Mississippi DPS Motorcycle Practice Test 27
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum ageSee note
-
1. You find that the road surface has turned to sheet ice. What speed is appropriate?
Show answer
Answer A: A crawl, slow enough that you could stop without braking hard
Ice can cut grip to a fraction of normal, so stopping takes many times the usual distance and only a crawl leaves any margin.
-
2. Rain is falling and the outside temperature reads close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is that dangerous?
Show answer
Answer A: The rain can freeze on contact and glaze the road with ice
Near freezing, rain landing on cold pavement can turn to a glaze of ice almost at once, so a road that looks merely wet may have no grip at all.
-
3. How does alcohol change the time a driver needs to respond to a hazard?
Show answer
Answer A: It slows it, so stopping takes longer
Alcohol is a depressant that lengthens the time between seeing a hazard and acting on it, which adds directly to the distance needed to stop.
-
4. A squirrel darts into your path a short distance ahead. What is normally the safest response?
Show answer
Answer C: Hold your line, brake as much as is safe, and accept hitting a small animal
Swerving without space, or crashing while braking, hurts the rider far more than a small animal does, so stay in your lane and slow as much as traction allows.
-
5. How many alcoholic drinks does it take to begin affecting driving ability?
Show answer
Answer C: Even one drink can affect it
A single drink can slow reactions and weaken judgment before you feel any change. Impairment starts long before a person feels drunk.
-
6. What do yellow lines painted on a roadway separate?
Show answer
Answer D: Traffic moving in opposite directions
Yellow markings separate opposing streams of traffic, and they also mark the left edge of a divided highway or a one-way roadway.
-
7. The lane control signal above your lane changes to a steady yellow X. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Prepare to leave the lane, because it is about to be closed
A steady yellow X is the warning that the lane below it is about to close, giving drivers time to move over before the red X appears.
-
8. An orange sign showing the symbol of a person holding a flag or a sign paddle means that
Show answer
Answer D: a person is controlling traffic ahead and the driver must obey that person
The flagger sign warns that a trained flagger is directing traffic further on, and the flagger's instructions govern movement through the work zone.
-
9. Why is standing water across a road dangerous even when it looks shallow?
Show answer
Answer B: It can hide a washed out roadbed, a deep hole or a missing cover
You cannot see the surface under the water, and floods commonly wash the roadbed away or lift covers off drains.
-
10. A highway lane is marked with a large white diamond and signed as a high-occupancy vehicle lane. Who may use it?
Show answer
Answer B: Only vehicles carrying at least the number of occupants shown on the sign, during the posted hours
The diamond marking identifies a preferential lane whose occupancy requirement and hours of operation are stated on the accompanying signs.
-
11. 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.
-
12. When should a passenger get on the motorcycle?
Show answer
Answer D: After the engine has been started and the operator is ready
Mounting after the engine is running and the operator is settled keeps the motorcycle stable and spares the operator a long balancing act with the extra weight aboard.
-
13. How should a helmet sit on the head once it is fastened?
Show answer
Answer C: Level on the head, with the eye port giving a clear view of the road
A helmet worn level protects the forehead and gives full vision, while one pushed back leaves the forehead exposed in a crash.
-
14. How does being tired change your total stopping distance?
Show answer
Answer A: It lengthens it, because you take longer to notice and react
Fatigue stretches perception and reaction time, and every extra fraction of a second is added distance before the brakes even begin to work.
-
15. You are moving at walking pace through a crowded parking area. Which combination gives the steadiest control?
Show answer
Answer B: Steady throttle, the clutch held in the friction zone and light rear brake
Slipping the clutch in the friction zone against a steady throttle and a light drag of rear brake keeps power smooth and the machine stable below walking speed.
-
16. Why does the situation ahead of this sign deserve extra care from a motorcyclist?
Show answer
Answer C: Because a narrow machine is easy to overlook in a mirror or a blind spot
A motorcycle fills very little of a mirror and disappears easily into a blind spot, so the rider should adjust speed and lane position to stay visible where the streams come together.
-
17. You are stopped at a steady red arrow pointing right, and no sign or state rule permits turning on a red arrow. May you turn right?
Show answer
Answer A: No, you must wait until the red arrow goes out and a green signal appears
A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points to until a signal permitting it appears. Only a posted sign or a specific state rule allows a turn on a red arrow after a complete stop, so without one you must wait.
-
18. You are inside a tunnel with no shoulder when an ambulance comes up behind you with lights and siren. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Keep going at a safe speed and pull over once you are clear of the tunnel
Stopping in a tunnel or on a narrow bridge blocks the only lane, so continue at a safe speed to the first place where you can pull clear.
-
19. A driver is following your motorcycle much too closely. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Ease off the throttle and open more space ahead so the driver can pass
Slowing gradually and opening a bigger gap in front encourages the tailgater to pass and gives the rider room to stop gently instead of hard.
-
20. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
Show answer
Answer A: Moving your eyes constantly over the road, the sides and the mirrors
Scanning keeps information coming in from every direction, while a fixed stare leaves you blind to everything else.
-
21. You are stopped at a red light ready to turn right when a person pushing a stroller steps into the crosswalk. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stay stopped until they have crossed your path
A turn on red gives way to every pedestrian in the crosswalk, and someone pushing a stroller has even less room to react.
-
22. You have just passed a large truck on the freeway. Why is it dangerous to pull back in front of it and then brake for your exit?
Show answer
Answer B: A loaded truck needs much more distance to stop than a car
A fully loaded tractor-trailer can need the length of a football field or more to stop from highway speed. Cutting in and braking leaves the driver no room to avoid hitting you.
-
23. Your light turns green and a driver on the cross street enters against a red. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Hold back and let that vehicle go through
Giving up a right of way you are entitled to is the only way to avoid a crash with a driver who has already failed to yield.
-
24. A white diamond symbol is painted in a highway lane. What does it identify?
Show answer
Answer C: A lane reserved for high-occupancy vehicles
The diamond symbol marks a preferential lane, most often one reserved for vehicles carrying a minimum number of occupants.
-
25. A SHOULDER DROP OFF sign warns that
Show answer
Answer B: there is a step down from the pavement to the shoulder
The sign is used where the edge of the pavement stands several inches above the shoulder, which can grab a wheel and pull the vehicle sideways.
-
26. A turn restriction sign at the corner shows a range of times below the symbol. What does that mean?
Show answer
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.
-
27. While you are still on an entrance ramp, where should your attention be?
Show answer
Answer D: Along the ramp ahead and back at the highway traffic in the mirrors and over your shoulder
A merge needs both halves of the picture at once: the ramp curving ahead of you and the traffic you are about to join behind and to your left.
-
28. What do zero tolerance laws mean for a driver who is under 21?
Show answer
Answer B: They commit a violation at an alcohol level far below the adult limit
Drivers under 21 may not legally drink, so every state sets a limit far below the adult one and treats even a trace reading as a violation. The exact figure is set by each state, and the penalty usually includes losing the license.
-
29. How is a wheel bearing checked during an inspection?
Show answer
Answer A: Raise the wheel clear of the ground and rock it side to side to feel for play
A worn bearing shows itself as side to side play in a raised wheel, and it may also feel rough or notchy when the wheel is spun.
-
30. Where is a U-turn most clearly unsafe and generally prohibited?
Show answer
Answer D: On a curve or near a hill crest, where other drivers cannot see you
U-turns are barred where approaching drivers cannot see you in time, such as on a curve or near the top of a hill.