SD Permit Practice Test 15

All 20 questions in test 15

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. You are judging whether to pass a multiple-trailer truck. What should that decision account for?

   1. A truck that long stops faster than a car because its many axles brake harder on dry roads
   2. A multiple trailer truck can be 75 feet or longer and takes much longer to pass than a car
   3. Length does not change passing time, since speed matters more than size here
   4. You may pass in short stages, pulling in briefly between each trailer set
   Show answer

   A multiple trailer truck can be 75 feet or longer and takes much longer to pass than a car. Length is time. A multiple-trailer combination can run seventy five feet or longer, and every extra foot extends the seconds you spend in the opposing lane or beside the rig. Clear road ahead has to cover that whole interval plus your return. Such a truck also needs far more distance to stop, not less. Passing in stages beside individual trailers keeps you alongside a vehicle that may sway or need to shift. If the open stretch ahead is not plainly generous, stay back and wait for a passing lane or a longer view.

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

2. 2. Besides flashers, how can you signal that your stopped vehicle is an emergency?

   1. Leave all vehicle doors standing wide open toward traffic
   2. Raise the hood or tie a white cloth to the antenna, side mirror, or door handle
   3. Remove both license plates from the stopped disabled vehicle
   4. Park with the front wheels turned sharply toward traffic
   Show answer

   Raise the hood or tie a white cloth to the antenna, side mirror, or door handle. A raised hood or a white cloth tied to the antenna, mirror, or door handle broadcasts distress to every passerby, marking the vehicle as disabled rather than merely parked. Open doors spill into traffic space and invite strikes. Removing plates makes the vehicle suspicious, not sympathetic. Wheel angle communicates nothing recognizable. These signals work because drivers learn them universally; combine them with flashers and triangles where available, then get people away from the traffic side while help comes.

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

3. 3. At a narrow single-lane bridge, who generally has the right-of-way?

   1. The larger vehicle in every case
   2. The driver who honks first at the bridge entrance
   3. The driver traveling northbound
   4. Generally, the first driver to the bridge has the right-of-way
   Show answer

   Generally, the first driver to the bridge has the right-of-way. Single-lane bridges run on arrival: the first driver to reach the bridge generally holds the right-of-way across it. Vehicle size earns no automatic priority. Compass direction plays no role in the rule. A honk announces presence but creates no legal claim. The system works when the second driver reads the bridge early and waits at the entrance rather than meeting halfway with nowhere to retreat; scan for occupied bridges from a distance and yield the crossing as a whole, not by halves.

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

4. 4. If a tire suddenly blows out, what does the manual advise about braking?

   1. Do not brake unless gentle braking is necessary
   2. Press the brake pedal hard immediately
   3. Pump the brakes repeatedly until the vehicle stops
   4. Apply the parking brake fully at once
   Show answer

   Do not brake unless gentle braking is necessary. After a tire blowout, the manual says to let the vehicle slow by itself and not brake, with gentle braking only if necessary. Hard braking or repeated pumping can upset the vehicle while the tire is deflated, and fully applying the parking brake can create another loss of control. Grip the steering wheel firmly, keep the vehicle going straight, and reduce speed gradually by taking your foot off the accelerator. Move off the road when it is safe.

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

5. 5. Several vehicles have lined up behind you on a two-lane road where you cannot match the flow. What should you do?

   1. Hold your pace until the next town
   2. Speed up beyond the limit to clear the queue
   3. Stop in the travel lane so they can go around
   4. Pull over when safe to do so and let them pass
   Show answer

   Pull over when safe to do so and let them pass. A queue behind you is pressure building toward a risky pass. When the line forms because your vehicle cannot keep the pace, find a safe place to pull over and let the backed up traffic go by. Holding speed until town leaves every follower to gamble on oncoming gaps. Exceeding the limit trades one hazard for another and may exceed what your vehicle can do. Stopping inside the lane turns you into an obstacle at closing speed. A brief pullout on a shoulder or turnout releases the pressure and costs you seconds.

   Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

6. 6. How do wet pavement, sand, or gravel change your caution around bicyclists?

   1. These conditions affect bicycles much more than vehicles
   2. Bicycles grip better than cars on loose surfaces
   3. Cars lose traction first and worst on gravel covered shoulders beside the lane
   4. Only the painted lane lines become slippery
   Show answer

   These conditions affect bicycles much more than vehicles. Loose or slick surfaces punish two thin tires far more than four wide ones, so bicycles wobble, slide, and need recovery room where your car feels merely untidy. Bicycles never out grip automobiles on gravel; the physics runs the other way. Cars do lose traction too, yet the comparison is about degree, and riders have no steel shell when balance goes. Paint is slippery, but the hazard covers the whole treated surface. On gritty corners, expect a rider to take a wider, slower line and leave space for a slide.

   Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

7. 7. What following distance should you keep behind a motorcyclist?

   1. Two seconds, matching the normal following gap used behind passenger cars
   2. One motorcycle length at any speed
   3. A minimum 4-second following distance, or more in wet conditions
   4. Six seconds only on interstate highways
   Show answer

   A minimum 4-second following distance, or more in wet conditions. Four seconds minimum behind a motorcycle, and more when the road is wet, because a rider can stop or swerve abruptly for hazards your car would ignore. Two seconds is a car habit that leaves no answer for a motorcycle braking hard over a pothole. One vehicle length evaporates instantly at speed. The rule is not limited to interstates; local streets hold the potholes and gravel that force rider reactions. That long cushion is respect for how differently two wheels meet the same bad pavement.

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

8. 8. A pedestrian activates a hybrid beacon. What do the lights direct drivers to do?

   1. Continue at the posted speed until red
   2. Treat the beacon like a flashing yellow warning
   3. Slow and stop for a steady and flashing sequence
   4. Stop only if the pedestrian is in your lane
   Show answer

   Slow and stop for a steady and flashing sequence. When the call button is pressed, the beacon runs a yellow to red sequence that includes steady and flashing lamps, and the purpose is to make approaching drivers slow and then halt. The idea that you keep the posted speed until a steady red appears ignores the yellow stage that begins the sequence. Calling it a flashing yellow warning understates a device that can stop traffic outright. Watch the beacon head as soon as it lights, reduce speed at the yellow, and be prepared to wait while the pedestrian crosses.

   Study this in the handbook: Right of way, funerals and intersections

9. 9. How little alcohol can already affect a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle?

   1. Only after four drinks consumed within a single hour
   2. Even one drink can affect driving ability
   3. Nothing below a 0.08 percent reading matters
   4. Impairment begins only after two full drinks
   Show answer

   Even one drink can affect driving ability. Even a single drink can affect the ability to operate a motor vehicle, degrading the judgment and vision margins that safe driving quietly consumes. Four drinks mark obvious intoxication, long after measurable decline begins. Readings below the adult legal limit still carry impairment, which is why officers can act on behavior under 0.08 percent. Waiting until a second drink to expect impairment also misses how early decline begins. Treat the first drink as the decision point: driving plans end there, not at some later count.

   Study this in the handbook: Alcohol, zero tolerance and implied consent

10. 10. Why is holding a child in your arms inside a moving vehicle unsafe?

    1. Arms tire too quickly on long trips
    2. In a vehicle, a parent's arms are not a secure place for a child
    3. Children dislike being held in vehicles
    4. An adult wearing a seatbelt can hold a child securely
    Show answer

    In a vehicle, a parent's arms are not a secure place for a child. Crash forces multiply a child's effective weight beyond any grip, so arms that feel secure in a living room cannot hold a child in a vehicle collision or hard stop. Tired arms are a comfort issue far below the physics problem. Children's preferences about being held vary and prove nothing about safety. Wearing a belt yourself does not give your arms the strength to hold a child through impact. The loving instinct to hold must be routed into a proper restraint, where engineered webbing does the holding at forces arms cannot.

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

11. 11. How is the penny held and placed for a tire tread check?

    1. Hold it with Lincoln's body between thumb and forefinger, placing Lincoln headfirst into the deepest-looking groove
    2. Flat against the sidewall lettering
    3. Rolled slowly along the tread surface so you can feel the depth with your fingertips
    4. Pressed into the valve stem opening
    Show answer

    Hold it with Lincoln's body between thumb and forefinger, placing Lincoln headfirst into the deepest-looking groove. The penny test grips the coin with Lincoln's body between thumb and forefinger and inserts it headfirst into the deepest groove you can find, setting up the head coverage judgment. Sidewall lettering measures branding, not tread. Rolling a coin reads texture, not depth against a standard. Valve stems measure pressure, a different check entirely. The deepest groove is chosen deliberately: a tire is only as legal and safe as its most worn channel, since that channel floods first in rain.

12. 12. What road rights do horseback riders and animal-drawn vehicles hold?

    1. None on paved state highways
    2. Rights only between dawn and sunrise
    3. The same rights to use the road as a motor vehicle, following the same rules
    4. Full priority over all motor vehicle traffic on every road
    Show answer

    The same rights to use the road as a motor vehicle, following the same rules. Animal-powered road users hold the same rights to the roadway as a motor vehicle and owe the same rules in return, making them full participants rather than tolerated guests. Paved highways exclude nobody the law includes. No curfew by sunlight governs their travel. Equal rights also means no blanket priority over motor traffic. Treat a buggy like a slow vehicle with a living engine: pass with space, expect field turns, and remember its occupants face catastrophic injury in any collision your patience could prevent.

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

13. 13. What is the normal lane position for interstate driving when you are not passing?

    1. The left lane for cruising just below the speed limit
    2. The center of any three available lanes
    3. Stay in the right lane unless overtaking and passing another vehicle
    4. Alternate lanes every few miles
    Show answer

    Stay in the right lane unless overtaking and passing another vehicle. Interstate discipline parks cruising traffic in the right lane, reserving the left for overtaking and passing, then returning right when clear. Visibility from the left lane tempts drivers to camp there and compress faster traffic behind them. A center lane may be a travel lane in three lane sections, yet the rule of keeping right when not passing still governs the pattern. Alternating lanes weaves without purpose. Predictable lane homes let speed differences sort themselves out with passing on one side only.

14. 14. Why keep extra space between your vehicle and parked cars along the street?

    1. Someone could step out or a parked car could pull out
    2. It gives you room to pass parked vehicles on their right
    3. It lets you maintain speed beside the parked vehicles
    4. The law requires a ten-foot clearance
    Show answer

    Someone could step out or a parked car could pull out. Parked vehicles can hide a person stepping into the street or a driver pulling out. Extra lateral space gives you more time and room to react to either movement. Passing parked cars on their right is not the purpose of the cushion, and keeping full speed does not make a surprise safer. The manual does not set a universal ten-foot clearance for ordinary parked vehicles. Treat the row as a possible source of sudden movement and leave enough room to respond.

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

15. 15. You want to overtake a bicycle just as an oncoming vehicle approaches. How should you sequence the hazards?

    1. Pass both hazards at the same time by riding the center of the roadway while traffic approaches
    2. Honk so both move aside for you
    3. Squeeze between them at the posted limit
    4. Slow down and let the oncoming vehicle pass first, then give the bicycle extra room
    Show answer

    Slow down and let the oncoming vehicle pass first, then give the bicycle extra room. Take hazards one at a time: slow, let the oncoming vehicle go by, then pass the bicycle with generous room instead of threading both at once. Splitting the gap at speed leaves the cyclist inches from your mirror while oncoming steel passes on the other side. A squeeze at the limit removes every margin simultaneously. A honk commands nobody and startles the rider you most need steady. Patience here costs three seconds; the alternative spends your entire safety cushion in a single moment.

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

16. 16. What must every South Dakota licensee do with a driver license while operating a motor vehicle?

    1. Keep it at home and retrieve it later that day
    2. Store a photograph on a phone as the only copy
    3. Keep it with you and display it on official demand
    4. Mail it to an examiner before each driving trip
    Show answer

    Keep it with you and display it on official demand. Every licensee must carry the driver license in immediate possession while operating a motor vehicle and display it when a judge, court of record, magistrate or peace officer demands it. Leaving the card at home tempts drivers on short trips, yet possession applies whenever the vehicle moves. A phone photograph also fails to replace the physical credential required in hand. Keep the wallet in the same pocket each trip so the habit becomes automatic.

17. 17. An adult over 18 holds a South Dakota Instruction Permit. What is required before upgrading to an Operator License?

    1. Nothing beyond the initial vision screening taken at the exam station
    2. A motorcycle safety course certificate
    3. One year of holding the permit with no testing
    4. Successful completion of a drive test is required before upgrading
    Show answer

    Successful completion of a drive test is required before upgrading. For the over eighteen permit, upgrading to an Operator License requires successfully completing a drive test first, so the state observes real vehicle control rather than assuming maturity equals skill. Vision screening alone certifies eyes, not driving. No calendar year of holding substitutes for that demonstration. Motorcycle coursework belongs to a different credential entirely. Adults sometimes expect the learner stage to expire into a license automatically; South Dakota instead makes every new driver, at any age, prove the road skills once.

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

18. 18. A practiced drinker shows no staggering or slurred speech. At what BAC does crash risk still climb?

    1. Only at 0.20 percent or higher
    2. At 0.05 percent or higher despite hiding the signs
    3. Crash risk stays completely flat whenever outward signs stay hidden
    4. Only when police can observe weaving
    Show answer

    At 0.05 percent or higher despite hiding the signs. Experienced drinkers can compensate and mask outward drunkenness, yet their crash chances still rise once BAC reaches 0.05 percent or higher, below the headline adult limit. Waiting for 0.20 percent ignores how early the statistics turn. Hidden signs fool companions, not physics or the crash record. Weaving visible to police is an enforcement clue, not the threshold where danger begins. The lesson cuts deep: feeling practiced at holding liquor is itself a warning sign, because the impairment is present while the evidence looks absent.

    Study this in the handbook: DWI and zero tolerance penalties

19. 19. While backing into a parallel space, when should you straighten the wheels?

    1. When the front door passes the back bumper of the vehicle ahead
    2. As soon as the rear tire touches the curb line
    3. After the vehicle sits fully parallel to the curb with the maneuver finished
    4. Before the vehicle begins moving backward at all
    Show answer

    When the front door passes the back bumper of the vehicle ahead. Straighten the wheels as your front door passes the rear bumper of the vehicle parked ahead, then continue backing straight for the next phase. Waiting until the vehicle sits parallel skips the middle correction and leaves the nose swung wide. Touching the curb line means the angle already ran too deep. Straightening before moving removes the turn that carries the rear into the space. That passing point is your visual trigger: door beside their bumper, wheels come back to center, backing continues true.

20. 20. A train is approaching a grade crossing. Where must you stop your vehicle?

    1. On the tracks themselves, to leave the road behind you clear
    2. Beside the cross-buck sign even if you block the tracks
    3. Past the crossing so the train can pass behind you
    4. Behind the stop line, clear of the crossing
    Show answer

    Behind the stop line, clear of the crossing. With a train or railroad vehicle approaching, stop behind the stop line or far enough back that no part of your vehicle sits inside the crossing area. The tracks themselves are the one place a stopped vehicle cannot survive. Rolling past the crossing after a train is committed gambles against its stopping distance, which stretches beyond a mile. Parking beside the cross-buck while fouling the rails repeats the same fatal placement. The white stop line sits where it does because train width exceeds the rails; respect that margin every time.

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