Montana MVD Permit Practice Test 1
Test 1 of 10. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 27 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Montana test.
- Questions33
- Correct to pass27
- Passing score82%
- Minimum age14 years 6 months
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1. You are passing a crash on the other side of a divided highway. What should you do?
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Answer D: Keep your eyes on your own lane and the traffic around you
Staring at a crash scene, often called rubbernecking, causes sudden slowing and secondary collisions. Your attention belongs on the traffic in front of you.
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2. What front lamp does Montana require on a bicycle ridden after dark?
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Answer A: A white lamp visible at least 500 feet to the front
Montana requires a white front lamp visible at least 500 feet ahead, plus a red rear lamp or reflector visible 500 feet behind and reflective material on both sides.
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3. Traffic has built up behind you while you wait for a gap to turn left. How should that affect your decision?
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Answer C: It should not change it; wait for a gap that is genuinely safe
Pressure from behind does not make a small gap bigger, and rushing a left turn across traffic is a common cause of serious crashes.
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4. When is a Montana speed limit violation recorded against the driving record?
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Answer B: When the driver exceeded 90 miles an hour
A Montana speed limit violation is generally not a criminal offense and is kept off the driving record, but exceeding 90 miles an hour may be recorded and used by an insurer.
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5. The blue signs mounted before a freeway interchange that carry the logos of individual businesses are
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Answer C: specific service signs, which show the brands available at that exit
Specific service signs, often called logo signs, list eligible businesses for categories such as gas, food, lodging, camping, attractions and 24-hour pharmacies at the upcoming interchange.
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6. You are on an entrance ramp joining a busy freeway. What should you do with your speed in the acceleration lane?
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Answer D: Build it up to about the speed of the traffic you are joining
Merging works when your speed matches the traffic stream, because a large speed difference forces the drivers already on the freeway to brake or swerve.
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7. What speed limit does Montana law set inside an urban district when no other limit is posted?
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Answer C: 25 miles an hour
Montana's speed restriction statute sets 25 miles an hour inside an urban district.
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8. What do the numbers on a pedestrian countdown display show?
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Answer A: The seconds remaining to finish a crossing already under way
The countdown runs during the pedestrian change interval and shows how many seconds are left before the crossing time ends.
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9. Why does a long downhill grade lengthen the distance you need to stop?
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Answer C: Because gravity keeps pulling the vehicle forward as you brake
On a downgrade gravity works with the vehicle and against the brakes, so the same speed needs noticeably more distance than it would on level ground.
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10. In normal operation, which indication always comes between a green and a red on the same signal face?
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Answer C: A steady yellow
The yellow change interval must follow every green or green arrow, so a signal can never jump straight from green to red.
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11. How should you follow a school bus in traffic?
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Answer A: Far enough back to see its lights and stop in time
A school bus stops often and with little warning, so a longer following distance gives you time to see the lights come on and stop clear of it.
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12. You face a red light at an intersection that has no stop line and no marked crosswalk. Where must you stop?
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Answer C: Before entering the intersection
With no line and no crosswalk, the stopping point is the near edge of the intersecting roadway, close enough to see cross traffic but clear of it.
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13. What does Montana require of every occupant when a driver with a first-year restricted license is at the wheel?
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Answer A: Each occupant must wear a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt
Montana bars a restricted licensee from driving unless every occupant wears a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt, and the number of occupants may not exceed the number of seatbelts.
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14. What counts as a complete stop at a stop sign?
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Answer C: The wheels stop turning before the stop line
A legal stop means the vehicle is no longer moving, made at the stop line or before entering the crosswalk or intersection.
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15. A driver who has been drinking has two cups of strong coffee. What has changed?
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Answer D: The driver is more awake but just as impaired
Coffee can make a drinker feel alert, but nothing except time removes alcohol from the blood, so a wide awake drinker is still an impaired driver.
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16. Why are motorcycles so often missed by other drivers?
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Answer C: Their narrow shape is easily hidden in traffic
A motorcycle presents a narrow outline that disappears behind pillars, mirrors and other vehicles, and it is harder to judge its speed and distance.
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17. What Montana offense does a driver commit by purposely ignoring or striking traffic control devices in a work zone?
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Answer D: Reckless endangerment of highway workers
Montana's offense of reckless endangerment of highway workers covers driving in a work zone in a manner that endangers persons or property and purposely removing, ignoring or striking work zone traffic control devices.
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18. The steering suddenly becomes very heavy while you are driving. What has happened and what should you do?
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Answer C: The power steering has failed, so steer with more effort and pull over
Loss of power assistance leaves the steering usable but very heavy. Keep both hands on the wheel, slow gradually and pull off the road to check it.
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19. You turn left onto a road that has a center two-way left-turn lane. In which lane should you be traveling once the turn is finished?
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Answer D: The first through lane to the right of the center turn lane
The shared center lane is only for turning movements, so even where a state lets you pause in it to merge you must end up in the first ordinary travel lane beside it.
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20. What does Montana impose for a first reckless driving conviction?
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Answer A: Up to 90 days in jail, a fine of $100 to $500, or both
A first Montana reckless driving conviction brings up to 90 days in jail, a fine of $100 to $500, or both; a second raises the jail term to 5 days to 6 months.
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21. You realize your tires are running on ice. Which set of inputs is safest?
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Answer C: Gentle steering, no sudden braking, and no sudden acceleration
Whatever grip is left is used up at once by any sudden input, so every movement of wheel, brake and accelerator must be slow and small.
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22. A preferential lane sign reads HOV 2+ and lists the hours it applies. During those hours, which vehicles may use the lane?
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Answer A: Vehicles carrying at least two people, counting the driver
The number on an HOV sign is the minimum number of occupants, driver included, that a vehicle must carry to use the lane while the restriction is in effect.
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23. Should you drive with your hazard lights flashing while moving in fog?
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Answer A: No, they hide your turn signals and suggest you are stopped
Hazard lights on a moving vehicle tell other drivers you are stopped or disabled, and they cancel out your turn signals just when clarity matters most.
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24. The cars in front of and behind your parallel parked car have left you very little room. How do you get out?
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Answer D: Ease back and forth, turning the wheels each way, until you clear
Short movements with the wheels turned first one way and then the other walk the car out of a tight space without touching anything.
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25. What does the Montana department do to the suspension period when a driver is convicted of driving during it?
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Answer A: It extends the suspension or revocation by one more year
On conviction for driving while suspended or revoked, Montana extends the period of suspension or revocation by an additional year.
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26. Apart from other vehicles, who else must a driver let go first at this sign?
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Answer A: Pedestrians and cyclists already in or entering the crossing
The duty to give way covers every road user who has the right of way at that point, including people walking or cycling across the driver's path.
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27. Besides the driving hours, what must a Montana minor certify before a first driver license is issued?
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Answer C: That no traffic, alcohol or drug conviction occurred in the last 6 months
Montana requires written certification that the applicant had no traffic, alcohol or drug conviction and no pending citation during the 6 months before applying.
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28. Is it acceptable to drive with your vehicle straddling the line between two lanes?
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Answer D: No, you must drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane
A vehicle astride the line takes up two lanes and leaves the drivers around it unable to predict where it will go.
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29. How long does Montana suspend the license of a driver who refuses a chemical test for the first time?
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Answer D: 6 months
Montana suspends the driver license for 6 months on a first refusal, and for 1 year on a second or subsequent refusal within five years.
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30. 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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31. During the second six months of a Montana first-year restricted license, how many unrelated passengers under 18 are allowed without adult supervision?
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Answer C: Up to three
In the second six months the restricted driver may carry up to three unrelated passengers under 18 unless supervised by a licensed adult driver.
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32. How far from a stopped Montana school bus with red lights flashing must an approaching driver stop?
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Answer C: At least 30 feet
Montana requires a driver meeting or passing a school bus with flashing red lights from either direction to stop at least 30 feet from the bus and to wait until the red lights are turned off.
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33. You notice that the driver ahead of you is holding a phone to the ear. What should you do?
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Answer C: Assume slower reactions and leave extra space, or else hold back
A driver on the phone reacts late and misses things, so the safe response is distance rather than a lesson.