SD Permit Practice Test 14

All 20 questions in test 14

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. On narrow rural roads with ditches instead of shoulders, how should you position and drive?

   1. Ride the center line to avoid ditches
   2. Hug the ditch edge to leave maximum room
   3. Reduce speed, center the vehicle in the lane, and watch for oncoming traffic sharing the lane
   4. Drive faster through narrow stretches to clear them as soon as possible
   Show answer

   Reduce speed, center the vehicle in the lane, and watch for oncoming traffic sharing the lane. Narrow rural lanes with ditch drop-offs call for reduced speed and a centered vehicle, watching for oncoming drivers who may need part of your lane to pass. Riding the center line manufactures head-on pressure. Hugging the ditch edge risks a wheel drop that yanks the vehicle off line. Speed shortens the negotiation time two drivers need on a lane and a half of width. Centered and slow turns a squeeze into a courtesy exchange instead of a mirror clipping standoff.

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

2. 2. How should your grip on the steering wheel feel during normal driving?

   1. As tight as possible at all times
   2. Firm but gentle, using fingers with thumbs up along the wheel face
   3. Press your palms hard against the inside of the rim
   4. Loose enough for the wheel to spin freely
   Show answer

   Firm but gentle, using fingers with thumbs up along the wheel face. A firm but gentle grip, fingers doing the work and thumbs resting up along the wheel face, gives control without the fatigue and overcorrection a death grip creates. Maximum tightness tires arms and turns small inputs jerky. Palms ground into the rim's inside invite injury and poor leverage. A free spinning wheel is no grip at all. Relaxed strength is the goal: hands quiet at three and nine, ready to squeeze and steer decisively the moment the road asks for it.

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

3. 3. You have a steady green light and want to turn left across oncoming lanes. What applies?

   1. Oncoming traffic has the right-of-way
   2. The green light gives you priority to turn
   3. You must wait for a green arrow before turning
   4. Oncoming traffic must yield once you enter
   Show answer

   Oncoming traffic has the right-of-way. A round green light permits a left turn only after you judge it safe, because vehicles coming toward you keep the right-of-way. Waiting for a green arrow is not required where the law allows an unprotected turn, though it may be the safer choice in heavy traffic. The notion that green gives you priority over oncoming vehicles is the common mistake, since their light is also green. Look for a gap in the oncoming lane, check the crosswalk, and complete the turn without forcing anyone to brake.

   Study this in the handbook: Traffic signals and arrows

4. 4. A driver in the license-loss period after a third DWI is convicted of driving without a license. What jail term is required?

   1. Not less than three days, which the judge may suspend
   2. A fine only, with no jail authorized
   3. Not less than ten days, which may not be suspended
   4. Up to one year at the judge's discretion only
   Show answer

   Not less than ten days, which may not be suspended. Driving without a license during the third DWI loss period brings a mandatory county jail stay of not less than ten days, and that sentence may not be suspended. Three days is the figure attached to the same act during a second offense period, one rung down. A fine-only outcome deletes jail time the schedule makes compulsory. Discretionary sentencing up to a year misses that the floor and the non-suspension are the point. Each repeat level hardens the response to driving while barred.

   Study this in the handbook: DWI and zero tolerance penalties

5. 5. A traffic patrol is posted at a school crossing as children cross. What must you do if that patrol signals you?

   1. Proceed slowly through the crossing without stopping
   2. Stop and yield if signaled to do so
   3. Stop only when a crossing sign also flashes
   4. Yield only to children already past the center line
   Show answer

   Stop and yield if signaled to do so. A posted patrol turns a school crossing into a controlled one. When that patrol signals, stop and yield, and hold until the crossing is clear and you are waved or clearly released. Rolling slowly through disobeys a direct signal at the place children are least predictable. A flashing sign is not required for the patrol authority to count. Children anywhere in the crossing, not only past its middle, are inside your path. Treat the raised hand or sign like a red light built for small pedestrians.

   Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

6. 6. About how many people per year are injured in motor vehicle crashes in work zones?

   1. About 4,000 people per year nationwide
   2. Approximately 40,000 people per year
   3. About 400,000 people per year
   4. Fewer than 400 people per year
   Show answer

   Approximately 40,000 people per year. Work zones injure approximately forty thousand people a year, a toll built from narrowed lanes, rough surfaces, moving equipment, and drivers who keep highway habits inside a construction site. Four thousand and four hundred both shrink that record by an order of magnitude. Four hundred thousand inflates it just as falsely the other direction. The true scale explains the orange signs, the doubled attention, and the lowered speeds: a work zone is a workplace threaded through live traffic, and the casualty count says drivers keep forgetting it.

   Study this in the handbook: Following distance, passing and large vehicles

7. 7. Under what condition may you pass another vehicle on the shoulder?

   1. When the shoulder is fully paved
   2. When traffic is moving slowly
   3. Never pass on a shoulder
   4. During daylight with flashers on
   Show answer

   Never pass on a shoulder. The manual says never to pass on the shoulder, whether the surface is paved or unpaved. A smooth shoulder does not become a passing lane, and slow traffic does not create an exception. Daylight and hazard flashers also do not authorize the maneuver. Shoulders may contain stopped vehicles, debris, or people who are not visible from the travel lane. Wait for a lawful opening and pass in a regular lane when it is safe to do so.

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

8. 8. What trip habit protects an impatient driver from speeding and risky choices?

   1. Leave at the last possible minute
   2. Plan the fastest route regardless of traffic
   3. Allow extra time for the driving trip
   4. Skip breaks to recover lost minutes
   Show answer

   Allow extra time for the driving trip. Extra time is the impatient driver's antidote: with margin in the schedule, delays stop demanding speed, tailgating, and gambles to recover them. Last minute departures manufacture the urgency that causes the behavior. Fastest-route obsession keeps the clock as the trip's real driver. Skipping breaks trades fatigue for minutes and loses both. Build the buffer before the key turns; a driver with time in hand can let the train cross, the truck merge, and the light cycle without feeling robbed.

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

9. 9. What have studies shown about the driving records of hearing-impaired drivers?

   1. Their records are far worse than average
   2. Hearing loss automatically suspends a license
   3. They may drive only during daylight
   4. Their records are just as good as those with good hearing
   Show answer

   Their records are just as good as those with good hearing. The manual reports that studies found the driving records of hearing-impaired drivers are just as good as the records of drivers with good hearing. The finding does not support a claim that hearing loss makes records far worse, imposes daylight-only driving, or automatically suspends a license. Drivers with hearing problems can compensate by relying on visual information and alertness. The study result concerns driving records, so do not turn it into an unsupported licensing restriction.

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

10. 10. Your license requires corrective lenses, but you drive without them and get stopped. What can happen?

    1. Nothing if you pass a roadside eye chart
    2. Only a warning for a first offense
    3. The officer supplies spare glasses
    4. You could get a ticket
    Show answer

    You could get a ticket. When a driver license requires corrective lenses, driving without them can result in a ticket if the driver is stopped. Passing an informal roadside eye chart does not erase the license restriction. The manual also does not promise only a warning or require an officer to supply replacement glasses. The practical rule is simple: keep the required correction on while driving, and carry a spare pair if losing or breaking the usual pair could leave you unprepared.

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

11. 11. In a diverging diamond interchange, how do left turns onto the freeway operate?

    1. All left turns onto the freeway are free flow, meaning vehicles do not stop to access the ramp
    2. They wait for a green arrow like always
    3. Left turns are prohibited in this design
    4. They stop at the ramp entrance and wait for an opening in fast freeway traffic
    Show answer

    All left turns onto the freeway are free flow, meaning vehicles do not stop to access the ramp. The diverging diamond's signature benefit is the free flow left: vehicles turn onto the freeway ramp without stopping, because the crossover geometry removes the opposing stream. Waiting for a green arrow describes a conventional diamond instead. Prohibition would erase the design's main advantage. Stopping at the ramp entrance to hunt for a gap describes a yield controlled merge, not this design. Follow the signs and markings through the swapped sides, and the left onto the ramp simply flows like a right turn elsewhere.

12. 12. A crossing bell or horn is still sounding after a train passes. When may you cross?

    1. Do not cross until the bell or horn has stopped
    2. As soon as your lane over the tracks is empty
    3. When the driver behind you honks to proceed
    4. Once the last car of the train clears your lane
    Show answer

    Do not cross until the bell or horn has stopped. Keep waiting until the bell or horn has fully stopped, because that sound signals an active warning cycle that may cover another movement on a second track. An empty lane in front of you says nothing about a train approaching on the far rails. A honk from behind is impatience, not information about rail traffic. The tail of one train can hide the nose of another running the opposite way. Silence plus your own look in both directions is the release, and both halves matter before rolling.

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

13. 13. What speed behavior should you expect from your own vehicle on a long, steep downgrade?

    1. It will naturally hold a constant speed
    2. It often builds up speed going down the grade
    3. It slows itself unless the accelerator is pressed
    4. Its brakes grow stronger the longer the hill lasts
    Show answer

    It often builds up speed going down the grade. Gravity feeds momentum on a downgrade, so vehicles often build speed as the grade continues, sometimes without the driver noticing until the needle surprises them. No natural governor holds a steady pace against that pull. A vehicle left off the accelerator still accelerates downhill rather than slowing itself. Brake strength fades with heat over a long descent, the opposite of growing stronger. Check the mirrors and the speedometer together on grades, and gear down early instead of riding the brake pedal to the bottom.

    Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

14. 14. Which over-the-counter drugs can make you drowsy and affect driving?

    1. Only prescription sleep medications ordered by a doctor
    2. Antacids taken after large meals
    3. Vitamins taken with breakfast
    4. Drugs for headaches, colds, hay fever, allergies, or calming nerves
    Show answer

    Drugs for headaches, colds, hay fever, allergies, or calming nerves. Common shelf remedies for headaches, colds, hay fever, and allergies, plus products meant to calm nerves, can all bring drowsiness that degrades driving. Prescription sleep medicines certainly sedate, but they are not the over-the-counter category named here. Vitamins and antacids are not flagged for this effect. The trap is familiarity: a cold tablet feels harmless because no prescription was needed. Read the label of anything from the medicine aisle before a drive, because drowsiness from a legal drug impairs exactly like drowsiness from any other source.

    Study this in the handbook: DWI and zero tolerance penalties

15. 15. How can the speed limit differ inside a work zone?

    1. It may be lowered for the safety of workers and travelers
    2. It remains the normal posted limit throughout the work zone
    3. It may be raised to move traffic through faster
    4. It applies only when workers are visible
    Show answer

    It may be lowered for the safety of workers and travelers. A work zone may have a lower speed limit to protect workers and people traveling through the area. The ordinary road limit does not automatically continue inside the zone, and the limit is not raised to move traffic faster. The posted reduction also remains relevant when workers are not visible. Watch for the work-zone speed sign and follow its number until the work-zone signs show that the restriction has ended.

    Study this in the handbook: Following distance, passing and large vehicles

16. 16. You are backing out of a perpendicular parking space. How far should you move straight back at first?

    1. Until the rear bumper reaches the aisle center line
    2. Only a few inches, then turn sharply at once
    3. Until your mirrors line up with the vehicle beside you
    4. Until the front bumper clears the vehicle parked beside you
    Show answer

    Until the front bumper clears the vehicle parked beside you. The nose of your vehicle is the part that can clip a neighbor while you swing. Back straight, watching in every direction, until that front bumper has fully cleared the vehicle parked beside you. Turning earlier drags the front corner across the adjacent fender. Stopping after a few inches and cranking the wheel creates exactly that scrape. Mirror alignment tells you nothing about bumper clearance. Once the front is free, steer toward where the rear should go, then pause, shift, and roll forward into the aisle with the wheels straightening as you leave.

17. 17. When is a three-point turnabout the right choice for reversing direction?

    1. On any wide highway with a firm shoulder, light traffic, and a clear view ahead
    2. Only on a two-lane roadway too narrow for a U-turn when circling the block is impossible
    3. Whenever a driveway is not available nearby
    4. On multi-lane roads during light traffic hours
    Show answer

    Only on a two-lane roadway too narrow for a U-turn when circling the block is impossible. A three-point turnabout is a last resort on a two-lane roadway too narrow for a U-turn when driving around the block cannot be done. A wide highway gives room for safer options, so the multi-stop maneuver adds risk without need. A missing driveway rules out a two-point turnabout, yet the block may still offer an easier loop. Light traffic on several lanes does not narrow the road into the qualifying condition. Reserve this stop-and-reverse pattern for the narrow street where simpler choices truly run out.

    Study this in the handbook: Turns, U turns and roundabouts

18. 18. An approaching driver fails to dim the high beams after your flash. Where should you look?

    1. Directly into their headlights to judge distance
    2. At your dashboard until they pass
    3. Toward the right side of the road
    4. Into the left mirror continuously
    Show answer

    Toward the right side of the road. Shift your gaze toward the right side of the road, tracking the edge line or road shoulder until the bright vehicle passes, which preserves your course without staring into blindness. Looking straight into the beams guarantees temporary blindness at the worst moment. The dashboard shows nothing about where the road bends. The left mirror faces backward, away from your path. The right edge becomes your guide rope through the glare; follow it at reduced speed, and your vision recovers seconds sooner after the offender goes by.

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

19. 19. Besides completing the Instruction Permit requirements, what test must an applicant pass to obtain a Restricted Minor's Permit?

    1. A driving test showing safe vehicle operation
    2. A motorcycle driving test for two wheeled vehicles
    3. A commercial vehicle road test with cargo
    4. A second vision test taken after sunset
    Show answer

    A driving test showing safe vehicle operation. An applicant for a Restricted Minor's Permit must pass a driving test after completing the Instruction Permit requirements. Choosing a motorcycle test confuses the standard car permit path with a separate two wheeled credential. A commercial road test belongs to a different license family, and an after sunset vision check invents a testing condition that was never listed. Practice ordinary vehicle control beforehand, because the road performance itself forms the gateway into restricted driving.

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

20. 20. After steering quickly around a hazard, what should you do next?

    1. Hold the wheel turned in the same direction until the vehicle has fully stopped moving
    2. Release the steering wheel completely
    3. Accelerate hard to stabilize the vehicle
    4. Steer in the opposite direction to straighten out, gain control, and start slowing
    Show answer

    Steer in the opposite direction to straighten out, gain control, and start slowing. Once clear of the problem, counter steer the other way to straighten the vehicle, regain full control, and only then settle into slowing down. Holding the first turn cranked drives you across the road into the opposite hazard. Hard acceleration during recovery upsets balance that is already borrowed. Letting go of the wheel surrenders the recovery entirely. Think in two beats: dodge, then unwind. Practicing that second beat is what separates a swerve from a spin, because the vehicle wants to snap back further than most drivers expect.

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