California Permit Practice Test 4
A fourth full-length California practice test: 30 more questions with zero repeats from Tests 1–3 — including extra California-specific rules. You need 80% correct to pass the real DMV knowledge test.
Tap an answer. The explanation opens so you can learn it, then go on. Keyboard: A–D or 1–4 to answer, then Enter or Space.
Question 1 of 30
1. Which parking spot is illegal no matter how briefly you plan to stay?
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Correct answer: D. Parking within the cleared space around a fire hydrant is illegal, because firefighters may need instant access to connect hoses. Blocking a hydrant can cost lives during a fire. If you see a hydrant, leave the whole area open.
2. A traffic light turns steady yellow as you approach the intersection. What does this signal tell you?
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Correct answer: A. A steady yellow light warns that the signal is about to turn red. Stop if you can do it safely; if you are too close to stop smoothly, continue through with caution. Yellow means prepare, not race.
3. How does official NHTSA impaired-driving guidance define zero tolerance for underage drivers?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA Uniform Guidelines for State Highway Safety Programs list Zero Tolerance for underage drivers, making it illegal “per se” for people under age 21 to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their system (i.e., .02 BAC or greater). State numbers still vary; this leftover uses that official national guideline sentence.
4. A school bus is stopped with red lights on the opposite side of a divided highway that has a concrete median. Must you stop?
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Correct answer: B. The median exception is the item testers and Reddit threads say people miss. A painted line is not a median. A real barrier or unpaved median means the far side typically may proceed with care. When in doubt, stop.
5. Why do speed limits drop in highway work zones?
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Correct answer: A. Work zones squeeze traffic past workers, machinery, narrowed lanes, and sudden stops, so limits drop to give everyone more reaction time. Many places also raise fines there. Slow down where people are standing next to moving traffic.
6. Besides nighttime, when should you turn on your headlights?
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Correct answer: D. Turn on your headlights whenever conditions cut visibility, including rain, fog, snow, dusk, or dawn, because lights help other drivers spot you as much as they help you see. Handy habit: wipers on or gray sky means lights on.
7. A yellow diamond sign shows a truck tilted nose-down on a black slope. You are about to descend a long, steep grade. What is the proper technique?
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Correct answer: C. On a steep downgrade, shift to a lower gear before descending so engine braking holds your speed, and use the brakes sparingly. Constant braking overheats the pads until they fade and fail. Gears save brakes; brakes alone can quit.
8. Children are playing near the curb on an unposted neighborhood street in California. Unless a sign says otherwise, the fastest you may legally drive here is which speed?
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Correct answer: A. The default residential limit in California is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. With children nearby, you should often go slower still, because stopping distance grows quickly with speed and kids can dart into the street without warning.
9. A 19-year-old is pulled over in California after a party. Under the zero-tolerance law, what BAC is enough for an underage drinking-and-driving violation?
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Correct answer: D. For drivers under 21 in California, a violation begins at 0.01%. Zero-tolerance laws exist because young, inexperienced drivers face high crash risk with any alcohol. If you are underage, the only legal amount is none.
10. You have signaled and checked your mirrors before a lane change. What is the one step left before you move over?
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Correct answer: C. Mirrors leave blind spots big enough to hide a whole car, so turn your head for a quick over-the-shoulder check before moving over. Signal, mirrors, head check: the lane change is not done until your neck moves.
11. Several vehicles reach a four-way stop at different times. Who has the right-of-way?
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Correct answer: B. At an all-way stop, the vehicle that arrives and stops first proceeds first, with others following in arrival order. This first-come, first-served system prevents confusion. Think of it as taking a number at a busy counter.
12. You approach a California roundabout. Traffic is already circulating. What do you do first?
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Correct answer: B. California roundabouts run counterclockwise. Slow on the approach, yield to vehicles already in the circle, then merge right into a gap. If you miss the exit, keep going around. Do not stop or pass inside the circle.
13. A school bus on a two-lane road has stopped with red lights flashing and the stop arm out. You are coming the other way. What do you do?
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Correct answer: B. On an undivided road, both directions stop for a loading school bus. Children can run from either side. The only common exception is the far side of a divided highway with a real median. Red lights plus arm equals freeze.
14. Two solid yellow lines run down the center of the road. What do they prohibit?
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Correct answer: D. Double solid yellow lines ban passing for traffic in both directions, because sight distance or traffic makes passing unsafe there. Crossing is generally allowed only to turn into a driveway or side road, not to overtake.
15. You reach a stop sign at an intersection that has a painted stop line. Where must you bring your vehicle to a complete stop?
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Correct answer: A. At a stop sign you must stop completely before the stop line; with no line, stop before the crosswalk or the intersection edge. Stopping short protects people in the crosswalk. If you need a better view, creep forward only after the full stop.
16. In California, a driver who is 21 or older breaks the law by driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above what level?
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Correct answer: A. California law makes it illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. Alcohol slows judgment and reaction time, and impairment can begin well below that number. Treat 0.08% as a legal line, not a safe target.
17. An emergency vehicle is coming up behind you with lights and siren on a two-lane street. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. Pull to the right and stop, clearing the lane. If you are in an intersection, clear it first, then pull over. Do not slam-stop in the path. Lights and siren mean yield the road, not freeze in the middle.
18. What penalty does official NHTSA impaired-driving guidance say the laws should establish for failing or refusing a BAC test?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA Uniform Guidelines for State Highway Safety Programs say The laws should establish effective penalties that include Administrative license suspension or revocation for failing or refusing to submit to a BAC or other drug test. The leftover implied-consent mnemonic is not on that page; this nearby official national refusal-penalty sentence is.
19. What is double parking, and why is it against the rules?
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Correct answer: D. Double parking means standing or parking in the roadway alongside a vehicle already parked at the curb. It blocks a travel lane, hides pedestrians, and pins in the parked car, so the practice is prohibited on public streets.
20. Unless signs say otherwise, what is the speed limit on a two-lane undivided highway in California?
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Correct answer: D. California caps two-lane undivided highways at 55 mph unless posted otherwise — the same limit that applies when towing a trailer. Oncoming traffic with no divider leaves little room for error, so the limit drops from the usual 65.
21. While planning a road trip across California, you look up the fastest speed any of its highways allow. What is that statewide maximum?
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Correct answer: A. California's top speed limit is 70 mph, found only on its fastest designated highways. Expect lower posted limits on most stretches, and remember signs control: the maximum applies only where a sign actually posts it.
22. A fluorescent pink diamond is posted after a storm, showing a landslide symbol. What does the unusual color mean?
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Correct answer: B. Fluorescent pink is the MUTCD color for incident and emergency management, used for crashes, floods, or slides. Slow down and expect workers, debris, or a sudden close. Pink means something urgent just happened.
23. How much supervised practice driving does California require before a minor can take the driving test?
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Correct answer: B. California minors must log 50 hours of practice with a licensed driver 25 or older, and 10 of those hours must be at night. Night driving is a different skill — headlights, glare, shorter reaction windows — so the state makes you practice it.
24. A teen walks into a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office in California to apply for a first learner's permit. The office can accept the application once the teen is what age?
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Correct answer: B. The DMV accepts learner's permit applications at age 15½ in California. Bring proof of identity, residency, and usually a parent's signature, then pass the knowledge and vision screenings. Age is simply the first box to check.
25. Two cars meet on a steep, narrow California mountain road and neither can pass. Who should back up?
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Correct answer: B. California gives the uphill driver the right-of-way on a steep narrow road. The downhill driver backs up because a rollback is easier to control going down. Uphill holds; downhill yields by reversing to a wide spot.
26. Your GPS routes you through a California neighborhood of homes and parked cars with no posted speed limit. State law caps your speed there at what value?
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Correct answer: D. State law gives unposted residential areas in California a default cap of 25 mph. Parked cars shrink your view of crossing pedestrians, which is exactly why the cap is low. Posted signs, where present, replace the default.
27. BAC measures the percentage of alcohol in a person's blood. For drivers 21 and older in California, what BAC puts them at or over the legal limit?
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Correct answer: C. BAC stands for blood alcohol concentration. In California, adult drivers reach the illegal level at 0.08%. Remember the rule as a hard line: at 0.08% you are over, and skills like reaction time fade even sooner.
28. What license penalty does NHTSA list among impaired-driving consequences?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drunk-driving guidance says penalties for impaired driving can include driver’s license revocation, fines, and jail time. The leftover implied-consent wording is not on that page; this nearby official penalty list is.
29. You see a yellow diamond sign showing an arrow that bends left, then right, then left again. What does this sign tell you about the road ahead?
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Correct answer: C. A winding road sign warns of three or more curves in a row, while a single-bend arrow marks just one curve. Knowing the difference helps you hold a safe speed. Think: a wiggly arrow means the wiggles keep coming.
30. In California, an under-21 driver can face a license suspension for alcohol at a much lower level than an adult DUI. That zero-tolerance level is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Reaching 0.01% can cost a driver under 21 their license in California, even when they show no obvious impairment. The state treats underage drinking and driving as a license issue first, aiming to stop the habit early.
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