TX Permit Practice Test 4

All 20 questions in test 4

Every question below comes from the Texas 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. Which Texas freeway lanes fit faster traffic?

   1. Always ride the far left lane
   2. Use the middle or left lane when faster or passing
   3. Weave through all lanes constantly
   4. Stay right while passing everyone
   Show answer

   Use the middle or left lane when faster or passing. Lane choice should match your pace relative to traffic. Texas says to use the right lane at minimum speed or below the flow, and the middle or left lane when traveling faster or passing. Permanent left camping, weaving, and right-lane passing all break the pattern. The cue is your speedometer versus the flow: match the lane to your pace and pass on the left.

   Study this in the handbook: Night and highway driving

2. 2. You left a Texas crash scene unstopped. What must you do?

   1. Return immediately and remain until duties are done
   2. Flee to another state
   3. Hide the car in a garage
   4. Change your name
   Show answer

   Return immediately and remain until duties are done. Missing the initial stop does not cancel the duty. Texas says drivers who failed to stop must immediately return and remain at the scene until all duties are complete. Flight, hiding, and renaming all compound the crime. The cue is the missed stop: turn around at once, because only compliance ends the obligation. Bring your license, registration, and insurance to the scene when you return. Cooperate fully to show the absence was a mistake, not flight.

   Study this in the handbook: Breakdowns, skids and crashes

3. 3. Beyond jail and fines, what license penalty follows DWI with a child passenger?

   1. Suspension for 90 days to 1 year on top of jail and fines
   2. No license action at all
   3. A lifetime driving award
   4. Suspension of the passenger instead
   Show answer

   Suspension for 90 days to 1 year on top of jail and fines. DWI with a young child aboard stacks every penalty at once. Beyond the state jail felony fine and 180 days to 2 years confinement, Texas suspends the license for 90 days to 1 year. No-action, award, and passenger-punishment readings are nonsense. The cue is the child under 15 in the car: the law punishes endangering a young passenger with jail, money, and time off the road together.

   Study this in the handbook: Zero tolerance alcohol laws for minors

4. 4. A motorcyclist ahead approaches potholes and loose gravel. What change should you anticipate?

   1. The rider will maintain a straight path at the same speed
   2. A sudden speed or lane-position adjustment, with room left for it
   3. The rider must stop completely before every pothole
   4. The rider will always move toward the center line
   Show answer

   A sudden speed or lane-position adjustment, with room left for it. A pothole, gravel patch, or slippery surface can be a much greater problem for a motorcycle than for a car. Texas says riders may suddenly adjust speed or position within the lane in response to such conditions. Expect that movement and leave room for it. Assuming the rider will hold a fixed line and speed overlooks the warning. The appropriate adjustment depends on the road hazard rather than a single mandatory direction.

   Study this in the handbook: Trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians

5. 5. Where does limited vision ban Texas left-side driving?

   1. Drive left to see better
   2. Speed up over hills
   3. Stay right where vision is limited
   4. Pass on every curve
   Show answer

   Stay right where vision is limited. Blind hills and curves hide oncoming death. Texas bans left-side driving on hills, curves, and anywhere vision is limited. Left-looking, hill-speeding, and curve-passing all gamble blind. The cue is the hidden road ahead: stay right until sight lines fully open. Cresting a hill on the left meets oncoming cars with zero warning for anyone. Drop back right before every blind summit or bend.

   Study this in the handbook: Signaling, passing and turning

6. 6. What may a driver do with a car that has a flat tire or blowout?

   1. Drive it slowly off the road
   2. Drive it at normal speed to the next service station
   3. Leave it stopped in the travel lane with no warning devices
   4. Accelerate sharply to keep the damaged tire turning
   Show answer

   Drive it slowly off the road. The handbook says a car with a flat tire or blowout can be driven slowly off the road. The word slowly is the safety cue: reduce risk while moving the disabled vehicle away from active traffic. Driving at normal speed toward a service station adds distance and control demands. Leaving the car in a travel lane without warning devices exposes approaching drivers, while acceleration cannot repair lost tire pressure. Once clear of the pavement, use emergency warning lights or other available warnings and address the tire problem from a safer position.

   Study this in the handbook: Night and highway driving

7. 7. What do pentagon-shaped Texas traffic signs identify?

   1. School advance and school crossing locations
   2. No-passing zones
   3. Railroad advance warnings
   4. Stop locations
   Show answer

   School advance and school crossing locations. The handbook ties the pentagon shape to school advance and school crossing signs. Its five-sided outline helps a driver recognize a school-related warning before reading every word on the sign. A round sign is used for a railroad advance warning, a pennant warns of a no-pass zone, and an octagon is reserved for stop signs. Shape recognition is especially useful when a sign is distant, partly obscured, or seen briefly in traffic. Once the pentagon is identified, reduce speed and watch for children, crossings, and school activity.

   Study this in the handbook: Sign shapes, colors and meanings

8. 8. Where are in-street pedestrian crossing signs placed?

   1. Only on the right-hand roadside shoulder
   2. In the roadway at the crosswalk on a center line, lane line, or median island
   3. At the nearest railroad crossing
   4. Above the roadway on a traffic signal mast
   Show answer

   In the roadway at the crosswalk on a center line, lane line, or median island. Texas describes in-street pedestrian crossing signs as being placed in the roadway at the crosswalk. Their permitted locations include the center line, a lane line, or a median island. They are not roadside signs on the left or right, and the handbook does not place them overhead on a signal mast. The railroad choice concerns a separate warning system. When driving toward a marked crossing, expect the sign to stand within the roadway and reduce speed for people who may enter the crosswalk.

   Study this in the handbook: Trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians

9. 9. On a level Texas highway, how much longer does the handbook say passing a truck takes than passing a car?

   1. One to two seconds longer
   2. Six to eight seconds longer
   3. Ten to twelve seconds longer
   4. Three to five seconds longer
   Show answer

   Three to five seconds longer. The truck passing guidance allows three to five additional seconds compared with passing a car on a level highway. Road grade matters: the same section notes that a truck often loses speed going uphill, while its momentum makes it faster going downhill. Use the level-road figure only for the situation it describes. A pass beside a truck should be completed as quickly as possible without staying alongside the other vehicle.

   Study this in the handbook: Trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians

10. 10. What does Texas say about stopping on bridges and in tunnels?

    1. Only on bridges longer than a mile
    2. On a highway bridge, but not inside a highway tunnel
    3. On any bridge, elevated structure, or highway tunnel
    4. Inside a highway tunnel, but not on a bridge
    Show answer

    On any bridge, elevated structure, or highway tunnel. Elevated and enclosed roadways leave no escape room for a stopped car. Texas bans stopping, standing, or parking on a bridge or other elevated structure on a highway, and within a highway tunnel. Length, lighting, and traffic volume do not narrow the rule. The cue is the structure around you: once the road rises onto a bridge or dives into a tunnel, keep moving until you reach open roadway with a legal place to stop.

    Study this in the handbook: Where you may not park

11. 11. A low-place-in-road sign appears in Texas. What should you do?

    1. Speed up to jump the dip
    2. Swerve into the next lane
    3. Brake hard in the dip
    4. Slow down to keep control and comfort
    Show answer

    Slow down to keep control and comfort. Dips bottom out suspensions and unload tires. Texas says a low place in the road means slow down to avoid losing control or taking an uncomfortable jolt. Jumping, swerving, and dip-braking all worsen the bounce. The cue is the dip warning: ease off before the hollow, ride it straight and slow, and accelerate only past the rise. Motorcycles and low cars suffer most, so give two-wheelers extra room through dips.

12. 12. What does a Texas soft-shoulder warning mean?

    
    1. Drive onto the shoulder to pass
    2. Stop on the soft dirt to rest
    3. Stay paved; soft dirt can seize control
    4. Speed up on the soft edge
    Show answer

    Stay paved; soft dirt can seize control. Soft shoulders grab tires and flip corrections. Texas warns of soft dirt beside the pavement that may seize control of the car, demanding extreme caution to stay on the paved portion. Shoulder passes, dirt rests, and edge speeding all invite the grab. The cue is the crumbling rim: keep every tire on asphalt, and if forced off, slow down and steer firmly.

13. 13. What does the Texas handbook say about sunscreen or window tinting on a vehicle?

    1. It is prohibited on all windows
    2. There are no rules
    3. It is allowed only on the rear window
    4. It must comply with the state regulations for your vehicle make and model
    Show answer

    It must comply with the state regulations for your vehicle make and model. If sunscreen or window tinting is used, it must comply with the appropriate state regulations for your vehicle make and model. Tint is neither banned outright nor unregulated, and the handbook does not limit it to the rear window. The handbook lists tinting in its table of optional equipment, which is equipment not required on a vehicle, and states the rule only as compliance with those regulations rather than listing tint percentages. Check the state rules for your own vehicle before adding tint.

14. 14. What does a diamond-shaped sign exclusively warn drivers about?

    1. Existing or possible hazards on the road or nearby
    2. A stop requirement at the next intersection
    3. A route, destination, or exit name
    4. A school advance or school crossing
    Show answer

    Existing or possible hazards on the road or nearby. A diamond sign is reserved for warning about an existing or possible hazard on the road or in an adjacent area. It is an advance cue to look for the condition and respond safely, not a command to stop by itself. An octagon is exclusively a stop-sign shape, a horizontal rectangle generally carries guide information, and a pentagon marks school advance or school crossing signs. Seeing the diamond profile should prompt an immediate search for the hazard described by its symbol or message.

    Study this in the handbook: Sign shapes, colors and meanings

15. 15. Disobeying a warning sign or driving around a barricade normally carries a $1 to $200 fine in Texas. What changes in a work zone when workers are present?

    1. The fine stays the same
    2. The fine is waived if no one is hurt
    3. The fine doubles
    4. The fine triples
    Show answer

    The fine doubles. Texas makes it a violation to disobey the instructions, signals, warnings, or markings of a warning sign, or to drive around a barricade. The offense is a misdemeanor with a fine of $1 to $200, and fines double in a construction or maintenance work zone when workers are present anywhere in the construction zone. A separate, much heavier Class B penalty applies when the sign or barricade marks water over the road.

    Study this in the handbook: Sign shapes, colors and meanings

16. 16. Another vehicle is passing you on a Texas road. What does the handbook tell you to do with your speed?

    1. Speed up so the pass is over sooner
    2. Do not increase your speed
    3. Brake hard so the other driver can cut in
    4. Match the speed of the passing vehicle
    Show answer

    Do not increase your speed. When another vehicle is passing you, the handbook gives four rules: do not increase your speed, stay in your lane, safely move as far to the right as you can when being passed on the left and the lanes are not marked, and make it as safe and easy as possible for the other driver to pass you. The same advice appears for trucks: when a truck passes you, keep to the far side of your lane and do not speed up while it is passing.

    Study this in the handbook: Signaling, passing and turning

17. 17. A Texas train sounds an audible warning as it approaches a crossing. Within about what distance of the crossing does the handbook list this as a reason to stop?

    1. 500 feet
    2. 1,500 feet
    3. 1,000 feet
    4. 2,500 feet
    Show answer

    1,500 feet. The railroad crossing rules list an approaching train within about 1,500 feet that produces an audible signal identifying the immediate hazard. Under that condition, a driver must stop between fifteen and fifty feet from the nearest rail. The train’s distance from the crossing and the car’s stopping position are different measurements. Here the question concerns how far away the approaching train is, so do not substitute a distance used to place the stopped vehicle.

    Study this in the handbook: School buses and railroad crossings

18. 18. What can six inches of floodwater do to a passenger car?

    1. It will wash the undercarriage safely
    2. It cannot affect a modern car
    3. It only matters for motorcycles
    4. It reaches the car's floor, causing loss of control and stalling
    Show answer

    It reaches the car's floor, causing loss of control and stalling. Six inches of water already attacks the car's underside. Texas warns that six inches will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, causing loss of control and possible stalling. Car washes, modern-car immunity, and motorcycle-only readings all deny the physics. The cue is water over the curb line: at six inches the engine, brakes, and steering all begin to fail, so turn around before the depth grows.

19. 19. Why should you avoid cutting in front of a truck to reach an exit or turn?

    1. It makes the truck driver take the same exit
    2. It preserves the truck’s stopping space if you signal
    3. It adds stopping room by shortening the gap
    4. It removes the truck driver’s cushion of safety
    Show answer

    It removes the truck driver’s cushion of safety. The open space ahead of a truck or bus is part of its safety cushion. Cutting into it to reach an exit can leave the driver too little room. The handbook particularly warns against trying to beat a truck into a single-lane construction zone. Slow down and exit safely or remain behind the truck instead of turning a missed opportunity into a conflict. Plan your movement early enough to preserve that space.

    Study this in the handbook: Trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians

20. 20. What does a Texas bicyclist signal by pointing the left arm downward?

    1. A left turn
    2. A right turn
    3. A stop
    4. A request for following traffic to pass
    Show answer

    A stop. The bicycle signal list assigns a downward left arm to a stop. A horizontal left arm signals a left turn, and a raised left arm is one of the ways to signal a right turn. Recognize the arm’s position before interpreting what the rider intends. A lowered arm in this listed signal is not an invitation to pass. Drivers and riders need to distinguish slowing toward a stop from a change of direction.