South Carolina SCDMV Permit Practice Test 15
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. What does a booster seat do for a child?
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Answer B: It lifts the child so that the adult belt crosses hips and shoulder
A booster raises the child so the adult belt lies on the strong parts of the body instead of the neck and the abdomen.
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2. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
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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.
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3. A sign at the start of an exit ramp shows a speed much lower than the highway limit. What does it apply to?
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Answer C: The curve of the ramp itself, once you have left the highway
The ramp speed is set by the sharpness of the ramp curve, so you slow to it inside the deceleration lane rather than out on the highway.
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4. When is a driver at the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel?
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Answer B: Late at night, early morning and mid afternoon
The body clock produces its deepest dips in alertness in the small hours and again in the middle of the afternoon, and crash records follow those dips.
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5. In near freezing weather, which part of an otherwise clear road is most likely to still be icy?
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Answer D: A shaded dip under trees or beside a rock cut
Sun clears most of the road, but shaded hollows never warm up and can hold ice long after the rest of the pavement is dry.
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6. What is the proper use of the horn?
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Answer C: To give a brief warning when another road user may not have seen you
The horn is a warning device meant to alert someone to your presence when a collision is possible, and using it in anger tends to escalate conflict rather than prevent crashes.
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7. A yellow sign reading DEAD END is posted at the entrance to a street. What does it mean?
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Answer D: The street ends and there is no way through
A dead end street stops at its far end, so a driver who enters must come back out the same way.
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8. A sign showing a walking figure carries a plaque below it with an arrow slanting down to the right. What does the plaque add?
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Answer B: The crossing is at that very spot
A downward-slanting arrow plaque marks the crossing itself, whereas an AHEAD or distance plaque would place it further along the road.
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9. The street you are turning right onto has a bike lane along its right edge. Where should your vehicle end up?
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Answer B: In the first traffic lane to the left of the bike lane
A bike lane is not a travel lane for motor vehicles, so the nearest lane you may finish a right turn in is the first general traffic lane beside it.
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10. What is threshold braking?
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Answer C: Braking hard but staying just short of locking the wheels
A rolling tire grips better than a sliding one, so the shortest stop comes from pressure held just below the point where the wheels lock.
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11. 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.
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12. What does a NARROW BRIDGE warning sign tell a driver?
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Answer A: The bridge is tighter than the road leading up to it
A narrow bridge still carries both directions, but with much less clearance than the approaches, so drivers should slow and hold their lane position carefully.
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13. Why is repeatedly changing lanes to work through heavy traffic a poor idea?
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Answer A: It raises the crash risk and saves almost no time
Each lane change adds a conflict with another vehicle, and in congestion the lanes move at similar average speeds, so the gain is negligible.
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14. Apart from giving you room to stop, what else does a longer following gap do for you?
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Answer D: It widens your view of the road and the traffic ahead
Sitting further back lets you see past and around the vehicle in front, so hazards reach your eyes seconds earlier.
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15. Your engine stalls while you are driving in traffic. What is the correct response?
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Answer A: Shift to neutral, try to restart it, and steer and brake toward the side of the road
With the engine off, power steering and power brake assistance fade, so steering and braking take more effort but still work. Neutral lets you attempt a restart while you coast to safety.
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16. The gates at a railroad crossing are down, and you can see that the road beyond them is clear. What is the correct action?
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Answer A: Wait until the gates rise completely and the lights go out
Lowered gates mean rail traffic is expected, and driving around them removes the only protection the crossing provides.
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17. You see an open curb space on the opposite side of a two-way street. What should you do?
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Answer B: Drive on, turn around, and come back on that side
You must park on the right, facing the direction of travel, so reaching a space on the other side means going around rather than crossing into it.
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18. Your car has side curtain airbags. What should you avoid doing?
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Answer B: Resting your head against the window or the door pillar
A side airbag deploys from the pillar or roof rail, so a head leaning against that area is directly in its path.
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19. A driver holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?
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Answer B: The vehicle runs wide toward the outside and can cross into another lane or leave the pavement
Holding speed into a change of alignment asks the tires for more side grip than they can supply, so the vehicle runs wide and the driver is left with less room to correct.
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20. You and a driver coming from the opposite direction reach a four-way stop at the same time and you are both going straight ahead. What happens next?
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Answer D: Both of you may move off together, because your paths do not cross each other
Opposing vehicles that are both going straight do not cross paths, so they can move off together once the intersection is clear.
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21. On traffic control devices, the color green shows direction to a destination and also shows
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Answer C: that a movement is permitted
Green carries two assignments: guidance toward destinations, and the idea that the movement shown is allowed, as on a green arrow.
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22. Someone stops drinking heavily at two in the morning and drives to work at eight. What is true?
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Answer A: They may still be impaired and over the limit
The body removes alcohol at a slow, fixed rate, so a heavy night can leave a driver impaired well into the next morning no matter how they feel.
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23. Your vehicle stalls on a railroad crossing and will not restart. What should you do first?
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Answer A: Get everyone out and away from the tracks immediately
Everyone must leave the vehicle and move well clear of the tracks at once, walking toward the train at an angle so that debris from an impact travels away from you.
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24. What are front fog lights for?
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Answer D: Adding a low, wide beam close to the car when visibility is poor
Fog lights throw a low, wide beam under the fog, which is why they are mounted low and are used only in poor visibility.
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25. You park on level ground in a lot. Where should the front wheels be pointing?
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Answer C: Straight ahead, so the car would not veer if it moved
On the level the wheels go straight so that the car stays in its own space, and so that a shunt from behind does not send it across a lane.
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26. Does South Carolina's distracted driving law apply to a first responder using a mobile electronic device while performing official duties?
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Answer A: No, first responders performing official duties are exempted from the section
Section 56-5-3890(C)(5) exempts a first responder performing official duties from the section's restrictions.
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27. You have parked but your car sits across the line into the next space. What should you do?
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Answer B: Pull out and park again fully inside one space
A car over the line takes a space away from someone else and leaves too little room for the doors of the vehicles beside it.
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28. You hear a bang and one of the front tires deflates while you are on the highway. What happens to the vehicle?
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Answer D: It pulls strongly toward the side that failed
The collapsed tire drags heavily on that corner, so the vehicle veers toward it. Hold the wheel firmly, keep your line and let the speed fall before leaving the road.
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29. Which steering method gives the most control when you must turn the wheel a long way at low speed?
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Answer C: Hand over hand, feeding the wheel from one hand to the other
Hand over hand keeps both hands on the wheel through a large turn, so you never lose the ability to correct quickly.
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30. 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.