep your own car clear of the animal while you wait for responders to arrive.

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

4. 4. A California provisional driver has a medical need to drive during restricted hours and no other reasonable way to travel. Whose signed note is required?

   1. A parent or guardian
   2. A school principal
   3. A physician, stating the condition and expected recovery date
   4. A DMV examiner
   Show answer

   A physician, stating the condition and expected recovery date. For the medical exception, the note must come from the minor's physician and must state the medical condition and the date the minor is expected to recover. A parent or guardian's note covers a different exception, driving an immediate family member. A principal, dean, or designee signs for school activities, not medical needs. DMV examiners do not write these exception notes. The exception also applies only when the minor cannot reasonably find another way to travel.

   Study this in the handbook: Instruction permit and provisional license rules

5. 5. You are driving on an icy California road. What speed does the handbook say to keep?

   1. About 25 mph
   2. Half your normal speed
   3. 5 to 10 mph below the limit
   4. No more than 5 mph
   Show answer

   No more than 5 mph. Ice is the most slippery surface the handbook lists, so its speed guidance is the strictest: reduce your speed to no more than 5 mph. Half your normal speed is the rule for packed snow, and taking 5 to 10 mph off the limit is the rule for a merely wet road. A fixed 25 mph is far too fast when tires have almost no grip. Remember that shaded spots, bridges and overpasses freeze first, so ice can appear even when the rest of the road looks dry.

   Study this in the handbook: Speed limits and the Basic Speed Law

6. 6. A California minor fails the behind the wheel drive test. How long is the wait before the next attempt?

   1. 14 days, not counting the day of the failure
   2. Seven days
   3. Six months
   4. No wait if a parent signs a new form
   Show answer

   14 days, not counting the day of the failure. For a minor, a failed behind the wheel drive test means a 14 day wait before retesting, and the day of the failure is not counted. Seven days is the waiting period after a failed knowledge test, so it is the wrong test. Six months is how long a minor must hold the instruction permit before the first drive test, not a retest delay. A parent's signature does not waive the waiting period. A sample Driving Performance Evaluation score sheet at dmv.ca.gov/teendriver shows what the drive test covers.

   Study this in the handbook: Knowledge test, drive test and vehicle check

7. 7. What BAC is illegal for a California driver who is under 21?

   1. 0.08% or higher
   2. 0.05% or higher
   3. 0.01% or higher
   4. 0.04% or higher
   Show answer

   0.01% or higher. California makes it illegal for a driver under 21 to drive with a BAC of 0.01% or higher. The 0.08% figure is the adult limit for drivers over 21. The 0.05% figure is the preliminary screening level that can lead an officer to require a breath or blood test from an underage driver, not the legal limit itself. The 0.04% figure applies to commercial vehicles and to drivers carrying passengers for hire. The same 0.01% limit applies at any age to drivers on DUI probation.

   Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, drugs and DUI

8. 8. How does aging affect alcohol tolerance?

   1. Tolerance decreases with age
   2. Tolerance always increases with age
   3. Age has no effect on tolerance
   4. Tolerance depends only on driving experience
   Show answer

   Tolerance decreases with age. Alcohol tolerance decreases as people age, increasing the risk of driving problems related to drinking. Years of driving experience do not cancel that physical change. A person should not assume that an amount consumed without obvious problems years earlier will have the same effect now. The useful cue is a change in age and health, not confidence gained from time spent driving or familiarity with a particular route.

   Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, drugs and DUI

9. 9. You use your phone to record a traffic stop. What should you immediately tell the officer?

   1. That the officer must leave immediately
   2. That recording cancels the stop
   3. That you are recording the interaction
   4. That you no longer need to provide documents
   Show answer

   That you are recording the interaction. Make it clear immediately that you are recording the interaction. The handbook recognizes a general right to record in public, while also requiring that you not interfere with the officer’s lawful duties. Announcing the recording does not cancel the stop or replace the documents the driver must provide. State what you are doing calmly so the device’s purpose is understood as the officer continues the stop.

10. 10. What is the Mature Driver Improvement Program?

    1. A 30-minute online quiz
    2. An eight-hour course for drivers 55 and older
    3. A racing clinic for seniors
    4. A vision test only
    Show answer

    An eight-hour course for drivers 55 and older. The mature-driver course refreshes rules, updates seniors on new laws, and teaches compensation for slower reflexes and vision changes. Graduates often earn insurance discounts alongside safer habits. Eight classroom hours is a small price for confidence behind the wheel at any age past 55. Many graduates also earn insurance discounts along with refreshed driving habits. Rule refreshers and new-law updates target age-related driving changes.

11. 11. May you use a fire station driveway to turn around?

    1. Yes, driveways are public turnarounds
    2. Never use a fire station driveway to turn around
    3. Yes, when no fire trucks are present
    4. Only at night when the station is quiet
    Show answer

    Never use a fire station driveway to turn around. Fire station driveways must stay clear for emergency rollouts at any hour, and a turning civilian car can delay a crew by critical seconds. The ban runs around the clock regardless of visible activity. Use the next intersection or legal opening instead of emergency aprons. Emergency crews roll without warning, so the ban never sleeps or pauses. Use the nearest legal intersection or opening instead of emergency aprons.

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

12. 12. During a traffic stop, what should the driver do after stopping and before the officer reaches the vehicle?

    1. Roll down the window and keep hands visible
    2. Get out and meet the officer beside the vehicle
    3. Reach for documents immediately in the glove box
    4. Keep the radio on so the stop is recorded
    Show answer

    Roll down the window and keep hands visible. During a law enforcement stop, California says to roll down your window after stopping and before the officer makes contact, and the driver and all passengers should place their hands in clear view before that contact. Stay inside unless the officer directs you to get out, and turn off the radio. Reaching into the glove box before contact takes your hands out of view, and getting out on your own conflicts with the handbook. A cue is the moment after you stop: make the vehicle calm, quiet, and visibly controlled.

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

13. 13. How should you enter or exit an HOV lane bordered by double solid lines?

    1. Cross the lines whenever traffic is moving below the speed limit
    2. Cross only if your vehicle has the required number of occupants
    3. Use the double solid lines as a passing area for slower traffic
    4. Wait for a designated entrance or exit instead of crossing the double solid lines
    Show answer

    Wait for a designated entrance or exit instead of crossing the double solid lines. Double solid lines next to an HOV lane are a barrier, so enter and leave only at designated openings. The occupancy choice is incomplete because having enough people lets you use the lane, but it does not let you cross the double solid lines. The cue is continuous paired white lines; keep your lane until the marking changes to an allowed entrance or exit.

    Study this in the handbook: Lane markings and special lanes

14. 14. What happens to fines on a California road marked as a Safety Enhanced-Double Fine Zone?

    1. Fines are waived for first offenses
    2. Fines apply only to trucks
    3. Fines are doubled
    4. Fines are reduced if no crash occurred
    Show answer

    Fines are doubled. Certain roads are chosen as Safety Enhanced-Double Fine Zones because of increased collision-related injuries and fatalities, and fines are doubled in these zones. Fines are also doubled in highway construction or maintenance zones when workers are present. Work zone fines can be $1,000 or more, and assaulting a highway worker brings fines up to $2,000 and up to a year in jail. The doubling applies to every driver, not only trucks, and does not depend on a crash.

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

15. 15. When passing a stopped bus, streetcar, or trolley at a safety zone, what speed limit applies?

    1. No more than 15 mph
    2. No more than 10 mph
    3. No more than 25 mph
    4. Normal posted speed if the lane is clear
    Show answer

    No more than 10 mph. When a bus, streetcar, or trolley is stopped at a safety zone or traffic light, you may pass at no more than 10 mph. The 25 mph choice confuses this rule with school and business or residential speed limits. The cue is a stopped transit vehicle beside a safety zone marked for pedestrians; slow to a crawl and watch for people entering or leaving the vehicle.

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

16. 16. No pedestrian signal faces your crosswalk. Which signal should you obey?

    1. Cross whenever you like
    2. Obey the vehicle traffic signals
    3. Wait for another pedestrian to lead
    4. Cross only on flashing red
    Show answer

    Obey the vehicle traffic signals. Where no pedestrian head exists, the vehicle signal governs everyone: cross with the green facing your direction of travel and never start on yellow or red. The same crosswalk right-of-way rules protect you once you step off the curb legally. Look for turning cars even on your green, since drivers often watch gaps instead of crosswalks. Turning drivers still must yield to walkers crossing legally on the green.

    Study this in the handbook: Traffic lights and pedestrian signals

17. 17. Who leads a funeral procession, and what priority does it have?

    1. The hearse leads and other drivers may pass freely
    2. A family car leads with no special priority
    3. A traffic officer leads it and the procession has the right-of-way
    4. A motorcycle escort leads but must obey all signals
    Show answer

    A traffic officer leads it and the procession has the right-of-way. A funeral procession moves as a single unit under a traffic officer's lead, and California grants that unit the right-of-way so mourners are not split across intersections by red lights. Participating vehicles mark themselves with windshield identifiers and headlights on, signaling other drivers to hold back. Cutting into or through the procession can draw a ticket for interfering with it. When you meet one, yield, avoid passing through the line, and resume normal driving only after the last marked vehicle clears.

    Study this in the handbook: Tickets, points and suspensions

18. 18. What should you avoid doing when strong fog makes driving unsafe?

    1. Continuing with only parking or fog lights
    2. Using low-beam headlights
    3. Increasing your following distance
    4. Listening for traffic you cannot see
    Show answer

    Continuing with only parking or fog lights. In heavy fog or smoke, California says to use low beams and never drive using only parking or fog lights. Increasing following distance and listening for unseen traffic are both recommended, so they are not the unsafe action. The cue is fog reflecting light back toward you; low beams reduce glare, while parking lights alone do not give enough forward visibility or make your vehicle clear to others.

19. 19. You have finished parallel parking. What must you do before exiting?

    1. Leave the engine running for a quick return
    2. Set the brake but leave the car in neutral
    3. Lock the doors but leave the engine on
    4. Turn off the vehicle and set the parking brake
    Show answer

    Turn off the vehicle and set the parking brake. A parked car with a running engine can be stolen in seconds or roll if bumped, while one left in neutral rests entirely on the parking brake with no backup. The handbook's finish sequence is turn the engine off, set the parking brake, look carefully for passing vehicles and bicycles, then exit only when safe. Skipping the shutdown step leaves the car vulnerable and wastes fuel for no reason.

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

20. 20. A yellow right-angle turn arrow is warning you to expect what?

    
    1. A sharp change in road direction ahead
    2. A lane added for passing slow traffic
    3. A crossroad controlled by four stop signs
    4. A one-way street beginning after the sign
    Show answer

    A sharp change in road direction ahead. A right-angle arrow warns of a sharper turn than a gentle curve, so slow before the turn and stay well inside your lane. The added-lane choice is unrelated because it describes extra pavement, not a change in direction. The cue is the abrupt bend in the arrow; prepare for a tighter steering path and watch for advisory speed signs or hidden traffic around the corner.

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