California permit test practice questions

1. Signs

   A carpool sign says motorcycles are not allowed. You are riding alone. You should:

   Use the lane if you have a clean-air decalUse the lane, because a solo motorcycle always mayStay out of the carpool laneUse the lane during the hours posted for carpools

   Answer: Stay out of the carpool lane

   A motorcycle may use a carpool lane with one rider, unless a sign says motorcycles are not allowed.

   Easy to get wrong: Trusting the solo-motorcycle rule and missing a sign that keeps motorcycles out.

   CA Driver's Handbook (2025) §6, p.16 — HOV Lanes

2. Right of way

   Your light is green at a busy crossing. Before you enter the intersection, you should:

   Look only ahead, cross traffic is held by a red lightGo straight through, a green light means the cross street is emptyLook left and right, even though you have a greenWatch only the signal and drive as soon as it is green

   Answer: Look left and right, even though you have a green

   Look both ways before you enter an intersection, even when cross traffic has a red light or a stop sign.

   Easy to get wrong: Treating a green light as proof that nothing is coming.

   California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), p.58

3. Lanes and turns

   You have driven a long way beside a marked left-turn lane and want to enter early. The line beside you is still solid. What should you do?

   Keep your lane until you reach the openingEnter now and use the lane for the next few blocksCross the solid line at the first empty spot you seeStraddle the solid line until an opening shows up

   Answer: Keep your lane until you reach the opening

   Use the opening to enter a marked left-turn lane. A long solid line is not an entrance.

   Easy to get wrong: The lane has been in sight for a long time, so any point seems fine.

   California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), p.19

4. Safe driving

   A car merges into your lane just ahead and leaves almost no gap. You should:

   Ease off the gas so the gap can openSpeed up and pass that car on the rightBrake hard at once so the gap opens back upFlash your high beams until that driver moves over

   Answer: Ease off the gas so the gap can open

   If a vehicle merges too close in front of you, lift off the gas so the space opens.

   Easy to get wrong: Braking hard, which can turn a short gap into a rear-end crash.

   California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), p.57

5. Alcohol and drugs

   An officer suspects you drank and you are under 21. The officer can require you to take:

   A vision exam and a road-sign quizNo test unless you are over 21Only a blood test, and only with a warrantA hand-held breath test, PAS, or chemical test

   Answer: A hand-held breath test, PAS, or chemical test

   If you are under 21 and an officer suspects you drank, the officer can require a hand-held breath test, a PAS, or another chemical test.

   Easy to get wrong: DUI probation changes your BAC line to 0.01%. It is not what lets the officer demand this test.

   CA Driver's Handbook (2025) §9, p.75 — Drivers Under 21

6. Licensing

   At a stop you cannot produce your license, proof of insurance, or registration. The officer starts looking through the car for them. You should:

   Block the search because you never agreed to itNot interfere with that search for the papersGet out, lock the doors, and stand clear of the carDemand a signed warrant before any look begins

   Answer: Not interfere with that search for the papers

   If you do not show your license, insurance, and registration, an officer may make a limited search for them. You still may not interfere.

   Easy to get wrong: Thinking a refusal blocks every search, including a look for papers you did not show.

   CA Driver's Handbook (2025) §6, p.30 — Your Rights During the Enforcement Stop

7. Emergencies

   Your car becomes disabled on the freeway, and you can still reach the right side. What should you do?

   Pull to the left shoulder and wait outside the carStop in a travel lane and stand next to your doorWalk along the freeway to the next exit for helpPull to the right shoulder, call 511, and stay belted inside

   Answer: Pull to the right shoulder, call 511, and stay belted inside

   If your vehicle stops on the freeway, pull to the right shoulder, call 511 or use a call box, and stay belted inside until help arrives.

   Easy to get wrong: Stopping in a lane or standing outside next to passing cars.

   California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), Chapter 8, p.69

8. Freeway

   You want the next freeway exit, but a solid line still separates you from it. You should:

   Stay in your lane and take a later exitStop and reverse back to the exit openingCross it, since a solid line acts like a broken oneCross the solid line while the exit is close

   Answer: Stay in your lane and take a later exit

   Do not cross a solid line to take a freeway exit. Stay in your lane and use a later exit.

   Easy to get wrong: Crossing the solid line to leave at the last second.

   California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), Chapter 6, p.23

9. Parking

   Your car points downhill and the curb is on your right. To keep it from rolling into traffic, the front wheels go:

   Straight ahead, parallel to the curb beside youTo the left, so the car would roll out into trafficInto the curb on your rightAway from the curb, toward the center of the road

   Answer: Into the curb on your right

   When you park facing downhill, point the front wheels toward the curb. If there is no curb, point them toward the right side of the road.

   Easy to get wrong: Away from the curb is the uphill answer. Downhill is toward the curb.

   California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), p.27

10. Sharing the road

    The light was green a moment ago. You are about to turn left across light rail tracks. What should you do?

    Look, then go only if the signal still allowsGo now because the light was green a moment agoTurn if the tracks look clear from where you sitWait for flashing lights before you look for a train

    Answer: Look, then go only if the signal still allows

    Look for a light rail vehicle before you turn across the tracks, and go only when the signal says you may.

    Easy to get wrong: A green light a moment ago is the wrong reason to start the turn.

    California Driver's Handbook (2025, REV. 6/2025 (© DMV 2025)), p.44

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