CA Permit Practice Test 3

All 20 questions in test 3

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. How should you adjust your speed on packed snow?

   1. Reduce it by only 2 mph
   2. Reduce it by half
   3. Keep your dry-road speed
   4. Double it to maintain momentum
   Show answer

   Reduce it by half. For packed snow, the handbook calls for reducing speed by half. A small two-mile-per-hour reduction may leave you traveling much too fast for the reduced traction. If your dry-road speed would be 40 mph, the handbook’s adjustment brings it to 20 mph before considering whether conditions require still less. Snow can limit steering and braking together, so choose the lower speed before reaching the slippery section.

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

2. 2. Which headset or earplug use is illegal while driving in California?

   1. Wearing a headset or earplugs in both ears.
   2. Using a single hands-free earpiece.
   3. Listening through the vehicle's built-in speakers.
   4. Wearing hearing aids prescribed by a doctor.
   Show answer

   Wearing a headset or earplugs in both ears.. California says hearing helps drivers notice horns, sirens, motorcycles, and screeching tires, and it bars wearing a headset or earplugs in both ears while driving. The single-earpiece option changes the condition: the handbook's stated prohibition is both ears. A useful cue is whether outside warning sounds are blocked on both sides. If both ears are covered by plugs or a headset, do not drive that way.

   Study this in the handbook: Turn signals, horn and headlights

3. 3. Which adult point total may lead DMV to suspend a California driver license?

   1. 2 points in 12 months.
   2. 4 points in 12 months.
   3. 5 points in 24 months.
   4. 7 points in 36 months.
   Show answer

   4 points in 12 months.. For adults, California lists possible suspension when the record shows 4 points in 12 months, 6 in 24 months, or 8 in 36 months. The 7-in-36 choice is one point short of the handbook's 36-month total. These numbers matter because convictions and certain collisions remain on the driving record. The cue is the time window: match the point count to 12, 24, or 36 months before deciding whether the negligent-operator threshold is reached.

   Study this in the handbook: Tickets, points and suspensions

4. 4. You are in a collision. What is your first duty, and why?

   1. Move your vehicle before anyone arrives
   2. Leave to find a telephone
   3. Stop, because someone could be injured and need your help
   4. Wait in your vehicle for police to arrive
   Show answer

   Stop, because someone could be injured and need your help. Stopping is the first and non-negotiable duty after any collision, because injuries are often hidden at first and your help or your emergency call may be what gets aid started. Leaving the scene for any reason is hit-and-run, which the handbook warns is punished severely upon conviction. Only after stopping do the remaining duties apply: moving a drivable vehicle out of traffic, warning others, exchanging information, and reporting the crash as required.

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

5. 5. By driving in California, what chemical testing have you consented to if an officer suspects DUI?

   1. Only a test chosen by a passenger
   2. Only a balance exercise
   3. A breath, blood, or urine test
   4. No testing unless a collision has occurred
   Show answer

   A breath, blood, or urine test. Driving in California carries consent to breath, blood, or urine testing when an officer suspects DUI. This does not depend on first having a collision. A balance exercise is not the chemical testing described in this rule, and a passenger does not choose what obligation applies. Understand the consent attached to driving before an investigation occurs instead of assuming that the absence of a crash removes the testing requirement.

   Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, drugs and DUI

6. 6. You are driving in thick fog. What rule governs your speed?

   1. Drive at the posted limit to keep traffic moving
   2. Follow the taillights ahead as closely as possible
   3. Use high beams to see farther through the fog
   4. Slow until you can stop within the space you can see ahead
   Show answer

   Slow until you can stop within the space you can see ahead. Fog shrinks sight distance to a few car lengths, so speed must shrink with it: if a stopped car or curve appears at the edge of visibility, you must already be slow enough to stop. Tailgating the taillights ahead and switching to high beams both make fog driving worse, since high beams reflect back as blinding glare. The handbook also says to increase your following distance, use wipers and defroster, and avoid crossing lanes or passing unless absolutely necessary.

7. 7. What does a single solid yellow line mark?

   1. The right edge of a one-way street
   2. The center of a road carrying two-way traffic
   3. A passenger-loading zone
   4. A lane reserved for bicycles
   Show answer

   The center of a road carrying two-way traffic. A single solid yellow line marks the center of a two-way road. Its color and position help distinguish opposing traffic from lanes moving in the same direction. It is not a curb loading instruction or a bicycle-lane boundary. When approaching an unfamiliar road, use that center marking to understand the directions of travel before choosing a lane or considering any movement near the center of the roadway.

   Study this in the handbook: Lane markings and special lanes

8. 8. For normal push-pull steering, where should your hands start?

   1. At 10 and 2 o'clock
   2. At 12 and 6 o'clock
   3. One hand at 12 o'clock for all turns
   4. At 9 and 3 o'clock or 8 and 4 o'clock
   Show answer

   At 9 and 3 o'clock or 8 and 4 o'clock. California describes starting push-pull steering with hands at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4, keeping them there through turns. The 10 and 2 choice is not a position this handbook gives for push-pull steering. The cue is ordinary steering, not backing or operating a control; keep both hands on the wheel and never cross them over the middle of the wheel while turning.

   Study this in the handbook: Turn signals, horn and headlights

9. 9. What rights do light rail vehicles have on public roads?

   1. They must yield to all cars at all times
   2. They have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicles
   3. They may ignore traffic signals
   4. They always have the right-of-way over cars
   Show answer

   They have the same rights and responsibilities as other vehicles. Light rail vehicles are traffic, not pedestrians on rails: they follow the same signals, lanes, and right-of-way rules as cars wherever they run in streets. Drivers must share carefully because trains cannot swerve and need long distances to stop, while buildings and trees hide them at crossings. Never overtake one on the left except where the handbook's narrow exceptions apply.

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

10. 10. When preparing for a right turn across a bicycle lane, when may you enter the bike lane?

    1. Never, even when making the turn
    2. At any point in the block if traffic is heavy
    3. Only after stopping in the crosswalk
    4. Within 200 feet of the intersection after checking for bicyclists
    Show answer

    Within 200 feet of the intersection after checking for bicyclists. A driver may enter a bicycle lane for a turn within 200 feet of an intersection, but only after checking blind spots and watching for bicyclists. The never-enter option ignores California's turning exception. The cue is the dashed or ending bike-lane area near the corner. Merge safely behind any cyclist, signal about 100 feet before turning, and avoid cutting across the bicyclist's path.

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

11. 11. Who may park at a blue curb?

    1. A disabled person or someone driving a disabled person with the proper placard or plate
    2. Any driver loading freight for a short time
    3. Only buses during posted commute hours
    4. Any driver who stays inside the vehicle
    Show answer

    A disabled person or someone driving a disabled person with the proper placard or plate. A blue curb is reserved for a disabled person or someone driving a disabled person when the vehicle has the special placard or license plate. Staying with the vehicle does not create permission, and freight loading is a yellow curb rule. The cue is blue paint paired with disability access. Before parking there, confirm that the required placard or special plate is displayed and that the trip actually involves eligible use.

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

12. 12. Which of these phone uses is banned for every California driver while driving?

    1. Listening to navigation directions aloud
    2. Reading a text message at a stop sign
    3. Sending or reading text messages and emails
    4. Using a mounted phone with voice commands
    Show answer

    Sending or reading text messages and emails. Texting sits at the center of the distraction ban because it steals all three channels at once: eyes to read, a hand to hold and type, and mind to compose. California therefore forbids sending or reading text messages and emails while driving, and the stop sign pause does not launder it, since you are still in the driving task with traffic moving around you. Voice-driven uses were deliberately left open by the same rules: spoken navigation and a mounted phone worked by voice or one touch keep your gaze forward. The dividing line is whether your eyes and hand leave the road.

    Study this in the handbook: School buses and railroad crossings

13. 13. Which vehicles does the handbook identify as especially vulnerable to high winds?

    1. Trucks, campers, and vehicles towing trailers
    2. Low sports cars and small hatchbacks
    3. Vehicles with manual transmissions
    4. Only parked passenger cars
    Show answer

    Trucks, campers, and vehicles towing trailers. The high-wind warning particularly highlights larger vehicles, including trucks, campers, and vehicles with trailers. Their size and shape can make gusts a significant control problem. Transmission type is not the distinguishing feature. When traveling in or near these vehicles on an exposed road, allow for changing wind effects rather than assuming that a heavy vehicle cannot be disturbed by a sudden gust.

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

14. 14. Before entering a bike lane to make a right turn, what should a driver check?

    
    1. Only the rearview mirror after starting the turn
    2. Whether the nearest parked car has expired tags
    3. Blind spots for bicyclists
    4. The left shoulder, because bicycles may not be on the right
    Show answer

    Blind spots for bicyclists. California allows a driver to enter a bike lane near a turn, but the driver must check for bicyclists in blind spots before doing so. The rearview mirror only choice is incomplete because a bicycle can be alongside the vehicle where mirrors miss it. The cue is the last 200 feet before a right turn, when the bike lane line changes or the curb lane opens and a shoulder check becomes essential.

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

15. 15. You have one lane in your direction and a solid yellow line on your side. May you pass the car ahead?

    1. Yes, whenever the way ahead looks clear
    2. Yes, but only if you ride a motorcycle
    3. Yes, but only during daylight hours
    4. No, passing is banned with one lane and solid yellow on your side
    Show answer

    No, passing is banned with one lane and solid yellow on your side. One solid yellow line down the middle means traffic flows in opposite directions on either side, and with only a single lane serving you there is no safe place to pass. The ban holds regardless of visibility, vehicle type, or time of day. Passing requires a broken line on your side of the center. Same-direction lanes are divided by white lines instead, and bike lanes use solid white edge lines.

    Study this in the handbook: Lane markings and special lanes

16. 16. May you park in front of a curb that provides wheelchair access?

    1. Yes, for quick errands
    2. No, never block wheelchair-accessible curbs
    3. Yes, with hazard flashers on
    4. Yes, if no wheelchair user is present
    Show answer

    No, never block wheelchair-accessible curbs. Curb cuts and ramps are the only way wheelchair users reach the sidewalk, so blocking one strands a person in the street with traffic. The ban joins nearby rules against parking within three feet of a disabled-person ramp and inside the striped crosshatch beside accessible spaces. Errands, flashers, and the apparent absence of wheelchair users create no exception whatsoever. Blocking access can also draw a citation and a tow at your expense.

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

17. 17. A yellow crossroad sign tells you to watch for what?

    
    1. A no-turn area controlled by red regulatory signs
    2. A hospital zone where sirens have priority
    3. Traffic entering or crossing from another road ahead
    4. A railroad crossing with gates and flashing red lights
    Show answer

    Traffic entering or crossing from another road ahead. A crossroad warning points to an intersection ahead where vehicles, bicycles, or pedestrians may cross your path. The railroad choice describes a different family of signs and warning devices, so it would aim your attention at tracks instead of side traffic. The cue is the plus-shaped symbol on yellow; ease off the accelerator and search both side approaches before you reach the conflict point.

18. 18. What do NEV USE ONLY and NEV ROUTE signs warn you about?

    1. Slow-moving vehicles; adjust your speed to share the road
    2. No vehicles of any kind
    3. Freeway entrances only
    4. Bicycle racing courses
    Show answer

    Slow-moving vehicles; adjust your speed to share the road. NEV USE ONLY and NEV ROUTE signs mark corridors where golf carts, scooters, and neighborhood electric vehicles legally travel at 25 mph or less. Faster drivers must slow early and share patiently rather than pressuring these small vehicles. Watch for the signs near retirement communities, campuses, and beach towns where slow vehicles cluster. These corridors often sit near retirement communities, campuses, and beach towns.

19. 19. A California provisional driver on probation turns 18. What happens to the probation?

    1. It continues; turning 18 does not end existing restrictions or probation
    2. It ends automatically on the birthday
    3. It converts into a warning on the record
    4. It is cut in half
    Show answer

    It continues; turning 18 does not end existing restrictions or probation. California is explicit that reaching 18 does not erase or end restrictions, suspensions, or probation that are already in place. The birthday does not wipe the slate, so the automatic ending choice is wrong. Nothing in the handbook converts probation into a warning or shortens it by half. A teen who earned a six month suspension and a year of probation still serves both in full, and new at fault collisions or convictions during probation can lead to another suspension.

    Study this in the handbook: Tickets, points and suspensions

20. 20. A driver is convicted of DUI for the first time, with nobody injured. Which set of consequences does the handbook describe?

    1. A fine only, with no possibility of jail
    2. A written warning for a first offense
    3. Up to six months in jail, a fine, and possible impound of the vehicle
    4. License suspension with no other penalty
    Show answer

    Up to six months in jail, a fine, and possible impound of the vehicle. California lists several penalties that can follow a DUI conviction: a jail sentence of up to six months, a fine, and impound of the vehicle by law enforcement with a storage fee to pay. A conviction is not treated as a warning, and jail is possible even without an injury. Causing serious injury or death while impaired also opens the driver to civil lawsuits. On top of that, DMV suspends or revokes the driving privilege for one year, and the driver must complete a DUI program, file an SR 22 or SR 1P, and may need an ignition interlock device.

    Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, drugs and DUI