SD Permit Practice Test 24

All 20 questions in test 24

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. A snowplow works near the center line throwing clouds of snow. How should you respond?

   1. Pass quickly through the snow cloud
   2. Follow closely behind it in the cleared path
   3. Slow down and give the plow as much room as possible
   4. Pass the plow while it is working near the center line
   Show answer

   Slow down and give the plow as much room as possible. Snowplows are wide, may work close to the center line, and can throw clouds of snow that affect vision. The handbook says to slow down and give them as much room as possible. Passing through the cloud or beside the plow reduces visibility near heavy equipment. Following closely also leaves little room if the plow changes position or sheds snow. Stay back, reduce speed, and wait until you can see and pass safely under normal roadway conditions.

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

2. 2. Why should you avoid following a larger vehicle too closely?

   1. It limits how far you can see down the road
   2. Large vehicles always travel below the limit
   3. Their slipstream pulls your vehicle closer at speed
   4. They are required to brake without warning
   Show answer

   It limits how far you can see down the road. Sitting close behind a truck or bus walls off your view of signals, brake lights several vehicles deep, and hazards forming beyond it, trapping you into reacting only when the big vehicle does. Large vehicles often travel at normal highway pace, so speed is not the issue. No slipstream drags a following car forward into the trailer ahead. Nothing requires them to brake without warning either. Drop back until the road picture reopens; the extra space returns both sight distance and stopping options that the wall ahead had stolen.

3. 3. A pedestrian is crossing the road outside any crosswalk. What should you be prepared to do?

   1. Continue at speed because no crosswalk is marked
   2. Yield to the pedestrian even outside a crosswalk
   3. Flash your headlights and keep your lane position
   4. Sound the horn and pass behind the pedestrian
   Show answer

   Yield to the pedestrian even outside a crosswalk. Stay ready to yield to a person on foot even when no painted crosswalk surrounds that person. Paint on the pavement helps organize crossing, yet it does not create the duty to protect someone already in the road. Keeping your speed because markings are missing, as one choice suggests, leaves no room when the walker hesitates or turns. Look well ahead near curbs, parked cars, and driveways, ease off early, and give the person a wide, calm path to finish crossing.

   Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

4. 4. Where should the top of the steering wheel sit relative to your body?

   1. No higher than the top of your shoulders and below chin level
   2. At eye level for the best leverage
   3. Slightly above the chin for better leverage
   4. At waist height like older vehicles from decades past
   Show answer

   No higher than the top of your shoulders and below chin level. The wheel's top should sit no higher than your shoulders and below chin level, a position balancing steering leverage, dashboard visibility, and air bag deployment geometry. Eye level placement puts the rim and its deploying bag toward your face. Above the chin repeats the same hazard with certainty. Waist height belongs to vintage columns and forces a reach that tires shoulders. Seat height and column tilt exist to find this window; set it before moving, because mid-drive adjustments happen with one hand and wandering attention.

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

5. 5. Which action is prohibited on an interstate highway in South Dakota?

   1. Crossing the median to reach the other side
   2. Staying in the right lane while others pass
   3. Slowing down only after reaching the exit ramp
   4. Using the acceleration lane to build speed
   Show answer

   Crossing the median to reach the other side. The median of an interstate is a barrier you must not cross, even when the exit you wanted sits on the far side or traffic looks thin. Crossing it puts you head-on into the fastest lanes with no merge pattern to protect you. Traveling right while others pass, delaying your slowdown until the exit ramp, and building speed on the acceleration lane are all approved interstate habits. If your exit passes, the lawful answer is the next one, never a dash across the grass.

6. 6. For an alert driver, what is the average perception time before a stop begins?

   1. About one quarter of a second
   2. Two to three full seconds
   3. Between ¾ and 1 second
   4. About five seconds at highway speed
   Show answer

   Between ¾ and 1 second. Perception time covers seeing a hazard, recognizing the need to stop, and deciding to act, and for an alert driver that span averages three quarters of a second to one second. A quarter second understates how long recognition alone takes. Two or three seconds describes a distracted glance away, not an alert baseline. Five seconds at speed carries a vehicle the length of a football field before braking even starts. The cue for planning gaps is that even sharp attention spends most of a second before the foot moves.

   Study this in the handbook: Controlling speed

7. 7. How do strong emotions raise driving risk, according to the handbook?

   1. They improve focus through adrenaline
   2. They matter only after a crash occurs
   3. Strong emotions mainly create risk only during long highway trips at night
   4. They interfere with thinking, create a lack of attention, and interrupt processing information
   Show answer

   They interfere with thinking, create a lack of attention, and interrupt processing information. Worry, excitement, fear, anger, and depression all tax the same mental machinery driving uses: thinking blurs, attention thins, and information processing stumbles mid-traffic. Adrenaline feels like focus while quietly narrowing it. Trip length offers no protection either; a short drive still demands full attention and clear processing. Waiting until after a crash to count emotions reverses cause and effect. The dashboard mirror is an instrument here: if your inner state is loud, the correct driving input is time, distance, or a different driver.

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

8. 8. When may you drive using only the parking lights?

   1. Never drive with only the parking lights on
   2. At dusk while visibility remains good
   3. In fog instead of using headlights
   4. On city streets with streetlights
   Show answer

   Never drive with only the parking lights on. South Dakota prohibits driving with only the parking lights on at any time. Parking lights do not replace headlights for illuminating the road or making the vehicle apparent to other drivers. Dusk is not an exception, and fog calls for appropriate headlights rather than parking lights alone. Streetlights also do not change the vehicle's lighting requirement. Use the headlights required for the conditions and keep the parking-light-only setting for a parked vehicle.

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

9. 9. Within what distance from home do over half of all traffic deaths happen?

   1. Within 5 miles of home
   2. Within 25 miles of home
   3. Beyond 100 miles from home
   4. Distance from home has no pattern
   Show answer

   Within 25 miles of home. Over half of all traffic deaths happen within 25 miles of home. That figure counts deaths near home, where many everyday trips begin and end on roads posted at lower speeds. Choosing 5 miles shrinks the distance named in the statistic. Choosing beyond 100 miles moves most deaths to long journeys, opposite the pattern given. Saying no pattern exists ignores the clear concentration close to home. Picture your usual local routes when you recall the number: the 25 mile figure covers that familiar area around your starting point.

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

10. 10. When is a load considered properly secure on a vehicle?

    1. When it survived the driveway test
    2. When nothing can slide, shift, fall, or sift onto the roadway or become airborne
    3. When heavier items are placed on top of lighter items in the load
    4. After the first mile without movement
    Show answer

    When nothing can slide, shift, fall, or sift onto the roadway or become airborne. Secure means absolute stillness under travel forces: nothing aboard can slide, shift, fall, or sift onto the roadway or lift airborne at speed. A driveway roll tests nothing about highway wind and braking. Stacking heavy items on top does not stop loads sliding, shifting, or lifting at speed. A quiet first mile guarantees nothing about the gust or swerve in mile two. Build the restraint for the worst second of the trip, because that second is the one the following driver will judge your work by.

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

11. 11. What eyewear does the handbook warn against while driving at night or on overcast days?

    1. Prescription glasses with clear lenses
    2. Reading glasses used for the dashboard
    3. Any glasses with metal frames
    4. Sunglasses or colored lenses
    Show answer

    Sunglasses or colored lenses. Sunglasses and colored lenses steal light your eyes cannot spare after dark or under heavy overcast, shrinking exactly the visibility night driving already limits. Clear prescription lenses correct sight without the tint penalty. Frame material makes no difference to light reaching the eye. Reading glasses blur distance vision, a separate misuse, but the warning targets tint. Keep night eyewear clear, keep the windshield clean inside and out, and remember your headlights define the world; anything dimming them further shortens your decisions.

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

12. 12. Your engine shuts off while driving and power steering is lost. What steering reality should you expect?

    1. The steering wheel cannot be turned in either direction no matter how hard you try
    2. The steering wheel may be difficult to turn, but you can still turn it
    3. Steering becomes easier than normal
    4. The wheels lock pointing straight ahead
    Show answer

    The steering wheel may be difficult to turn, but you can still turn it. Without engine power the steering grows heavy, yet the wheel still turns with strong effort, so you can muscle the vehicle toward the shoulder. Total immobility would strand every stalled vehicle in its lane, which is not what happens. Easier steering is the opposite of losing hydraulic or electric assist. Wheels never lock into a fixed straight position from a stall. Grip hard, brake with steady pressure, and plan a wider, earlier arc to the roadside, because each correction now costs real arm strength.

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

13. 13. Who must accompany a Motorcycle Instruction Permit holder on another motorcycle?

    1. A licensed motorcyclist, 18 or older, with one year's experience
    2. A licensed driver following in a passenger car
    3. A parent riding as a passenger on the learner's motorcycle
    4. An instructor seated behind the learner on the motorcycle
    Show answer

    A licensed motorcyclist, 18 or older, with one year's experience. The accompanying person must have a valid motorcycle license, be at least 18, have at least one year of driving experience, and ride another motorcycle. The question places that rider on the separate motorcycle. A driver in a passenger car does not meet the motorcycle requirement, and a parent or instructor seated behind the learner would be a passenger on the learner's motorcycle. The permit rule calls for two motorcycles traveling together under the supervision of the licensed motorcyclist.

14. 14. How long must a Motorcycle Restricted Minor's Permit holder drive on that permit immediately before applying for a Motorcycle Operator's License?

    1. A driving period of three months immediately before applying
    2. A driving period of six months immediately before applying
    3. A driving period of nine months immediately before applying
    4. A driving period of twelve months immediately before applying
    Show answer

    A driving period of six months immediately before applying. The motorcycle restricted stage needs six months of driving immediately before an application for a Motorcycle Operator's License. Three months may feel substantial after regular practice, yet it leaves half the required recent experience missing. Nine and twelve months require a longer recent stretch than the stated minimum demands. Count backward from the planned application date; the six months right before that date form the window that matters most.

15. 15. Besides signals, signs, and markings, what else does South Dakota treat as a traffic control device?

    1. A warning on a roadside billboard
    2. A lane change by the car ahead
    3. Directions from a school crossing guard
    4. A hand signal from a bicyclist
    Show answer

    Directions from a school crossing guard. Traffic control devices are not limited to hardware. The handbook includes directions given by law enforcement officers, highway personnel, and school crossing guards, because those people can override the normal flow when conditions demand it. A billboard warning is advertising rather than an official direction, and a bicyclist's hand signal tells you that rider's plan, not a lawful command for your lane. The cue is authority: when a uniformed person waves you through or holds you back, follow that instruction even if the light or sign says something else.

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

16. 16. You enter a work zone with cones and signs but see no workers. What does South Dakota require?

    1. Maintain the normal limit until you see a worker
    2. Speed up to pass the cones quickly
    3. Stop and wait for a flagger to appear
    4. Reduce your speed even though the crew is absent
    Show answer

    Reduce your speed even though the crew is absent. South Dakota requires drivers to reduce speed in a work zone even when no workers are present. Cones, narrowed lanes, rough pavement, and changing traffic patterns can remain dangerous after the crew leaves. The normal-limit choice makes a worker the trigger, but the work zone itself is the warning. Speeding through the cones reduces reaction time, while stopping to wait for a flagger is unnecessary and can obstruct traffic. Treat the signs and barriers as the cue to slow down and stay alert.

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

17. 17. From which part of your lane should you always make a right turn?

    1. The left-most portion, after a wide swing
    2. The center of the lane, for a wider arc
    3. The right-most portion of the lane
    4. Any part, if the turn signal is on early
    Show answer

    The right-most portion of the lane. A right turn starts from the right-most portion of the lane, keeping the turn tight and predictable for everyone behind you. Swinging wide left first crosses the path of vehicles that expect you to stay right, and it opens a gap cyclists may enter. The center gives a broad arc that drifts into neighboring space. An early signal announces intent but never licenses a sloppy starting position. Hug the right edge as you approach, then turn into the nearest lawful lane in one compact motion.

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

18. 18. When traffic must alternate through a narrowed work zone, what temporary device may control the flow?

    1. Railroad crossing gates
    2. Permanent traffic signals
    3. Temporary traffic signals
    4. Vehicle hazard flashers
    Show answer

    Temporary traffic signals. Temporary traffic signals may control traffic in a work zone where lanes narrow or alternate. Railroad crossing gates belong at highway-railroad crossings, and permanent traffic signals are not the temporary device described by the manual. Hazard flashers warn that a vehicle is stopped or disabled; they do not sequence traffic through a work area. When a temporary signal is installed, read and obey its indications just as you would at a regular signalized intersection.

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

19. 19. Which visual effect can alcohol cause besides blurred vision?

    1. It can make colors easier to distinguish.
    2. It can improve a driver's ability to judge distance.
    3. It can sharpen a driver's night vision.
    4. It can reduce the ability to distinguish colors.
    Show answer

    It can reduce the ability to distinguish colors.. Alcohol can reduce color distinction, which makes it harder to tell colors apart. The same section says alcohol blurs vision, slows focusing, causes double vision, and reduces the ability to judge distance, speed, and movement of other vehicles. The claim that colors become easier to distinguish reverses the color rule. The claim that alcohol improves distance judgment also reverses the manual's statement. A claim of sharper night vision describes another improvement that alcohol does not provide. Signal colors and warning colors depend on the driver recognizing them accurately, so impaired color distinction can affect how a driver reads the roadway.

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

20. 20. With a manual transmission, how should you leave the gears when parking downhill?

    1. In the lowest gear, the same setting used for uphill parking
    2. In neutral so the wheels can settle
    3. In second gear to reduce engine wear
    4. In reverse, matching the downhill direction
    Show answer

    In reverse, matching the downhill direction. A manual gearbox parks in reverse when facing downhill and in the lowest gear when facing uphill, so the gearing resists the direction gravity pulls. Using the lowest gear downhill copies the uphill setup and fights the wrong way. Neutral offers no resistance at all once the brake fades. Second gear is a travel choice that weakens the holding effect you need. Match the gear to the slope: reverse downhill, lowest uphill, and the parked vehicle stays loaded against its own roll.

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