Michigan SOS Permit Practice Test 18
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age14 years 9 months
-
1. Two vehicles reach a four-way stop at the same moment from adjacent roads. Who should go first?
Show answer
Answer A: The driver on the right
When two drivers stop at a four-way stop at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.
-
2. A power line has fallen across your vehicle after a crash. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Stay inside and wait for utility workers unless fire forces you out
The vehicle body may be energized, and touching it and the ground at the same time can be fatal. If you must leave because of fire, jump clear with both feet together and shuffle away.
-
3. What is lane splitting?
Show answer
Answer B: A motorcycle riding between two lanes of traffic moving the same way
Lane splitting means riding along the line between two lanes of traffic going in the same direction rather than staying within a lane.
-
4. The engine dies at speed and the dashboard lights go out on a dark road. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Hold the wheel firmly, steer over to the shoulder and use the hazard lights
Never switch the ignition to lock, because the steering can lock; steer to the shoulder and warn traffic with the hazard lights.
-
5. You are on a city street with two lanes in your direction, cars parked along the curb and driveways every few yards. Which lane is usually safer?
Show answer
Answer B: The lane farther from the curb, away from opening doors and vehicles pulling out
Most of the hazards on such a street come from the curb side, so the inside lane gives you more space and more time to react.
-
6. You realize you have just gone past your exit on a freeway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Carry on to the next exit and turn around there
A missed exit costs a few minutes, while backing up or cutting across the striped gore area puts you in the path of traffic that is not expecting it.
-
7. Rain is heavy enough that you have your windshield wipers running. What else should you switch on?
Show answer
Answer A: Your headlights, so you can see and others can see you
Rain heavy enough to need wipers also cuts how far away you can be seen, so the headlights belong on. Many states write this into law as a wipers on, lights on rule.
-
8. Does using a hands free device remove the risk of distraction?
Show answer
Answer A: No, the conversation still takes attention away from driving
Hands free equipment removes the manual part of the distraction but not the mental part, and a driver deep in conversation can look straight at a hazard without registering it.
-
9. You park facing downhill on a one-way street where the curb is on your left. Which way do the front wheels go?
Show answer
Answer A: Left, toward the curb on that side
Standard practice follows the curb rather than the side of the road: facing downhill the wheels point into the curb so a rolling vehicle is stopped by it. States differ on whether this is legally required.
-
10. You are approaching a multilane roundabout. When should you choose your lane?
Show answer
Answer C: Before you enter, using the lane-choice sign on the approach
You select your lane on the approach the way you would at any multilane intersection, then stay in that lane all the way around, because changing lanes inside a roundabout creates side-impact conflicts.
-
11. You are following a large truck on a two-lane road and cannot see past it. What should you do before deciding to pass?
Show answer
Answer D: Drop back so that your view of the road ahead opens up
Distance is what buys you a view around a large vehicle, and no decision to pass can be made from a position where you cannot see.
-
12. You are approaching the entry of a roundabout and a pedestrian is crossing the marked crosswalk on your approach lane. What must you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop before the crosswalk and let the pedestrian cross
Roundabout crosswalks sit a short distance back from the yield line, and drivers must yield there before they ever reach the circulating lanes.
-
13. You are traveling beside another vehicle on a multilane highway at nearly the same speed. Why is this a poor position?
Show answer
Answer B: You may be sitting in that driver's blind spot with nowhere to go if they move over
Driving alongside removes your side escape route and often puts you where the other driver cannot see you. Speed up or drop back to open space beside you.
-
14. Which roads may a golf cart use in a Michigan community that allows golf carts?
Show answer
Answer C: Roads posted at 30 mph or less, at a speed no greater than 15 mph
A golf cart may not exceed 15 miles per hour and may not be driven on a state trunk line highway or on a road posted above 30 miles per hour, except to cross it by the most direct route.
-
15. How much community service may a Michigan court order for a first operating while intoxicated conviction?
Show answer
Answer C: Up to 360 hours
A first operating while intoxicated conviction may carry community service of not more than 360 hours, either instead of or alongside jail and a fine.
-
16. You have stopped on the shoulder of a busy freeway with a flat tire that you cannot change safely. Where should you and your passengers wait?
Show answer
Answer A: Well away from the traffic side, behind a barrier or up the bank if there is one
People struck on the shoulder are a common cause of roadside deaths, so wait away from the traffic side and behind any barrier.
-
17. A rectangular red sign with the white words WRONG WAY means that
Show answer
Answer C: the driver is already traveling against the legal flow and must not continue
The wrong way sign uses a white legend and border on red and addresses a driver who has entered a ramp or one-way roadway in the wrong direction, who should stop and turn around safely.
-
18. What is worth carrying in the vehicle during a winter trip?
Show answer
Answer A: A blanket, a flashlight, a scraper and a small shovel
A winter kit keeps you warm and visible if you are stopped for hours, and lets you clear glass and dig the wheels out. Hot water can crack cold glass.
-
19. Why are motorcycles so often missed by other drivers?
Show answer
Answer C: Their narrow shape is easily hidden in traffic
A motorcycle presents a narrow outline that disappears behind pillars, mirrors and other vehicles, and it is harder to judge its speed and distance.
-
20. Two solid yellow lines are painted down the center of a two-way road. What do they mean?
Show answer
Answer B: Traffic in neither direction may cross them to pass
A double solid yellow line marks a no-passing zone that applies to traffic traveling in either direction.
-
21. For how long must a Michigan teen hold Level 1 graduated licensing status before Level 2 can be issued?
Show answer
Answer D: Not less than 6 months
The Michigan Vehicle Code restricts a driver to Level 1 status for not less than 6 months before Level 2 status becomes available.
-
22. Your tires drop into deep slush that has built up between the travel lanes. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Ease off the accelerator and grip the wheel, since slush tugs the vehicle
Slush grabs at the tires and can pull the vehicle sideways. Reduce power gently, hold the wheel firmly and avoid sudden steering or braking.
-
23. The added lane warning sign tells a driver that
Show answer
Answer A: an extra lane begins ahead, so entering traffic does not have to merge into an existing lane
Where a lane is added, traffic entering the roadway gets a lane of its own, so merging is not required, although drivers should still watch the vehicles beside them.
-
24. A yellow lamp flashes above a warning sign at a sharp curve. What does it ask of a driver?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow down and pass the point with extra care
A warning beacon draws attention to the sign it is mounted with, and the message of the sign is what the driver must act on.
-
25. In the code that governs pavement markings, what does a double line stand for?
Show answer
Answer B: A maximum restriction
The marking code is consistent: a double line means the strongest restriction, a solid line discourages or forbids crossing, and a broken line is permissive.
-
26. At an intersection that uses a lagging left turn, when is the left-turn arrow displayed?
Show answer
Answer B: After the through movement has run
A lagging left turn phase runs at the end of the green rather than the start, so a driver waiting to turn should not assume the arrow has been missed.
-
27. You have a green light and an ambulance with lights and siren enters the intersection against its red. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Stop and let the ambulance go through
An emergency vehicle answering a call may cross against a red, and every other driver yields to it whatever their own signal shows.
-
28. A preferential lane sign reads HOV 2+ and lists the hours it applies. During those hours, which vehicles may use the lane?
Show answer
Answer A: Vehicles carrying at least two people, counting the driver
The number on an HOV sign is the minimum number of occupants, driver included, that a vehicle must carry to use the lane while the restriction is in effect.
-
29. A yellow diamond showing arrows arranged in a circle warns of
Show answer
Answer B: a circular intersection such as a roundabout ahead
The circular intersection warning sign announces a roundabout or traffic circle so drivers can slow down and prepare to yield to traffic already circulating.
-
30. You have started to pass and you see the no-passing zone beginning ahead. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Ease off, drop back and return to your own lane
A pass must be completed before the no-passing zone starts. If it will not fit, abandon it and slot back in behind.
-
31. What is the driver expected to do after passing this sign?
Show answer
Answer A: Begin slowing so that a complete stop can be made at the intersection ahead
It is used where the control at the intersection stays hidden until late, so braking should begin here rather than at the stop line.
-
32. You are passing a large truck on an open highway in a strong crosswind. What should you expect?
Show answer
Answer A: A push toward the truck, then a push the other way as you clear it
The truck shelters you as you go by and then releases you into the full gust, so the load on the steering changes twice during the pass.
-
33. A sign beside the signal reads STOP HERE ON RED. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: Stop at that point on red, not closer to the intersection
The sign marks the required stopping point, which is set back from the corner so that turning vehicles and sight lines are not blocked.
-
34. What alcohol content makes a Michigan driver guilty of operating while intoxicated?
Show answer
Answer D: 0.08 grams or more per 210 liters of breath
Michigan defines operating while intoxicated to include an alcohol content of 0.08 grams or more per 210 liters of breath or per 100 milliliters of blood.
-
35. What is the benefit of looking far down the road rather than just ahead of the hood?
Show answer
Answer A: You steer with smaller corrections and you see trouble in plenty of time
A distant view steadies your steering and gives you time to plan, because you meet hazards after you have already seen them.
-
36. Fog thickens until you can barely make out the vehicle ahead. What is the safest action?
Show answer
Answer A: Slow right down and, if needed, leave the road at a safe place
In heavy fog the only safe speed may be very low, and if it drops below what the road allows, the answer is to pull well clear of the traffic lanes.
-
37. When may you stop on the shoulder of a freeway?
Show answer
Answer A: Only in an emergency, moving completely off the travel lanes and switching on your hazard lights
The freeway shoulder is reserved for emergencies and for disabled vehicles, and a vehicle stopped there must be clear of the travel lanes with hazard lights on.
-
38. A police officer is directing traffic at an intersection and waves you through a red light. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Follow the officer, whose directions come before signs and signals
Directions given by a police officer or an authorized flagger override signs, signals and pavement markings.
-
39. What do two solid yellow lines down the middle of a two-way road mean?
Show answer
Answer D: Passing is prohibited for traffic in both directions
A double solid yellow line marks a two-direction no-passing zone, so neither direction may cross it to overtake another vehicle.
-
40. A bike lane on your right is marked with a dashed line for the last stretch before the corner. What does that dashed section allow you to do?
Show answer
Answer D: Merge into the bike lane after checking, and turn right from there
The dashed section is where drivers are meant to merge into the bike lane before turning, which puts cyclists behind the vehicle instead of beside it.
-
41. You are driving down a parking aisle and reach the main lane that runs along the front of the store. What is the usual rule?
Show answer
Answer C: The main through lane has the right of way over the vehicles leaving the aisles
In a parking lot the wide lane that runs across the ends of the aisles works like a through road, and drivers leaving an aisle yield to it.
-
42. Why is following distance measured in seconds rather than in car lengths?
Show answer
Answer A: Because a time gap automatically grows with speed, while a fixed number of car lengths does not
A gap counted in seconds keeps the same margin of reaction time at any speed, whereas a fixed number of car lengths becomes far too small as speed rises.
-
43. You are turning left from a two-way street onto a one-way street. Which lane should you enter?
Show answer
Answer C: The first lane open to traffic on the left side of the one-way street
Turn left from the lane closest to the center line and finish in the first available lane on the left of the one-way street, then change lanes if you need to.
-
44. Why does a heavier vehicle need more room to stop than a light one from the same speed?
Show answer
Answer B: Because there is more mass in motion for the tires to slow down
More mass means more energy at the same speed, and the brakes and tires need more distance to get rid of it.
-
45. Another driver has pulled out to pass you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stay in your lane, keep your speed steady or ease off, and let the pass finish
Accelerating while being passed forces the other driver to stay in the opposing lane longer, so the safe response is to hold or slightly reduce speed and stay right.
-
46. You have begun to move into the next lane when the gap you were aiming for closes. What is the safest action?
Show answer
Answer C: Return to your own lane, cancel the signal and wait for a better gap
An unfinished lane change leaves you in a space that no longer exists, and the lane you came from is still yours.
-
47. What does a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 mean for the driver of a car?
Show answer
Answer B: It is the level almost every state treats as legally intoxicated
In almost every state a driver at 0.08 or above is legally intoxicated whatever the driver seems like, but impairment starts well before that level is reached.
-
48. A set of reversible express lanes is closed off with gates and signs while it runs the other way. What must you never do?
Show answer
Answer C: Enter past a closed gate or a sign showing the lanes are closed
When reversible lanes are closed they may already be carrying traffic in the opposite direction, so entering past a gate can put you head-on into that traffic.
-
49. A white regulatory sign near a state line reads BUCKLE UP IT IS THE LAW. What is it doing?
Show answer
Answer A: Reminding occupants that belt use is required
The safety belt sign restates a law that already applies, and it is usually placed where drivers enter a state or a long rural stretch.
-
50. The tire pressure monitoring symbol lights up on your dashboard. What is the system telling you?
Show answer
Answer A: At least one tire is significantly underinflated
The system warns when a tire falls well below the recommended pressure. Check all four with a gauge and inflate to the placard figure while they are cold.