NH Permit Practice Test 20

All 20 questions in test 20

Every question below comes from the New Hampshire 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. While backing into a parallel space in New Hampshire, what must the driver avoid touching at the back of the maneuver?

   1. The center line on the road.
   2. The curb behind the parking space.
   3. The bumper of the vehicle to the rear.
   4. The front bumper of the vehicle ahead.
   Show answer

   The bumper of the vehicle to the rear.. During the backward part of parallel parking, the manual says to stop before touching the bumper of the vehicle to the rear, then shift to drive and adjust the vehicle in the space. The center line, the curb, and the front bumper of the vehicle ahead are not the object named by that stopping instruction. The rear bumper is the nearby limit that matters in this step. Leave enough room to shift forward and finish centered without contacting the other vehicle.

   Study this in the handbook: Parking rules and distances

2. 2. A New Hampshire crossing has more than one track. What must a driver confirm before crossing?

   1. That the gates are fully raised again
   2. That the crossbuck light is green
   3. That no cars wait behind
   4. Clear sight of all tracks both ways
   Show answer

   Clear sight of all tracks both ways. Multiple tracks hide a second train behind the first, so crossing waits for a clear view of the tracks in both directions. Raised gates alone cannot prove the far track is empty. Stay behind the stop line, or 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail, while checking each track. Lean forward, look past the standing train cars if needed, and hold your place until every track shows daylight end to end.

   Study this in the handbook: Regulatory, guide, work zone and railroad signs

3. 3. When a driver doubles the speed of a vehicle, what happens to the distance needed to stop?

   1. About twice as long
   2. About the same on dry pavement
   3. About three times as long
   4. About four times as long
   Show answer

   About four times as long. Stopping distance grows much faster than speed. Doubling velocity multiplies the distance needed to stop by about four, so a car that stops in 100 feet at 30 mph needs roughly 400 feet at 60 mph. The twice as long answer assumes distance and speed rise together, which ignores how much harder the brakes must work. Three times still understates the growth. Perception, reaction, and braking all stretch out as speed climbs. On a highway ramp or a rural two lane, use the doubling rule to pick a gap you can actually stop in.

   Study this in the handbook: Signals, headlights, horn and stopping distance

4. 4. Once a driver spots danger ahead, how long does the response interval usually last before braking begins?

   1. Roughly one quarter of a second at best
   2. About 2 full seconds
   3. Three quarters of a second to 1 second
   4. About 3 seconds
   Show answer

   Three quarters of a second to 1 second. Reaction time runs three quarters of a second to 1 second for an average driver, covering the move from spotting trouble to pressing the brake. Choosing one quarter of a second shaves the interval below what human response allows, so a plan built on it leaves no margin. Perception takes a similar span before reaction even starts, and braking distance follows after that. At highway speed the vehicle covers many feet during that single second, which is why a healthy gap ahead matters more than quick feet.

   Study this in the handbook: Signals, headlights, horn and stopping distance

5. 5. In the standard sign colors used in New Hampshire, what does a red sign indicate?

   1. Direction or guidance for drivers
   2. Prohibition, meaning stop or do not do something
   3. Services available for drivers
   4. General warning about a hazard ahead
   Show answer

   Prohibition, meaning stop or do not do something. Red marks prohibition in the standard colors, telling drivers to stop or not do a stated action. Green handles direction and guidance, while blue points toward driver services such as fuel and food. Yellow carries general warnings about hazards ahead. Reading color first gives a fast hint before symbols come into focus. A red border at a distance should slow your plan early, since whatever drawing sits inside limits movement rather than offering help along the route.

   Study this in the handbook: Sign shapes, colors and warning signs

6. 6. At night you are following another vehicle closely enough that your lights reach it. Which beams should you use?

   1. High beams so the driver ahead sees you
   2. Low beams while following the vehicle
   3. High beams until the last moment, then low
   4. Parking lights while staying close behind
   Show answer

   Low beams while following the vehicle. Use the low beams when following another vehicle. High beams thrown into the mirrors and rear window of the car ahead can blind or distract its driver, and waiting until the last moment or dropping to parking lights creates other problems. Parking lights do not light your path for following at road speed. Settle on low beams early, keep a longer following distance at night, and save high beams for roads with no traffic ahead of you or coming toward you.

   Study this in the handbook: Rural roads and night driving

7. 7. Where must pedestrians never walk in New Hampshire?

   1. On interstate or limited access highways
   2. On residential sidewalks
   3. In marked crosswalks
   4. On the left side facing traffic
   Show answer

   On interstate or limited access highways. Interstates and limited access highways ban foot travel outright, given ramp speeds and the absence of crossings. Sidewalk walking and crosswalk use are exactly where pedestrians belong. Where no sidewalk exists, the left side facing traffic is the prescribed place. Drivers on ramps should still scan for the rare lost walker, since a ban on paper cannot physically keep every person off the shoulder.

   Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians and bicyclists

8. 8. Where should emergency flares or reflectors be placed for a broken down vehicle in New Hampshire?

   1. Only beside the bumper
   2. All the way at the next intersection
   3. 200 feet ahead and 200 behind
   4. 50 feet ahead and 50 feet behind the vehicle
   Show answer

   200 feet ahead and 200 behind. Two hundred feet ahead and behind stretches the warning so approaching drivers can change lanes before arriving at your bumper. A single marker at the car gives traffic one heartbeat of notice at highway speed. Flashers stay on as well, hood up where safe. Pace the distance honestly on the shoulder, facing traffic as you walk back, and return to a spot well away from the lane edge.

   Study this in the handbook: Brake failure, blowouts and breakdowns

9. 9. What road status do horseback riders and animal drawn vehicles hold in New Hampshire?

   1. They must yield to cars at every crossing
   2. They share the road only in daylight hours
   3. Full vehicle rights, same road rules
   4. They hold pedestrian status everywhere
   Show answer

   Full vehicle rights, same road rules. Horseback riders and animal drawn vehicles have the same rights to use the road as a motor vehicle and must follow the same rules of the road. They do not have to yield to cars at every crossing, and no daylight only limit confines them to certain hours. Pedestrian status understates their place in traffic. Drivers approaching any horse must take every precaution against frightening the animal. Slow early, pass wide and quietly, and treat a nervous horse with patience, because hooves and shafts answer fear rather than traffic law.

   Study this in the handbook: Motorcycles, large trucks and slow vehicles

10. 10. Do all New Hampshire moving violations add the same number of demerit points?

    1. No, point sizes vary by offense
    2. Yes, each violation adds exactly one
    3. Points depend on vehicle color
    4. Only speeding ever adds points
    Show answer

    No, point sizes vary by offense. Point values scale with the offense, so a stop sign failure and impaired driving cannot weigh the same on a record. Uniform single points would flatten that judgment entirely. Accumulating too many, whatever their sizes, can end driving privileges. Drive as if each ticket carries a different, unknown weight, because the schedule literally works that way behind the counter. The counter math rewards boring records.

    Study this in the handbook: Suspensions, points and habitual offenders

11. 11. What can happen after a New Hampshire driver accrues excessive demerit points?

    1. A discount on insurance
    2. Loss of driving privileges
    3. A warning with no effect
    4. Points convert to safe miles
    Show answer

    Loss of driving privileges. Excess points can cost the license itself, with point sizes varying by offense and consequences shifting with driver age. Insurance discounts flow in the opposite direction after violations. Speeding, signal violations, impaired driving, improper passing, and stop sign failures all feed the account. Young drivers should feel the math earliest, since youthful records draw suspensions under separate, stricter schedules as well.

    Study this in the handbook: Suspensions, points and habitual offenders

12. 12. Narrow and single lane bridges appear on rural New Hampshire roads. How are drivers warned to expect them?

    1. Warning signs identify them ahead.
    2. Radio announcements identify them ahead.
    3. They are not signed before the bridge.
    4. Flashing yellow lights on the bridge rails identify them.
    Show answer

    Warning signs identify them ahead.. New Hampshire advises drivers to look for warning signs that identify narrow or single lane bridges ahead. The signs give advance notice that opposing drivers may need to take turns, and the first driver to reach the bridge generally has the right of way. Radio announcements are not the stated warning system, and the manual does not say these bridges lack advance signs. Flashing lights on bridge rails are not the described method either. The question asks how the bridge is identified before arrival, not what happens after a driver reaches it.

    Study this in the handbook: Rural roads and night driving

13. 13. Crossing an open grate steel bridge in New Hampshire reduces tire grip. What should the driver do with the steering wheel?

    1. Loosen both hands
    2. Turn the wheel side to side
    3. Steer with one finger
    4. Hold a firm grip
    Show answer

    Hold a firm grip. A firm grip steadies the vehicle when steel grating lets the tires wander and traction drops. Loosening both hands surrenders control exactly when the surface starts tugging at the wheels. Slower speed and a longer gap ahead belong with the grip, since stopping also takes more room. As the grating hum starts under the tires, tighten both hands at the sides of the wheel, hold a straight line, and avoid sudden lane moves until pavement returns.

    Study this in the handbook: Rural roads and night driving

14. 14. A large vehicle approaches in the opposite lane on a curve in New Hampshire. What lane position care is required?

    1. Crowd the center line for room
    2. Stop in your lane and wait
    3. Move left to see around it
    4. Keep off the center line for its pass
    Show answer

    Keep off the center line for its pass. Oncoming traffic on a curve, especially a large vehicle, needs the center area left alone so it can pass without clipping mirrors. Crowding the line for a better view steals the exact feet a wide truck may need as it leans through the bend. Keep right, hold speed steady, and let the rig sweep past. Mirrors fold, but head on geometry does not forgive, particularly where the road bends.

    Study this in the handbook: Visual search and following distance

15. 15. Before parking on a New Hampshire street, what should a driver check for that may limit parking?

    1. Only whether another car already fits there
    2. Only the time printed on the meter
    3. Signs or painted curbs that prohibit or limit parking
    4. Whether the street has a posted speed limit
    Show answer

    Signs or painted curbs that prohibit or limit parking. Parking limits are not always posted on a sign at the exact space. Drivers should check for signs or painted curbs that may prohibit or limit parking before leaving a vehicle along the roadway. Whether another car fits there says nothing about legality, a meter time covers only metered spaces, and the speed limit for moving traffic does not grant parking rights. A painted curb can ban stopping on a block that looks open. Read the curb and the nearest signs first, then decide whether the space is lawful.

    Study this in the handbook: Parking rules and distances

16. 16. How do the blind spots of large trucks and buses compare with those of cars?

    1. About the same size as car blind spots
    2. Much larger than the blind spots of cars
    3. Smaller because truck mirrors are higher
    4. Limited to one small spot behind the cab
    Show answer

    Much larger than the blind spots of cars. Commercial vehicles are larger and less maneuverable than cars, and their blind spots are much larger than a car's. Higher mirrors do not shrink those zones, and the blind areas are not limited to one small spot behind the cab. They run along the sides, rear, and front of the large vehicle, where a car can disappear from the driver's view. Avoid lingering beside or directly behind a truck, and position your car where the truck driver can see it in the side mirrors.

    Study this in the handbook: Motorcycles, large trucks and slow vehicles

17. 17. Your vehicle starts to skid in New Hampshire. What is the first response with the accelerator?

    1. Press it halfway down
    2. Ease up on the accelerator
    3. Floor it to straighten out
    4. Alternate gas and brake rapidly
    Show answer

    Ease up on the accelerator. Lifting off the accelerator lets tires regain rolling grip while you steer where the rear is sliding. Adding power spins drive wheels deeper into the slide. Prepare to counter steer if the tail swings the other way. The whole recovery is gentle: ease, look, steer, breathe. Stabbing pedals built the skid, so only calm inputs can end it, one measured correction at a time.

    Study this in the handbook: Emergency braking, swerving and skids

18. 18. What rights and responsibilities do motorcyclists have on New Hampshire roadways?

    1. The same rights and responsibilities as other drivers
    2. Fewer rights because motorcycles are narrower
    3. Road rights only on rural highways and bridges
    4. Responsibilities only when riding in a group
    Show answer

    The same rights and responsibilities as other drivers. Motorcyclists have the same rights and responsibilities on New Hampshire roadways as other drivers. Narrow width does not reduce those rights, rural highways are not the only lawful place to ride, and group riding does not create the responsibilities. Because most motorcycles are only about two feet wide, one can hide in a blind spot and its speed can be hard to judge. Check carefully before turning across a rider, allow a full lane, and give at least four seconds of following distance behind a motorcycle.

    Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians and bicyclists

19. 19. A New Hampshire driver drinks coffee, eats, and steps into fresh air after drinking alcohol. What do those actions accomplish?

    1. They cancel the alcohol effect
    2. They perk you up but never sober you
    3. They cut blood alcohol in half at once
    4. They make driving legal again
    Show answer

    They perk you up but never sober you. Coffee, food, fresh air, exercise, and cold showers can sharpen alertness while alcohol keeps impairing judgment and reaction underneath. Believing the effect is cancelled puts a wide awake drunk driver behind the wheel, arguably the most dangerous kind. Each ounce of alcohol needs about an hour to leave the body, and only time does that work. If drinks happened, the keys wait, however alert the cold air makes you feel.

    Study this in the handbook: How alcohol and drugs affect driving

20. 20. When is a light horn tap advised in New Hampshire?

    1. At every green light change
    2. Whenever passing any vehicle
    3. To greet friends on sidewalks
    4. Someone on foot or bike enters your lane
    Show answer

    Someone on foot or bike enters your lane. A tap fits the moment a person on foot or on a bike drifts toward your lane, early enough for a gentle correction. Green lights and greetings turn the horn into noise pollution that teaches everyone to ignore it. Passing earns a tap only in narrow cases like a driver turning into your lane. Keep the sound rare, short, and tied to motion you can actually see developing.

    Study this in the handbook: Signals, headlights, horn and stopping distance