Montana MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 45

  • Questions33
  • Correct to pass27
  • Passing score82%
  • Minimum age16 years

Minimum age: 16 years, or 15 years with an approved Montana traffic education course

33 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 27 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. When may you stop on the shoulder of a freeway?

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    Answer A: Only in an emergency, moving completely off the travel lanes and switching on your hazard lights

    The freeway shoulder is reserved for emergencies and for disabled vehicles, and a vehicle stopped there must be clear of the travel lanes with hazard lights on.

  2. 2. A yellow diamond showing a truck is posted beside a quarry entrance. What is it warning about?

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    Answer A: Trucks turning onto the highway from that entrance

    A truck crossing or trucks entering sign is used where heavy vehicles pull onto the road from a site, and they accelerate slowly once they are on it.

  3. 3. Oil is visible running down the front fork tubes. What does that mean?

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    Answer C: A fork seal has failed and the suspension needs repair

    Fork oil escaping past a seal means the front suspension is losing its damping, and the oil can also reach the front brake and ruin its grip.

  4. 4. What condition does this sign warn a driver about?

    A yellow diamond showing a vertical black line with a shorter line joining it from the right
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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.

  5. 5. A tow truck with flashing amber lights is loading a car on the shoulder ahead. How should you treat it?

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    Answer B: Give it the same room as an emergency vehicle

    Tow operators, utility crews and highway workers face the same danger from passing traffic, so move over or slow down for their flashing amber lights too.

  6. 6. The sun is low behind you and shining into the eyes of oncoming drivers. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Turn on your headlights and expect oncoming drivers not to see you

    Drivers facing the low sun may not see you at all, so make yourself as visible as possible and give way rather than insisting on your right of way.

  7. 7. At an intersection where every approach carries this sign, two drivers arrive at exactly the same instant. Which of them goes first?

    A red eight sided sign with a white border and white lettering
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    Answer C: The driver on the right

    Order of arrival decides who goes first, and when two vehicles arrive together the driver on the right proceeds while the other gives way.

  8. 8. How does the distance needed to stop change when a rider doubles speed?

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    Answer D: It grows to roughly four times the original distance

    Braking distance rises with the square of speed, so twice the speed needs roughly four times the distance in which to stop.

  9. 9. How does alcohol affect a driver's ability to handle several things at once?

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    Answer B: It cuts the ability to divide attention between tasks

    Driving means watching the road, the mirrors and the instruments together, and alcohol narrows attention so that one of those tasks is dropped without the driver noticing.

  10. 10. When should you arrange your way home if you plan to drink?

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    Answer C: Before the first drink

    Judgment is the first thing alcohol weakens, so the plan has to be made while you can still make a good one.

  11. 11. A rectangular marker with alternating black and retroreflective yellow stripes set at a slant is used to

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    Answer C: mark an obstruction, with the stripes sloping down toward the side on which traffic should pass

    This striped panel is an object marker, and the direction in which the stripes slope shows the driver which side of the obstruction to pass on.

  12. 12. How should a rider dress for a long ride in very hot weather?

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    Answer C: In ventilated riding gear that still covers the arms and legs

    Mesh and vented riding gear flows air while keeping its abrasion protection and shading the skin, so heat is not a reason to ride uncovered.

  13. 13. A black on white regulatory sign at an intersection reads NO TURNS. What may a driver do there?

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    Answer B: Only continue straight through the intersection

    The NO TURNS sign bans turns in every direction at that intersection, so the only lawful movement from that approach is straight through.

  14. 14. Why do drivers so often misjudge how fast an approaching motorcycle is traveling?

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    Answer C: A narrow vehicle seems to grow slowly, so it appears further away

    A small frontal area changes size slowly as it approaches, so drivers read a motorcycle as further away and slower than it really is. Never assume a waiting driver has judged your speed correctly.

  15. 15. Before making a U-turn on a narrow street, what should the rider do first?

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    Answer A: Check that the street is wide enough and clear in both directions

    A U-turn commits the rider to crossing both directions of traffic in a space the machine may not fit into, so both the width and the traffic are judged before starting.

  16. 16. When is the right time to put on rain gear?

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    Answer C: Before the rain reaches you, at a safe place off the roadway

    Once you are wet you stay cold for the rest of the ride, so stop somewhere safe and put the rain suit on while you are still dry.

  17. 17. On loose gravel or deep fresh snow, how does an antilock system affect the stopping distance?

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    Answer D: It can lengthen it, although you keep the ability to steer

    On loose surfaces a locked wheel piles up a wedge of gravel or snow that helps it stop, so the antilock stop can be longer even though steering still works.

  18. 18. Besides motorist services and tourist information, a blue sign background is also used for

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    Answer B: evacuation route signing

    Blue is assigned to road user services, tourist information and evacuation routes, so hurricane and other evacuation routes are signed in blue.

  19. 19. Do hazard lights make it legal to leave your vehicle in a no parking zone?

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    Answer A: No, they warn other drivers but do not permit the parking

    Hazard lights are a warning device, not a permit; the parking restriction applies whether they are flashing or not.

  20. 20. A bicyclist is riding in the middle of a narrow travel lane ahead of you. What is the correct response?

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    Answer D: Slow down and wait until you can pass with wide clearance, changing lanes if needed

    A bicyclist has the same right to use the lane as a driver, and a narrow lane may not leave safe passing room, so wait for a gap that lets you move over and pass with a wide margin.

  21. 21. Which sequence describes a well-made turn?

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    Answer A: Signal, move into the correct lane, slow down, check, then turn

    Tell others first, take your position, lose the speed before the corner, take a final look, and only then steer through the turn.

  22. 22. Why should reflective material be placed on the front, back and sides of a rider's gear?

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    Answer D: A driver may approach the rider from any of those directions

    Threats come from ahead, behind and from the sides at intersections, so reflective material should be visible from every direction a vehicle can approach.

  23. 23. A lane along the right edge is set off by a solid white line and marked with a bicycle symbol. How should a driver treat it?

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    Answer B: Stay out of it except for the short distance needed to turn or cross where that is allowed

    A marked bicycle lane is set aside for bicycle traffic, and motor vehicles may enter it only briefly where turning or crossing is permitted.

  24. 24. You come up behind a group of cyclists riding two abreast on a narrow rural road. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Wait for a clear stretch and pass them as one group

    Passing a group as a single unit when the way ahead is clear is safer than several rushed passes, and cutting through the group leaves nobody any escape room.

  25. 25. What should a driver do first after passing this sign?

    A yellow diamond showing two black lanes merging into one around a central island
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    Answer A: Move into the right-hand lane and stay there

    Traffic returns to two-way operation, so the driver keeps to the right of the centerline and stops treating the left side as available.

  26. 26. What does research say about the effect of a full coverage helmet on a rider's ability to see and hear traffic?

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    Answer B: It leaves the view and the useful hearing a rider needs largely intact

    Certified helmets leave far more peripheral vision than a rider needs to check traffic, and riders wearing them still hear the sounds that matter.

  27. 27. Two solid yellow lines are painted down the center of a two-way road. What do they mean?

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    Answer B: Traffic in neither direction may cross them to pass

    A double solid yellow line marks a no-passing zone that applies to traffic traveling in either direction.

  28. 28. Beyond the point this sign refers to, which movement becomes unlawful?

    A yellow diamond showing one black lane splitting into two around a central island
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    Answer D: Driving on the far side of the separation, against the flow

    Once the two directions are separated, each roadway carries one-way traffic, so crossing to the other side means driving into oncoming vehicles.

  29. 29. You are parking on a one-way street where parking is allowed on both sides. What must still be true?

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    Answer D: The vehicle must face the direction the traffic flows

    Either curb may be used on a one-way street where signs allow it, but the vehicle must always be headed in the direction traffic moves.

  30. 30. Why should riders avoid the center strip of the lane, especially where traffic stops often?

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    Answer A: Because it collects oil and grease dripped from other vehicles

    Drippings from other vehicles build up in the center of the lane, and the buildup is heaviest at busy intersections and toll booths where traffic sits waiting.

  31. 31. A train has just passed a crossing that carries more than one set of tracks. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Wait until the warning devices stop and you can see clearly along every track

    A passing train can hide a second one coming on another track, so wait for the signals to clear and check each track before moving.

  32. 32. Besides fitting the machine, what else must a passenger be capable of?

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    Answer B: Following the rider's instructions throughout the ride

    Instructions such as staying still, holding on and not getting off until told are what keep the pair balanced, and a passenger who cannot follow them is unsafe.

  33. 33. Why does riding in moderately cold weather call for extra layers of clothing?

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    Answer B: Chill and fatigue set in quickly and reduce the rider's control

    Wind at riding speed strips body heat away fast, and a chilled, tired rider reacts more slowly and can slide into hypothermia.