FL Permit Practice Test 18

All 20 questions in test 18

Every question below comes from the Florida 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. What do Florida interstate mile markers indicate?

   1. The legal speed limit for the next county
   2. The number of lanes available at the next interchange
   3. The distance to the nearest service station
   4. The driver's location on an interstate and the matching exit number
   Show answer

   The driver's location on an interstate and the matching exit number. Florida interstate mile markers indicate your location on the interstate and match the exit numbers. They help a driver identify position and connect that position with a numbered interchange. They do not set the speed limit, count lanes, or promise a nearby service station. Use the marker with route signs and your planned exit so you can prepare early for a lane change. Reading the number as a location reference is especially useful when reporting where help is needed or confirming progress along the highway.

2. 2. Within what distance must you dim behind another vehicle?

   1. 100 feet
   2. 300 feet
   3. 500 feet
   4. Never dim
   Show answer

   300 feet. Followed drivers suffer your brights in their mirrors: dim to low beams within three hundred feet of the vehicle ahead. One hundred feet glares far too long, five hundred belongs to the oncoming rule rather than the follow rule, and never-dim blinds every leader you trail. Mirror glare destroys the ahead driver's night vision exactly when you need them seeing clearly. Drop to lows early in the follow and keep them low until you pass or fall back.

3. 3. Your Florida crash damages property but does not require a law enforcement report. What must you do?

   1. Nothing, unless someone was hurt
   2. Make a written report to FLHSMV within 10 days
   3. Report it to your insurer only
   4. File a report with the county court within 30 days
   Show answer

   Make a written report to FLHSMV within 10 days. An officer writes the report when a crash involves a DUI charge, a death, an injury, or damage bad enough that a vehicle must be towed. When a crash causes vehicle or property damage but does not require a law enforcement report, the driver must make a written report of the crash to FLHSMV within 10 days, which can be done at flhsmv.gov. Doing nothing breaks that rule even when nobody is hurt. Your insurer and the county court are not the agency the handbook names.

4. 4. Who may enforce school-zone speed limits with camera radar devices?

   1. Counties or municipalities with camera radar devices
   2. Only the highway patrol
   3. Only school principals
   4. Only federal marshals
   Show answer

   Counties or municipalities with camera radar devices. The 2023 law authorizes counties and municipalities, not just state troopers, to install camera-equipped radar detection devices and enforce school-zone speed limits during specified periods. Local control lets the jurisdictions that own the school streets run the enforcement where children actually walk. School districts deploying the technology must post warning signage, and violations cost the registered owner $100. Principals and federal officers play no enforcement role in the statute.

5. 5. Where should your hands be during a traffic stop?

   1. Hide them in your lap
   2. Reach under the seat
   3. Keep them on the wheel or visibly located
   4. Put them out the window
   Show answer

   Keep them on the wheel or visibly located. Visible hands calm every stop: keep your hands on the steering wheel or in a visible location so the approaching officer can easily observe them. Lap-hidden hands, under-seat reaches, and out-window waves each raise the officer's threat assessment and escalate a routine stop. Hands on the wheel pairs with engine off, audio off, and staying seated to show full cooperation before a word is spoken. Wait for instructions before reaching for any document, and narrate movements the officer cannot see.

6. 6. What does the divided highway ahead warning sign tell a driver?

   
   1. The divided highway ends and two-way traffic begins immediately
   2. The highway ahead is divided by a median or physical barrier
   3. A roundabout is ahead with traffic moving in one circle
   4. The road narrows to one lane in the driver's direction
   Show answer

   The highway ahead is divided by a median or physical barrier. The split arrows represent traffic separated by a median or another physical barrier farther ahead. The driver should prepare for the roadway arrangement and follow lane markings as the separation begins. The choice saying the divided highway ends describes a different warning and would put the driver on the wrong side of the sign's meaning. A roundabout has circular advance guidance, while a one lane reduction concerns merging rather than opposing flows. Use the sign as an advance cue to watch for the median and maintain the proper side of travel.

7. 7. On a Florida highway where the posted speed limit is 70 MPH, what is the minimum speed limit?

   1. 50 MPH
   2. 40 MPH
   3. 55 MPH
   4. 60 MPH
   Show answer

   50 MPH. On a Florida highway with a posted maximum of 70 MPH, the minimum speed limit is 50 MPH. The rule addresses unusually slow travel on that type of highway, so a driver should not treat the 70 MPH sign as permission to crawl below the stated minimum when conditions are favorable. Forty MPH is not the handbook figure, and 55 and 60 MPH are also different numbers. In poor weather, heavy traffic, or another unsafe condition, reduce speed as needed, but remember the handbook’s paired figures: 70 MPH maximum and 50 MPH minimum.

8. 8. What is the minimum license revocation for a first DUI conviction in Florida?

   1. 30 days
   2. 90 days
   3. 180 days
   4. Five years
   Show answer

   180 days. A first DUI conviction in Florida brings a license revocation of at least 180 days. Thirty and 90 days fall short of that minimum. Five years is not the first offense figure. The revocation is separate from the administrative suspension at arrest, which applies with a BAL of .08 or above or a test refusal. A first time offender with no prior DUI offenses may ask for a restricted license review within 10 days of the arrest.

9. 9. On a Florida two lane road, before coming within what distance of an approaching vehicle must you return to the right side after passing?

   1. 50 feet
   2. 100 feet
   3. 200 feet
   4. 500 feet
   Show answer

   200 feet. Florida requires a passing driver to be back on the right side before getting within 200 feet of any approaching vehicle. Fifty feet is far too close. One hundred feet is the no passing distance near an intersection, bridge, viaduct, tunnel, or railroad crossing. Five hundred feet is how far you must be able to see ahead on a hill or curve before passing. Pass only one vehicle at a time and never exceed the speed limit while passing.

10. 10. According to Florida's handbook, which speed is safest when driving?

    1. Ten MPH above the posted limit when roads are clear
    2. The posted limit in every condition
    3. The fastest speed traffic around you is traveling
    4. The speed that keeps complete control and helps avoid collisions
    Show answer

    The speed that keeps complete control and helps avoid collisions. Florida describes the safest speed as the one that lets the driver keep complete control and avoid collisions. That principle applies even when the posted limit is higher, because weather, roadway, and traffic can require a slower pace. The posted-limit choice treats a maximum as a required target, while traffic flow cannot justify exceeding the limit. The ten-MPH option repeats the speeding-buffer myth the handbook rejects. A practical cue is to ask whether the chosen pace leaves enough control to respond smoothly to changing conditions, not merely whether it matches a number on a sign.

11. 11. What civil penalty does Florida law set for dumping 15 pounds or less of litter from a vehicle onto a road?

    1. $150
    2. $1,000
    3. $25
    4. $5,000
    Show answer

    $150. Under section 403.413, dumping litter of 15 pounds or less, when not for commercial purposes, is a noncriminal infraction with a civil penalty of $150, and the court may also order the person to pick up litter. The printed handbook (revised 08/2023) still lists a $100 fine; that figure is outdated, because the current statute sets the civil penalty at $150. Dumping more than 15 pounds, up to 500 pounds, is a first degree misdemeanor that can bring a fine of up to $1,000, and when a motor vehicle is used, 3 points on the driving record.

12. 12. What does a green arrow permit, assuming the driver is in the proper lane?

    1. Enter from any lane because the arrow overrides lane position
    2. Make any turn without checking the intersection
    3. Wait for a red arrow before making the indicated movement
    4. Make the turn in the arrow's direction while yielding to traffic and pedestrians in the intersection
    Show answer

    Make the turn in the arrow's direction while yielding to traffic and pedestrians in the intersection. A green arrow authorizes movement in the direction shown, but it does not erase the duty to yield to vehicles and pedestrians already in the intersection. The driver also must be in the proper lane when a red light is illuminated at the same time. The unrestricted-turn choice removes those conditions, and waiting for red reverses the signal's instruction. Entering from any lane can create conflicts with adjacent traffic. Follow the arrow, confirm the lane, scan the intersection, and yield before completing the turn.

13. 13. What braking systems must a car have?

    1. One brake system suffices
    2. Two systems, each stopping the car alone
    3. No brakes needed downhill
    4. Parking brake only
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    Two systems, each stopping the car alone. Redundant stopping is the standard: cars need two braking systems, and each must be able to stop the car alone. Single-system, brakeless, and parking-only readings fail inspection before the road test begins. The parking or emergency brake must additionally hold the car on any hill. Service brakes plus an independent parking brake mean one failure never equals no brakes at all.

14. 14. What happens during hydroplaning?

    1. The tires lose contact with the road on a thin layer of water
    2. The engine stalls because rain enters the fuel system
    3. The brakes lock whenever the road is dry
    4. The steering wheel becomes fixed by a tire blowout
    Show answer

    The tires lose contact with the road on a thin layer of water. Hydroplaning occurs when a vehicle slides on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road. Once the tires are not touching the pavement, the driver can lose control and skid. Low tire pressure, poor tread, and speeding increase the risk, so the condition is not limited to a mechanical engine or brake failure. Wet pavement plus speed and worn tires should prompt a slower approach.

15. 15. How close to a rural mailbox on a state highway may you park during the day?

    1. 10 feet all day
    2. 15 feet on Sundays
    3. 30 feet from 8 am to 6 pm
    4. 50 feet at night
    Show answer

    30 feet from 8 am to 6 pm. Rural mail carriers need room to pull off and serve roadside boxes, so Florida bans parking within 30 feet of a rural mailbox on a state highway between 8 am and 6 pm. The daytime window matches delivery hours: outside it, the restriction lifts. Ten and 15 feet are hydrant-scale buffers that do not apply, and no nighttime mailbox rule exists. The mailbox ban is a reminder that parking law protects roadside workers and services, not just moving traffic.

16. 16. Should alcohol and drugs ever be consumed at the same time?

    1. They cancel each other out
    2. They must never be combined
    3. They sober each other up
    4. They are safe in small amounts
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    They must never be combined. Alcohol and drugs are a forbidden combination: they should not be consumed at the same time, because mixing them often multiplies the effects of both. A single drink plus an allergy or cold pill can hit like several drinks, and the multiplied impairment extends to judgment, reflexes, and alertness together. Cancellation, sobering, and small-amount-safe readings each deny the multiplier the handbook warns about. Any night involving medication is automatically a sober-ride night with no exceptions.

17. 17. May you squeeze past a motorcyclist with a few feet of space?

    1. Never; wind gusts can topple the rider
    2. Yes, with one foot of space
    3. Yes, if you honk first
    4. Yes, slowly is fine
    Show answer

    Never; wind gusts can topple the rider. Close passes can knock a rider down: never pass a motorcyclist with only a few feet of space, because the wind gust force can cause the rider to lose control. A one-foot squeeze, a honked warning, or a slow creep all still blast the bike with displaced air it cannot lean against. Give motorcycles a full lane change and generous clearance, the same respect the no-lane-sharing rule demands. The few seconds a proper pass costs are nothing against a rider's life.

18. 18. What must you not do when a truck swings wide for a right turn?

    1. Never drive between the truck and the curb
    2. Squeeze through on the right
    3. Pass on the right quickly
    4. Honk them through the turn
    Show answer

    Never drive between the truck and the curb. A truck making a right turn first swings wide to the left, opening a tempting gap on its right that is actually a trap: the trailer will sweep through that space and the driver cannot see into it. Never drive between the turning truck and the curb, whether passing, squeezing, or waiting out a light. Honking rushes a maneuver that needs patience. Hang back, give the whole intersection to the truck, and proceed only after the trailer straightens out.

19. 19. How should funeral procession vehicles mark themselves?

    1. Drive between the cars
    2. Turn lights off to save fuel
    3. Honk the procession along
    4. Headlights on or hazard lights flashing
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    Headlights on or hazard lights flashing. Funeral processions signal their unity with light: every vehicle in the procession should have headlights on, or may use flashing hazard lights, warning others not to drive between the funeral cars. Cutting into the line breaks the procession's intersection privilege, dark running hides membership, and honking disrespects the solemn pace. Other drivers must yield to the procession, and once the lead vehicle enters an intersection the rest may follow through regardless of signals. Give the line space and patience.

20. 20. What happens between your tires and the road in hydroplaning?

    1. Tires grip better on water
    2. The car slides on a water film, losing road contact
    3. Engines stall in rain
    4. Wipers fail at speed
    Show answer

    The car slides on a water film, losing road contact. Hydroplaning is water skiing on tires: the car slides on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, and with no road contact the driver can easily lose control and skid. Grip does not improve on water, engines do not stall from wet pavement, and wipers are irrelevant to tire contact. The film forms when water depth beats tread drainage at speed, which is why worn tires, soft tires, and fast driving each raise the risk. Slow down in standing water before the skis deploy.