SD Permit Practice Test 13

All 20 questions in test 13

Every question below comes from the South Dakota 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 are air bags designed to function in relation to seatbelts?

   1. As complete replacements for seatbelts
   2. As protection for side impacts mainly
   3. As cushions meant only for low speed parking impacts
   4. As supplemental restraints that work best in combination with seatbelts
   Show answer

   As supplemental restraints that work best in combination with seatbelts. Air bags are supplemental restraints engineered to work best with seatbelts, which position the body so the bag can cushion head and chest as designed. Replacement thinking leaves occupants unprotected in side hits, rear hits, and rollovers where bags do little. Parking speed bumps are far below the crashes bags are built to cushion. Frontal crashes are the bag specialty, with belts covering the rest of the compass. Belt first, bag as backup: that order reflects how the engineers stacked the protection.

   Study this in the handbook: Seat belts, child seats and driving position

2. 2. After which record must a driver prove future financial responsibility before driving or registering a vehicle again?

   1. One reckless driving conviction in any five year span
   2. Two speeding convictions in one calendar year
   3. Two reckless driving convictions within one year
   4. One equipment violation with a paid fine
   Show answer

   Two reckless driving convictions within one year. Future proof is required after two reckless driving convictions land within a single one year period, before the driver may drive or register a vehicle again. One reckless conviction alone does not trigger this filing duty. Speeding and equipment matters sit outside this trigger. Count the dates carefully after any reckless case, because a second one inside the year starts the insurance filing requirement.

   Study this in the handbook: Instruction and Restricted Minor's Permits

3. 3. The brake warning light on your dashboard is lit before a trip. What does the handbook say?

   1. Drive slowly and wait for the next scheduled service visit
   2. Ignore it if the pedal feels firm today
   3. Do not drive the vehicle if this warning light is on
   4. It matters only on vehicles with ABS
   Show answer

   Do not drive the vehicle if this warning light is on. A brake warning light indicates that the brakes are not working properly, so the handbook says not to drive the vehicle when the light is on. A firm pedal today does not make the warning safe to ignore, and waiting for routine service leaves the vehicle available for every trip in the meantime. The instruction applies to the braking system, not only to vehicles with anti-lock brakes. Have the problem checked before using the vehicle again.

   Study this in the handbook: Skids, brake failure and other vehicle emergencies

4. 4. At a crossing where the side-by-side warning lights are flashing, what must you do?

   1. Proceed if the train still looks distant
   2. Stop only if a bell is also ringing
   3. Cross quickly over the tracks before the gates have fully lowered
   4. Stop, because flashing crossing lights require it
   Show answer

   Stop, because flashing crossing lights require it. Flashing side-by-side lights at a crossing are a stop command on their own, regardless of how far away the train appears. Judging train distance and speed by eye is notoriously unreliable, since locomotives look slower than they travel. Racing the gates converts a warning into a wager with your vehicle as the stake. A bell adds sound where fitted, but silent crossings still bind you through the lights. Hold behind the line until flashing ends and you have looked both ways along every track.

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

5. 5. For a person under 21 in South Dakota, which alcohol activities are illegal?

   1. Purchasing, possessing, or drinking alcoholic beverages
   2. Only purchasing alcohol from a store
   3. Being present while another adult drinks alcohol
   4. Possessing alcohol only when parents are absent
   Show answer

   Purchasing, possessing, or drinking alcoholic beverages. South Dakota makes it illegal for a person under 21 to purchase, possess, or drink alcoholic beverages. The rule is not limited to a store purchase and does not depend on whether a vehicle is being driven. Simply being present while another adult drinks is not one of the three activities named in this rule. Parental absence is not the test either. Remember the three verbs together: buying, holding, and consuming are each prohibited for someone under 21.

   Study this in the handbook: Instruction and Restricted Minor's Permits

6. 6. What is the job of drums, cones, tubes, and barricades placed in a work zone?

   1. To mark out parking spots reserved for construction crew vehicles
   2. To store tools where workers can reach them
   3. To reserve entry lanes for construction vehicles
   4. To keep traffic out of hazardous work zone areas
   Show answer

   To keep traffic out of hazardous work zone areas. Drums, cones, tube panels, and barricades form a barrier line that keeps moving traffic out of areas where the surface, drops, or equipment make driving dangerous. They are not crew parking markers, and treating them as such puts you inside the hazard. Reserving an entry path for work trucks is not the barrier job described here. Tool storage would scatter workers into traffic to fetch gear. Read a row of orange devices as a wall with instructions: stay on the open side, follow the taper, and expect the road picture to keep changing ahead.

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

7. 7. Your light is green when an emergency vehicle with lights and siren approaches. What must you do?

   1. Yield to the emergency vehicle before proceeding
   2. Proceed because your own signal is green
   3. Stop in the middle of the intersection and wait
   4. Speed up and clear the crossing before it arrives
   Show answer

   Yield to the emergency vehicle before proceeding. A green light gives you a turn or a through movement, but it never outranks an emergency vehicle using lights and siren. The handbook says you must yield to emergency vehicles and others as required by law even on green. Staying put in the middle of the intersection blocks the path the responder may need, and accelerating to beat the vehicle adds a second hazard. Listen for the siren and look for the lights before you enter, then pull to the right edge or stop short of the crossing until the vehicle passes.

   Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals and arrows

8. 8. How dangerous are mental distractions compared with taking your eyes or hands off the controls?

   1. Just as dangerous as the visible kinds
   2. Harmless if the road looks empty
   3. Dangerous only during the first year of holding a driver license
   4. Dangerous only above 55 mph
   Show answer

   Just as dangerous as the visible kinds. Mental activities that pull your mind from driving are just as dangerous as eyes off the road or hands off the wheel, because a wandering mind processes hazards late even while looking at them. An empty looking road hides the deer, the driveway, and the child between parked cars. Experience does not immunize anyone against inattention. Speed only changes how much ground a distracted second consumes. The argument replaying in your head is a blindfold worn internally; end the conversation or pull over before it drives for you.

   Study this in the handbook: Instruction and Restricted Minor's Permits

9. 9. Why must you use side mirrors and glance to the side while driving?

   1. Mirrors work better than direct side vision at all times
   2. Focusing sideways becomes possible after age twenty five
   3. Side glances are required only when reaching stop signs
   4. You cannot focus on things to the side, so mirrors and glances cover that area
   Show answer

   You cannot focus on things to the side, so mirrors and glances cover that area. Human eyes focus forward; the side world arrives blurred, so mirrors and deliberate glances supply the focused information your peripheral vision only hints at. Mirrors do not beat direct vision everywhere, they complement its blind geometry. The need exists at every speed and moment, not merely at stop signs. Age never grants sideways focus to anyone. Build the rhythm into driving: forward focus for the path, mirror checks for the sides, and a head turn before any lateral move, because the vehicle beside you lives in the unfocused zone.

   Study this in the handbook: Vision, fatigue, distraction and aggressive driving

10. 10. After release from incarceration for a third DWI, what minimum license loss still applies?

    1. No less than one year of license loss
    2. Thirty days counted from the arrest date
    3. Six months if the fine is paid early
    4. No loss of the license once imprisonment is completed
    Show answer

    No less than one year of license loss. A third DWI keeps the license gone for no less than one year after release from incarceration, so freedom from custody does not restore driving. Thirty days matches a first youth offense, a far lighter rung. Paying a fine early buys no time back on this suspension clock. Assuming release ends every penalty ignores the license term deliberately stacked behind the jail term. Planning around a third conviction means arranging a year of rides that only starts counting when the cell door opens.

    Study this in the handbook: DWI and zero tolerance penalties

11. 11. What emergency equipment does the handbook suggest carrying in your vehicle?

    1. A tow chain rated for highway use
    2. A basic vehicle emergency kit with flares, first aid supplies, and basic tools
    3. Spare gasoline in a sealed canister
    4. Spare engine oil, coolant, and a funnel for roadside top ups
    Show answer

    A basic vehicle emergency kit with flares, first aid supplies, and basic tools. A basic emergency kit stocks the breakdown essentials: emergency flares for visibility, first aid supplies for injuries, and basic tools for minor fixes. Tow chains invite dangerous amateur recoveries the kit never proposes. Spare gasoline in canisters creates fire and vapor hazards inside the vehicle. Spare oil and coolant do nothing for warning traffic or treating an injury. The kit's logic is time: a breakdown's first minutes decide its danger, and flares plus bandages plus a wrench convert waiting for help from exposure into a managed scene.

    Study this in the handbook: Crashes, emergency vehicles and traffic stops

12. 12. A pedestrian is crossing at an intersection where no crosswalk is marked. What must you do?

    1. Continue at full speed, because unmarked crossings give pedestrians no legal protection
    2. Honk once and proceed at the posted speed through the intersection
    3. Yield to pedestrians crossing at intersections, even when a crosswalk is not marked
    4. Yield only if the pedestrian has already reached the center line
    Show answer

    Yield to pedestrians crossing at intersections, even when a crosswalk is not marked. Paint does not create the duty: pedestrians crossing at intersections must be yielded to even when no crosswalk lines mark their path. Treating an unmarked crossing as unprotected invites drivers to claim space a person on foot is lawfully using. A honk at full speed substitutes noise for the required yielding. Waiting until someone reaches the center surrenders the half of the crossing where you would meet them. Scan every intersection corner as a crossing, marked or not, because feet were using that pavement long before lines were painted.

    Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

13. 13. When must you check traffic behind you more often than usual?

    1. Only when reversing into a driveway
    2. When traffic is heavy
    3. When the road is empty and straight
    4. Only after you have already stopped
    Show answer

    When traffic is heavy. Heavy traffic multiplies what is happening behind you, so mirror checks need to come more often to catch close followers and fast approaches before you slow or change lanes. Reversing demands rear attention, yet it is one event, not the standing condition named. Empty straight roads present the least rear activity of any setting. Waiting until after a stop discovers the tailgater at the moment of impact. In dense flow, treat the mirror like another forward scan, brief and frequent, woven into every decision to brake.

    Study this in the handbook: Pavement markings and signaling

14. 14. Why avoid sounding the horn close beside a bicyclist when no crash threatens?

    1. Horns are prohibited within city limits at every hour of the day and night
    2. The horn drains the vehicle battery quickly
    3. Cyclists cannot hear horns over wind noise
    4. It may startle the bicyclist and cause a swerve into your path and a crash
    Show answer

    It may startle the bicyclist and cause a swerve into your path and a crash. A horn blast at close range can startle a rider into steering straight into your path, manufacturing the crash you meant to prevent. Horns remain legal tools for genuine warning, just misused as greetings at a rider's elbow. Cyclists hear horns clearly; the danger is their startled reaction, not deafness. Battery drain from a honk is negligible. Save the horn for the moment a collision is actually forming, and at every other time let space and patience do the communicating around vulnerable riders.

    Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

15. 15. Why can starting off too fast on a slippery surface be dangerous?

    1. The drive wheels can spin and the vehicle can slide
    2. The steering wheel locks until speed builds
    3. The tires grip harder and stop the vehicle suddenly
    4. The engine refuses to deliver any power
    Show answer

    The drive wheels can spin and the vehicle can slide. A hard launch on slick pavement can break the drive wheels loose, spinning them uselessly while the vehicle slides instead of tracking straight. Steering stays mechanically free; the problem is tires that lost their grip, not a locked wheel. Spinning tires grip less, never harder, so no sudden stop rescues the start. The engine delivers plenty of power; the surface simply cannot accept it. Feather the accelerator on ice or gravel, and let the vehicle walk away from the stop before you ask for real speed.

    Study this in the handbook: Seat belts, child seats and driving position

16. 16. A snowplow is running its red or amber lights on a road posted 45 mph. How far back must you stay?

    1. At least 300 feet
    2. At least 100 feet
    3. At least 200 feet
    4. At least 500 feet
    Show answer

    At least 200 feet. Where the posted limit is 35 mph or more, South Dakota law sets a following gap of at least 200 feet behind a snowplow showing red or amber lights. The plow is wide, rides near the center line, and can throw snow that hides the road, so a close follow leaves no room to react. A 100 foot gap is half the required distance, while 300 and 500 feet exceed it without being the legal minimum. Look for the plow's lights and the posted speed, then drop back to a gap you can measure against the pavement markings.

    Study this in the handbook: Night, winter, deer and work zones

17. 17. Who is responsible for making sure a parked vehicle does not become a hazard?

    1. The next driver who approaches the vehicle
    2. The driver who parked the vehicle
    3. The owner of the nearest property
    4. No one, once the engine is switched off
    Show answer

    The driver who parked the vehicle. Responsibility stays with the person who parked: your vehicle must not sit as a hazard to others after you leave it. Approaching drivers can only react to what they find; they did not choose its position, lighting, or angle. A nearby property owner has no control over your parking choices. Switching off the engine ends the trip, not your duty for where the vehicle rests. Before walking off, scan how it sits in the lane picture and correct anything that endangers passing traffic.

    Study this in the handbook: Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and school buses

18. 18. What can drivers face for failing to properly secure a load that causes a crash?

    1. Only the cost of cleaning the roadway
    2. A costly fine and jail time if they cause a crash
    3. A warning for the first dropped item
    4. No penalty if the load was furniture
    Show answer

    A costly fine and jail time if they cause a crash. An unsecured load is illegal and dangerous, and a driver whose loose cargo causes a crash can face a costly fine plus jail time, beyond cleanup or damage claims. Roadway cleaning is the smallest bill in the picture. First offense warnings are not promised for dropped loads. Furniture becomes a projectile with the same legal status as any cargo. Straps, nets, and tarps take minutes; the liability for a mattress through a windshield lasts years, so secure every load like the vehicle behind you is family.

    Study this in the handbook: Seat belts, child seats and driving position

19. 19. You are entering a perpendicular or angle parking space in a lot. What should you do first?

    1. Back into the space without checking the lanes beside it
    2. Pull to the front of the space and secure the vehicle at once
    3. Identify the space in which you will park and check traffic
    4. Center the vehicle before you have entered the space
    Show answer

    Identify the space in which you will park and check traffic. Entry begins before any steering happens. Pick the exact space, then scan the aisle and the lanes beside it for moving vehicles and people on foot. Pulling straight to the front skips that scan and belongs to the end of the maneuver, after the vehicle sits centered. Backing in blind creates the same gap in awareness from the opposite direction. A slow approach with a named target space lets you signal, angle in smoothly, and stop only once the nose reaches the front of the stall.

20. 20. What comparison describes the force of a head-on crash at just 25 mph?

    1. Like stepping off a low curb at walking speed
    2. A full-speed bicycle into a brick wall or a three-story fall
    3. Like falling from a one-story building onto soft ground
    4. Like a bicycle rolling into a padded barrier at low speed
    Show answer

    A full-speed bicycle into a brick wall or a three-story fall. The manual compares the force of a 25 mph head-on crash with pedaling a bicycle full-speed into a brick wall or diving off a three-story building. The comparison is meant to show why a seemingly low speed can produce severe force. A low curb, a one-story fall, and a padded barrier describe much less violent events and do not match the stated comparison. Use the lap and shoulder belt because bracing with the arms cannot absorb this level of force.

    Study this in the handbook: Seat belts, child seats and driving position