ME Permit Practice Test 16

All 20 questions in test 16

Every question below comes from the Maine 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 horse and rider are traveling along the road ahead. How should you approach and pass them?

   1. Use the horn to make the horse move.
   2. Pass at normal speed before the rider can react.
   3. Slow down and proceed cautiously.
   4. Rev the engine to warn the rider.
   Show answer

   Slow down and proceed cautiously.. Horses can rear, swerve, or stop when startled, so Maine tells drivers to anticipate the danger, slow down, and proceed cautiously when approaching or passing animals. A horse and rider have the same right to the roadway as a motorist, so squeezing past at normal speed is not appropriate. The manual also warns against using the horn or revving the engine near an animal because the noise can scare it. A calm, slower pass gives the rider and horse more time to respond.

2. 2. Where may passengers never ride while a vehicle is being driven on a Maine highway?

   1. In the rear seat
   2. Trailers or the trunk
   3. In the front seat belted
   4. In a pickup cab
   Show answer

   Trailers or the trunk. Trailers and trunks offer no crash protection for human cargo. No person may ride in a camp trailer, mobile home, semi-trailer, utility trailer or trunk of a vehicle while it is being driven or moved on any highway, because those spaces lack belts, exits, and survival structure. Belted seats inside the vehicle cabin exist precisely for carrying people. Move every rider into a proper seat before wheels turn and keep cargo spaces for cargo alone.

   Study this in the handbook: Moose and deer

3. 3. What must an applicant for a Maine school bus license show besides passing the required tests?

   1. Age 21 or older plus one year of licensed driving
   2. Age 18 plus three years of licensed driving
   3. Age 25 plus five years of licensed driving
   4. Age 21 plus a college degree
   Show answer

   Age 21 or older plus one year of licensed driving. School bus applicants face an added maturity gate: they must be 21 years of age or older and bring at least one year of licensed driving experience. Dropping the age to eighteen removes the extra seasoning Maine wants before entrusting a driver with a busload of children. Five years overshoots the stated experience floor. Count birthdays and licensed years together when screening a candidate, since both prongs have to be satisfied at once.

   Study this in the handbook: Getting a learner's permit and a license

4. 4. You are leaving a parallel parking space. When should you move quickly into the traffic lane?

   1. When your doorpost clears the rear bumper of the car ahead
   2. When your front tire reaches the bumper of the car ahead
   3. When your side mirror lines up with the door of the car ahead
   4. When your rear bumper passes the bumper of the car behind
   Show answer

   When your doorpost clears the rear bumper of the car ahead. Leaving a parallel space safely hinges on one clearance point. Move quickly into the traffic lane when the doorpost of your vehicle clears the rear bumper of the vehicle ahead of you, after checking traffic and signaling. Moving at the front tire or the mirror still leaves the nose of your car swinging toward the parked car ahead. Watching the car behind measures the wrong gap entirely. Wait for the doorpost to clear, then move promptly so you spend little time half out of the space.

5. 5. What is happening at the tires whenever a vehicle goes into a skid?

   1. Tires grip too firmly
   2. Tires cannot grip the road
   3. Tires are always underinflated
   4. The steering has disconnected
   Show answer

   Tires cannot grip the road. Skids begin the moment rubber loses its conversation with pavement. Skids happen whenever your tires cannot grip the road, whether from speed, ice, water, or abrupt inputs overwhelming available traction. Firm grip is the opposite condition that prevents skidding entirely. Inflation and steering faults can contribute, yet neither defines every skid. Ease off pedals, look where you want to go, and let tires regain bite before demanding direction again.

   Study this in the handbook: Collisions, crash reports and first aid

6. 6. Which hand positions on the steering wheel give best control while reducing air bag injury risk?

   1. 10 and 2 at the top
   2. 12 o'clock with one hand
   3. 9 and 3 or 8 and 4
   4. Bottom of the wheel, both hands
   Show answer

   9 and 3 or 8 and 4. Hand placement balances leverage against air bag safety. Put your hands at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 to avoid injury from an air bag deployment and for best control, keeping arms clear of the bag cover. Ten and two crowds hands toward the deployment zone. A single hand at twelve surrenders half your steering strength. Settle hands on opposite sides before moving and keep them there through turns.

7. 7. Traffic laws seem to favor you over a pedestrian or bicyclist in a conflict. What duty still applies?

   1. Proceed, law removes all duty
   2. Let insurance settle fault later
   3. Honk and maintain speed
   4. Exercise care to avoid colliding with them
   Show answer

   Exercise care to avoid colliding with them. Right of way never licenses a collision. Despite all laws, you must exercise care to avoid colliding with pedestrians or bicyclists, braking or swerving even when the other person erred. Fault arguments happen after crashes; care prevents the crash itself. Horns warn but cannot stop two tons of steel already committed. When a fragile road user misjudges, be the driver whose caution covers both mistakes and walks away unhurt.

   Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and large vehicles

8. 8. You plan to turn at the second intersection, past the first one. When should you signal?

   1. Before the first intersection
   2. After passing that first intersection
   3. Only at the second corner
   4. At both intersections equally
   Show answer

   After passing that first intersection. Signals belong to the intersection where the turn will happen. If you plan to turn beyond an intersection, signal after that intersection, so drivers at the first crossing do not misread your plan and enter your path. Signaling early plants a false expectation at the wrong corner. Waiting until arrival gives traffic at the true corner no preparation time. Cruise through the first intersection dark, then light the signal for the turn that counts.

   Study this in the handbook: Following distance, headlights and signals

9. 9. Why is creeping at 5 or 10 mph through dense fog considered dangerous rather than cautious?

   1. Creeping slowly invites rear hits
   2. Slow cars use more fuel
   3. Fog lifts faster at speed
   4. Other drivers expect parking
   Show answer

   Creeping slowly invites rear hits. Slow motion in fog makes you a nearly invisible obstacle. Wait until visibility improves as it is dangerous to creep along at 5 or 10 miles an hour, because following drivers traveling even moderately faster cannot stop within the few feet of sight fog allows. Fuel use and fog behavior have nothing to do with the collision geometry. Parked well off the road with flashers separates you from the traffic stream entirely. Stillness in safety beats motion in blindness.

   Study this in the handbook: Night, rural, winter and wet weather driving

10. 10. How much farther do high beams let a driver see compared with low beams at night?

    1. About the same distance
    2. Four times as far
    3. Twice as far as low beams
    4. Only a few feet farther
    Show answer

    Twice as far as low beams. High beams double the lit world ahead when no traffic approaches. High beams let you see twice as far as low beams, revealing deer, debris, and stalled cars while stopping distance still fits inside the light. Equal distance thinking wastes the tool designed for empty dark roads. Four times overpromises what lamp optics deliver. Use the doubled reach on vacant stretches, then dim promptly so the same gift does not blind oncoming eyes.

    Study this in the handbook: Night, rural, winter and wet weather driving

11. 11. Following a second OUI conviction, how long does the reinstated Maine license remain conditional?

    1. One year
    2. Until age 21
    3. Six months
    4. Ten years
    Show answer

    Ten years. Conditional status stretches far longer after repeat offenses. After a second or subsequent conviction the reinstated license is conditional for ten years, during which any alcohol in the system risks fresh suspension. One year is the shorter condition attached to a first conviction, an easy figure to grab by mistake. Six months and age twenty one belong to other licensing rules. Plan on a decade of zero alcohol driving after a repeat conviction.

    Study this in the handbook: OUI law, implied consent and penalties

12. 12. A child weighs 65 pounds and is 7 years old. How must this child ride under Maine child restraint guidance?

    1. In an ordinary adult belt alone
    2. On an adult lap
    3. In the front seat unrestrained
    4. In an approved child restraint
    Show answer

    In an approved child restraint. Mid size children still need more than a lap belt. A child who weighs at least 55 pounds but less than 80 pounds and who is less than 8 years of age is properly secured in a federally approved child restraint system, which positions belts on strong bones. An adult belt alone can ride on the stomach of a seven year old. Front seating and laps remove protection entirely. Keep the restraint system until both weight and age pass the thresholds.

    Study this in the handbook: Seat position, seat belts and child safety

13. 13. A steady red arrow points toward the turn you want to make. What is required?

    1. Slow down and turn if the way is clear
    2. Stop until the arrow turns green
    3. Proceed when another driver waves you through
    4. Turn after sounding the horn
    Show answer

    Stop until the arrow turns green. A red arrow carries the same force as a red circular light for the movement it controls. Traffic making that turn must remain stopped until the arrow changes to green. A rolling slowdown is not a substitute for the stop, and another driver waving you through or a horn blast cannot override the signal. An officer directing traffic is different, because an officer can control the intersection in person. When no officer is doing that, the arrow governs. Hold at the stop line while the arrow stays red.

    Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals, arrows and lane lights

14. 14. A marked bicycle path crosses a Maine road where you want to continue straight. Who has the right-of-way?

    1. Vehicles traveling on the road
    2. Whichever party reaches the crossing first
    3. Vehicles making a right turn at the crossing
    4. Riders on the bicycle path
    Show answer

    Riders on the bicycle path. Where a bicycle path or a marked bike lane crosses the road, the manual says approaching drivers must yield the right-of-way to the people using it. The crossing is treated like other through traffic, so road speed or vehicle size does not create priority. Reaching the crossing first does not settle it either, and a driver preparing to turn still has to wait. Cue: look for path users before the painted crossing and stop short of it when someone is approaching.

    Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and large vehicles

15. 15. When is road ice most slippery, according to the Maine manual?

    1. When the temperature is far below freezing
    2. When the ice is covered with dry snow
    3. When the temperature is near freezing
    4. When the sun has warmed the pavement
    Show answer

    When the temperature is near freezing. Road ice is most slippery when the air is near freezing, because the surface layer stays wet and slushy instead of hardening. That wet film acts almost like a lubricant under the tires. Ice at much colder temperatures is drier and generally offers more grip, and dry snow on top does not make the ice itself slicker. Sunshine that warms the pavement may melt or soften the surface, but the manual's point is the near freezing slush. Cue: a temperature hovering around 32 degrees calls for extra caution on bridges and shaded pavement.

    Study this in the handbook: Speed limits and school zones

16. 16. An emergency forces you onto the expressway shoulder. How should you position the car?

    1. Signal, then fully off the pavement
    2. Half on the pavement for visibility
    3. In the left lane near the median
    4. Across two lanes to stay visible
    Show answer

    Signal, then fully off the pavement. Where a stricken car stops decides whether others can pass alive. If an emergency should occur, use the proper signal, and pull off the pavement as far as the shoulder permits, maximizing the buffer from speeding lanes. Half on pavement leaves doors and bodies inches from mirrors of passing trucks. Median and lane blocking multiply the hazard. Roll fully clear, set warnings, and keep everyone behind the guardrail side away from traffic.

    Study this in the handbook: Intersections, lane changes, expressways and school buses

17. 17. No officer is present at an intersection with signals and signs. What authority do those controls carry?

    1. They are suggestions for courtesy
    2. They have the authority of law
    3. They bind visitors only
    4. They apply only during daylight
    Show answer

    They have the authority of law. Absent an officer, devices speak with full legal voice. When police are not present, traffic signals and signs have the authority of law, making a red light as binding as an officer raised hand. Courtesy suggestions could be ignored without consequence, which signals plainly are not. Residency and daylight create no exemptions from device obedience. Treat every signal and sign as an enforceable order until an officer directs otherwise.

    Study this in the handbook: Stop, yield, regulatory and guide signs

18. 18. A center lane is posted and marked for turning only. What passing use is forbidden there?

    1. Entering it to turn left lawfully
    2. Waiting in it for a gap in traffic
    3. Passing a vehicle by using that turn only lane
    4. Leaving it to rejoin through lanes
    Show answer

    Passing a vehicle by using that turn only lane. Turn only lanes exist to shelter turning cars, not to reward impatience. Never pass a vehicle using a lane designated by an official sign or traffic control device that limits the use of the center lane to turning only. Entering to turn and waiting for a gap describe the lane intended jobs. Rejoining through lanes afterward completes a lawful turn. Passing there risks head on meetings with opposing turners doing exactly what the lane invites.

    Study this in the handbook: Lane markings, lane use and special lanes

19. 19. You have a green light while cross traffic faces red. Why should you still look left and right at the intersection?

    1. Some drivers may run the red light or stop sign
    2. Traffic lights guarantee cross traffic stops
    3. Looking wastes time at green lights
    4. Cross streets empty when you have green
    Show answer

    Some drivers may run the red light or stop sign. A green light grants permission, never protection. At an intersection, look left and right, even if other traffic has a red light or stop sign because someone may run either one at full speed. Assuming lights guarantee obedience leaves no plan for the driver who is distracted, impaired, or braking too late. A two second scan costs almost nothing against the price of a side impact. Glance both ways before the front tires cross the curb line.

    Study this in the handbook: Turns, traffic circles and roundabouts

20. 20. How can you help drivers behind you handle your slowing and turning more safely?

    1. Brake without warning to stay alert
    2. Signal at the last second
    3. Change speeds often to stay visible
    4. Maintain steady speed and signal in advance
    Show answer

    Maintain steady speed and signal in advance. Predictability is a gift you give every follower. You can help by maintaining a steady speed and signaling in advance when you plan to slow down or turn, letting others plan gaps instead of reacting to surprises. Erratic speed forces constant braking waves backward through traffic. Last second signals compress those reactions into panic. Smooth pace plus early signals turns a line of strangers into a coordinated flow.