Mississippi DPS Permit Practice Test 20
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. A pedestrian using a white cane or walking with a guide dog starts to cross the street ahead of you. What must you do?
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Answer A: Yield and stay stopped until the person has finished crossing
A white cane or guide dog identifies a pedestrian who may not be able to see your vehicle, so you must yield and wait rather than maneuver around the person. The horn can confuse the pedestrian or the dog.
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2. Why would a restriction like this one be applied to a stretch of road?
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Answer A: Because there is not enough visible road ahead to complete a pass safely
Limits on overtaking are set where a hill, a curve or an obstruction leaves too little sight distance for a driver to pull out, pass and return before meeting oncoming traffic.
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3. You are turning left across tracks that run along the center of the street. What should you do before crossing them?
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Answer B: Look along the tracks in both directions and cross only when clear
Rail vehicles running in the street can arrive from either direction and cannot stop quickly, so look along the tracks before you turn across them.
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4. The lane you are in is marked with a straight arrow and a right-turn arrow together. What does that mean?
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Answer D: Drivers in that lane may either go straight or turn right
A lane marked with two arrows serves both movements, so a driver in it may take either one.
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5. Your car begins to lose power on a freeway and you must stop. Where should you try to bring it to a halt?
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Answer A: As far off the right side of the road as you can get, beyond the edge line
A disabled vehicle should be moved completely clear of the travel lanes, on the right, so that traffic can pass without changing course.
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6. You are waiting in a center two-way left-turn lane. What should you expect from oncoming traffic?
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Answer A: Oncoming drivers may enter the same lane to prepare their own left turns
Both directions share a two-way left-turn lane, so an oncoming vehicle may be waiting in it and you must never treat it as yours alone.
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7. What condition does this sign warn a driver about?
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Answer B: Another road joins the road being traveled, from one side
It announces a side road entering the main roadway, so the driver should expect vehicles waiting to pull out and other vehicles slowing to turn in.
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8. A grade crossing is marked only with a crossbuck and has no lights or gates. What does the crossbuck require of you?
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Answer C: Yield to rail traffic and cross only when no train is approaching
The crossbuck requires road users to yield the right-of-way to rail traffic, so you must look and listen and be ready to stop.
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9. You realize you have just gone past your exit on a freeway. What should you do?
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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.
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10. An overhead sign shows that the right lane is EXIT ONLY. What does that mean if you intend to stay on the highway?
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Answer B: You have to move out of that lane before the exit
An exit only lane leaves the highway completely, so a driver continuing on the highway has to change lanes before it does.
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11. A motorcycle ahead of you has its turn signal blinking but continues straight through several intersections. What is the likely explanation?
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Answer D: Motorcycle signals often do not cancel themselves after a turn
Many motorcycle turn signals are not self-cancelling, so a rider may leave one on by mistake. Wait until the rider actually starts to turn before you act on the signal.
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12. You are stopped in a shared through and right-turn lane with your right signal on, and a bicyclist rides up along your right side. What should you do?
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Answer A: Let the bicyclist clear the intersection or move ahead before you turn
A cyclist alongside your right side is in the path your turn will sweep across, so wait until that space is clear before turning.
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13. You have finished parallel parking at the curb. How should the vehicle sit?
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Answer A: Close to the curb, so that it does not stick out into the traffic lane
A parked vehicle must sit close enough to the curb that it does not intrude into the path of passing traffic; the exact maximum distance is set by each state.
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14. A yellow pennant-shaped sign is posted on the left side of a two-lane road facing you. What is it telling you?
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Answer B: You are entering a no-passing zone and may not start a pass
The pennant is placed on the left so that it faces the driver who might pull out, and it marks the beginning of a no-passing zone.
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15. You are driving on a two-lane road approaching the crest of a hill. Where should you position your vehicle?
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Answer D: Toward the right side of your lane, in case an oncoming vehicle is over the center line
You cannot see what is beyond a crest, and oncoming drivers sometimes drift across the center. Keeping right and slowing gives you a margin.
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16. A sign warns that the right lane ends ahead, and traffic is still flowing freely. What should you do if you are in that lane?
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Answer C: Signal, adjust your speed and move left in good time before the lane ends
When traffic is moving freely there is room to merge early and smoothly, which avoids the last-second lane change at the closure point.
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17. In a work zone one lane sits an inch or two lower than the lane beside it. How should you change lanes?
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Answer C: Slow down and cross the edge at a shallow angle, holding the wheel firmly
A vertical edge between lanes can catch a tire and jerk the steering. Crossing slowly at a shallow angle lets the wheel climb without grabbing.
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18. What happens to your field of vision as your speed increases?
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Answer C: It narrows, so you notice less at the sides of the road
The faster you travel, the more your useful field of view narrows toward the center, so a hazard coming from the side is seen late or missed altogether.
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19. A turn restriction sign at the corner shows a range of times below the symbol. What does that mean?
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Answer A: The turn is banned only during the hours shown on the sign
Times posted under a regulatory symbol set the period during which the restriction applies; outside those hours the movement is permitted.
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20. A bicyclist stops at a four-way stop just before you do. Who goes first?
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Answer B: The bicyclist, who reached the intersection and stopped there before you did
A bicyclist on the roadway follows the same right of way rules as a driver, so arrival order decides the turn.
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21. Which of these places should never be used to turn your vehicle around?
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Answer C: The driveway of a fire station or the roadway in front of it
Turning around in or in front of a fire station driveway can block emergency vehicles leaving, and most states prohibit it.
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22. How is the yield sign shaped and colored?
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Answer C: A downward-pointing triangle with a wide red border and a red legend on white
The yield sign is a downward-pointing equilateral triangle with a wide red border and the legend in red on a white background, an outline used for no other message.
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23. You have a green light and an ambulance with lights and siren enters the intersection against its red. What should you do?
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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.
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24. You are entering a freeway using an on-ramp with an acceleration lane. What is the correct technique?
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Answer C: Use the acceleration lane to reach the speed of traffic, then merge into a gap while yielding to traffic already on the freeway
The acceleration lane exists so you can match the speed of freeway traffic before merging, and drivers already on the freeway have the right-of-way.
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25. You are overtaking in a short passing lane on a two-lane road and it is about to end. What must you do?
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Answer A: Finish the pass and move back to the right before it ends
The added lane ends and the traffic returns to a single lane in each direction, so the pass has to be complete before the pavement runs out.
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26. A United States numbered route is normally marked with
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Answer C: black numerals on a white shield
The U.S. route marker is a white shield carrying black numerals, which sets it apart at a glance from the red, white and blue Interstate shield.
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27. On dry pavement in good weather, what is the smallest following gap you should keep?
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Answer A: About three seconds behind the vehicle ahead
Three seconds is the accepted minimum on dry roads in good visibility, and the gap should be longer in poor conditions.
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28. Besides text messages, what else does Mississippi forbid a driver to do with a hand-held mobile telephone?
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Answer B: Access, read or post to a social networking site while driving
Section 63-33-1 prohibits accessing, reading or posting to a social networking site with a hand-held mobile telephone while driving.
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29. A regulatory sign reads TURN ON HEADLIGHTS NEXT 15 MILES. What does it require?
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Answer C: Low beam headlights on for that stretch, day or night
Such a section is signed where a road is hard to see along, and the requirement is to run headlights, not just daytime running lamps, through the whole stretch even in bright daylight.
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30. A streetcar is coming along tracks in the middle of the street as you wait to turn across them. What should you do?
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Answer A: Let the streetcar pass before you cross the tracks
Rail vehicles cannot steer around you and need a long distance to stop, so drivers yield to a streetcar or light rail train.