Michigan SOS Motorcycle Practice Test 31

  • Questions20
  • Correct to pass16
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

20 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 16 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. The low sun is directly ahead and glare makes it hard to see. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Slow down, use the sun visor or sunglasses, and increase following distance

    Sun glare can hide pedestrians, brake lights and signals. Reducing speed and adding space gives you time to react to what you cannot yet see.

  2. 2. What does a sign reading Slower Traffic Keep Right require?

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    Answer C: Traffic moving slower than the general flow must use the right-hand lane

    The sign applies to any vehicle traveling below the speed of the traffic around it, which must keep right so faster vehicles can use the lanes to the left.

  3. 3. Another driver cuts you off and you feel your temper rising. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Take a breath, drop back and let it go, because the whole trip matters more

    Retaliation turns a moment of bad driving into a crash, and dropping back costs you only a few seconds.

  4. 4. The left-turn signal facing you shows a flashing yellow arrow. What does it mean?

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    Answer C: You may turn left after yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians

    A flashing yellow arrow permits a left turn but gives no protection, so you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to people in the crosswalk.

  5. 5. Which of the four blind spots around a tractor-trailer is the largest?

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    Answer A: The one on the right side of the truck

    A truck has no-zones on all four sides, and the right-side blind spot is the largest because it runs back along the trailer and reaches across more than one lane.

  6. 6. What is the correct swerving technique?

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    Answer D: Press the handgrip on the side you want to go and look toward the escape route

    A swerve is two quick countersteering inputs, and because the motorcycle goes where the rider looks, the eyes belong on the open space.

  7. 7. A pedestrian steps off the curb in the middle of a block where there is no crosswalk at all. What is the legal position?

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    Answer A: They must yield to you, but you must still avoid a crash

    A pedestrian crossing away from a crosswalk yields to vehicles, yet every driver still has a duty to use care and avoid hitting a person.

  8. 8. The light turns yellow when your front wheels are already past the stop line inside the intersection. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Keep going and clear the intersection without speeding up

    Once you are legally in the intersection the safest and correct action is to continue through and clear it, without accelerating.

  9. 9. Why should pant legs be secured and bootlaces tucked away?

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    Answer A: Loose fabric and laces can tangle in the chain, the controls or a wheel

    Anything hanging near the moving parts of a motorcycle can be caught and pulled in, which can trap a foot or lock the rear wheel.

  10. 10. What is lane splitting?

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    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.

  11. 11. Is dictating a message by voice a safe alternative to typing one?

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    Answer C: No, it still takes attention from driving

    Composing and checking a spoken message loads the mind and usually pulls the eyes to the screen anyway, so research finds it no safer than other phone use.

  12. 12. Where should the rider be looking during a U-turn?

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    Answer B: All the way around toward the point where the turn will finish

    A motorcycle follows the eyes, so turning the head to the exit of the turn keeps the machine coming round instead of drifting wide.

  13. 13. You are fitting a tank bag to your motorcycle. What must you check?

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    Answer B: That it does not foul the handlebars or block your view of the instruments

    A bag that catches the bars at full lock or hides the instruments interferes with control of the motorcycle exactly where the rider needs it most.

  14. 14. What happens to the civil fines in Michigan when a crash occurs and the at-fault driver was manually using a mobile device?

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    Answer B: They are doubled

    Michigan doubles any civil fines when a traffic crash occurs and the at-fault driver was holding or manually using a mobile electronic device.

  15. 15. A large insect splatters on your face shield and blocks part of your view. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Keep control, look through a clear part, and clean it at the next stop

    Taking a hand off the bars or riding with your eyes closed is far more dangerous than a partly obscured view, so keep riding and clean the shield when you are stopped.

  16. 16. The sun is low behind you and shining into the eyes of oncoming drivers. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Turn on your headlights and expect oncoming drivers not to see you

    Drivers facing the low sun may not see you at all, so make yourself as visible as possible and give way rather than insisting on your right of way.

  17. 17. A signal stands part way up a freeway entrance ramp and turns green briefly again and again. How many vehicles does such a signal normally release on each green?

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    Answer A: One for each lane of the ramp

    A ramp control signal releases a single vehicle per lane on each green so that vehicles reach the merge one at a time instead of in a bunch.

  18. 18. May you stop in the striped triangle that separates an exit ramp from the freeway lanes?

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    Answer A: No, it is not a lane and stopping there is dangerous

    The striped gore area is not a travel lane or a shoulder, and a vehicle stopped there sits directly in the path of drivers correcting a late exit.

  19. 19. You are about to carry a passenger for the first time. Where should you begin?

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    Answer C: In a quiet area away from traffic, at low speed

    A passenger changes balance, braking and steering feel, and those differences are best learned somewhere there is nothing else to deal with.

  20. 20. What should a pre-ride check of the drive chain or belt look for?

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    Answer C: Correct slack, adequate lubrication and no worn or damaged links

    A chain that is too tight, too loose, dry or damaged can break or jump the sprocket and lock the rear wheel while the motorcycle is moving.