South Carolina SCDMV Motorcycle Practice Test 40
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. Can a driver be charged with impaired driving after taking a legal over the counter medicine?
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Answer C: Yes, if the medicine impairs the ability to drive safely
Impaired driving laws cover any substance that affects driving, including cold remedies, allergy pills and sleep aids sold without a prescription.
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2. A pedestrian is crossing at a corner where no crosswalk is painted on the pavement. What is your duty?
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Answer A: Yield, because a legal crosswalk exists at the corner even without paint
Every intersection has a crosswalk whether or not it is marked, and drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing there.
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3. You are following another vehicle down a long, steep grade. What should you do about the gap?
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Answer D: Make it longer, because both of you need more room to stop
Everything takes longer to stop on a downgrade, including the vehicle ahead, so the gap that works on the flat is no longer enough.
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4. Why is parking too close to a street corner prohibited?
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Answer D: Because it hides approaching traffic and pedestrians
A vehicle parked at a corner blocks the view that both drivers and pedestrians need before entering the intersection.
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5. Blue pavement markings are used together with white markings at
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Answer D: parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities
Blue supplements the white markings of accessible parking spaces, which is the only assignment blue has on the pavement.
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6. What is the safest way to deal with the situation this sign announces?
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Answer B: Match the speed of the other traffic stream and open a gap so vehicles can blend without hard braking
Blending works when speeds are matched and gaps are opened, so nobody has to brake hard or swerve where the two streams come together.
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7. You are turning right on a red light where that is permitted. What does the law require first?
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Answer B: A full stop, then yielding to traffic and pedestrians
A right turn on red is allowed only after stopping completely and giving way to everyone who has the green, including people in the crosswalk.
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8. As a center two-way left-turn lane reaches an intersection, the markings change into a single left-turn lane. What does that mean for you?
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Answer D: From that point it serves one direction only, so use it just to turn left
Where the shared lane becomes a marked turn bay it belongs to one direction of travel, and only vehicles making that left turn may occupy it.
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9. You are driving in the left lane at the posted speed limit and a line of vehicles has built up behind you. What should you do?
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Answer D: Move into a lane on your right when it is safe and let the traffic behind go by
Most states require traffic moving slower than the flow to keep right and reserve the left lane for passing, so a driver holding up a line of vehicles should move right when it is safe rather than block the lane.
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10. Used correctly, roughly how much of a motorcycle's total stopping power comes from the front brake?
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Answer B: About three quarters of it
Braking shifts weight onto the front wheel, so a smoothly squeezed front brake supplies roughly 70 percent or more of the stopping power.
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11. Two left-turn lanes are available and you must turn right again a short distance after the turn. Which of the two should you use?
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Answer D: The right one, so you finish nearer the right side of the new street
Each turn lane feeds the matching lane of the new street, so choosing the right-hand of the two left-turn lanes leaves you closer to the side you will need.
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12. What is the main source of the noise that damages a rider's hearing?
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Answer A: Wind turbulence around the helmet, which rises sharply with speed
Wind noise around a helmet is loud enough at highway speed to cause permanent hearing loss over time, which is why earplugs are recommended even on quiet machines.
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13. You are stopped at an intersection where bushes block your view of cross traffic. What should you do?
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Answer A: Edge forward slowly until you can see, then proceed when clear
Creeping forward a little at a time lets you gain a view without committing to the crossing. Never enter an intersection you cannot see into.
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14. Your light turns green while a pedestrian who started on the walk signal is still crossing in front of you. What must you do?
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Answer D: Let them finish crossing the road before you move off on your green light
A pedestrian who entered the crosswalk lawfully keeps the right of way until they reach the other side, whatever the signal now shows.
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15. Where is ice most likely to form first on a cold day?
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Answer B: In shaded areas and on bridges and overpasses
Shaded spots stay cold longer and bridges and overpasses lose heat from below as well as above, so ice appears there before it appears elsewhere.
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16. Where in the United States may a motorcycle ride between lanes of traffic?
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Answer C: Only where a state has specifically authorized it
Riding between lanes is prohibited in most states and permitted only where a state law expressly allows it, so a rider must know the rule for the state being ridden in.
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17. Which rough check suggests that a helmet is a novelty shell rather than a certified helmet?
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Answer C: It weighs about a pound, far less than a certified helmet
A certified helmet weighs roughly three pounds because of its shell and thick liner, while a novelty shell is very light. Weight is only a clue, and the certification label is the real check.
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18. What kind of sole and heel suit motorcycle boots?
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Answer A: A hard, slip resistant sole with a low heel that will not catch
Boots have to grip the pavement when you put a foot down and grip the footrests while you ride, and a tall heel can catch on the ground or on the machine.
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19. A white regulatory sign shows the silhouette of a truck inside a red circle with a diagonal slash. What does it mean?
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Answer A: Trucks are not allowed to use that road
The circle and slash over a symbol always means the movement or vehicle shown is prohibited, so trucks must keep off that roadway.
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20. You are on a four-lane divided highway and a vehicle in your lane is stopped waiting to turn left across the median. What is the normal way past?
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Answer D: Slow down and go by in the lane to the right when it is clear
On a multilane road the free lane beside you is the lawful place to go past a vehicle waiting to turn, and the median is not part of the roadway.
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21. On a school speed limit sign, the part carrying the word SCHOOL is shown
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Answer A: in black on a fluorescent yellow-green background
The SCHOOL portion of the school speed limit sign uses the same fluorescent yellow-green background as school warning signs, while the speed portion keeps the standard regulatory appearance.
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22. You are approaching a blind right hand curve. Which starting lane position gives the best view through it?
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Answer C: The left portion of the lane, toward the outside of the curve
Starting at the outside of a curve opens up the line of sight through it, and the rider then moves toward the inside as the exit comes into view.
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23. Your vehicle is burning at the roadside. How far away should everyone keep?
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Answer D: At least a hundred feet away from the vehicle and upwind, out of the drifting smoke
Burning vehicles give off toxic smoke and parts such as tires and struts can burst, so keep a long distance and stay upwind.
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24. A large panel mounted on a trailer at the roadside displays a flashing arrow pointing left. What does it tell you?
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Answer B: Move into the lane to your left
An arrow panel directs traffic out of a closed lane, so the arrow shows the direction you must move rather than the shape of the road ahead.
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25. Besides the half-hour-after-sunset-to-half-hour-before-sunrise window, when else does South Carolina require a vehicle's lamps to be lit?
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Answer A: Any other time windshield wipers are in use because of rain, sleet, or snow, except intermittent use in misting weather
Section 56-5-4450(A) extends the lighting requirement to whenever wipers are in use for rain, sleet, or snow, with an exception for intermittent use in misting conditions.
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26. A flagger in a work zone turns a paddle so that the red octagonal face reading STOP is toward you. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stop completely and wait for the flagger to signal you forward
The STOP face of a flagger paddle requires a complete stop, and you may move again only when the flagger directs you to.
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27. A crossing guard steps into the roadway ahead of this sign with one hand raised. What must the driver do?
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Answer B: Stop and stay stopped until the guard waves traffic on
An adult guard is controlling traffic at that crossing, so the instruction given by that person governs and the driver waits to be released.
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28. Which family of signs normally uses a rectangle that is wider than it is tall?
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Answer B: Guide signs, which name routes and destinations
Guide signs are laid out as horizontal rectangles because they have to carry route numbers, place names and distances side by side.
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29. A driver behind you on a two-lane road clearly wants to pass. Why should you not wave that driver past?
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Answer B: You cannot see the whole road ahead for them and they may rely on your signal
Waving another driver out invites them to trust your judgment of a road you cannot see well enough, and the decision to pass belongs to the driver making it.
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30. You feel fine twenty minutes after your last drink. Why is that a poor guide to driving?
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Answer B: Your blood alcohol level can still be rising
Alcohol keeps being absorbed for some time after the last drink, so a driver who feels able at the door can be more impaired a few miles down the road.