Colorado Permit Practice Test 1
This free Colorado practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DMV tests. You need 80% correct to pass the real DMV Driving Knowledge Test (commonly called the written or permit test).
Question 1 of 30
1. The vehicle ahead displays an orange triangle with a red border on its rear. What does that tell you?
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Correct answer: D. The orange triangle is the slow-moving vehicle emblem, common on farm equipment and horse-drawn wagons. You close in on these vehicles faster than you expect, so back off early and pass only with a clear, legal gap.
2. Your car stalls on railroad tracks and a train is coming. What should everyone in the car do?
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Correct answer: D. Abandon the car immediately and run toward the oncoming train at an angle leading away from the tracks, so flying wreckage sails past you instead of into you. Trains cannot stop quickly. Cars are replaceable; people are not.
3. An emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder ahead with lights flashing. What do move-over laws require?
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Correct answer: D. Every state has a move-over law: shift a lane away from stopped emergency or service vehicles with flashing lights, or slow well down when changing lanes is unsafe. Roadside workers stand inches from traffic; give them that lane.
4. You must park on a hill where the road has no curb. Which way should you turn your wheels?
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Correct answer: A. With no curb to catch the car, always turn your wheels toward the road's edge, uphill or downhill. A runaway car then rolls off the travel lanes instead of into traffic. No curb: aim for the shoulder.
5. The signal shows a green arrow for your left turn. What does having a 'protected' turn mean?
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Correct answer: B. A green arrow gives you a protected turn: conflicting traffic is held by a red signal. Still glance for people or vehicles already in the intersection, because protected means favored, not guaranteed safe.
6. In Colorado, what is the youngest age at which you can apply for a learner's permit?
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Correct answer: B. Colorado issues learner's permits starting at age 15. The permit opens the first stage of graduated licensing, where you build skills with a supervising adult before earning fuller privileges. Know your state's number; it varies nationwide.
7. Under implied-consent laws, what have you already agreed to simply by driving on public roads?
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Correct answer: D. Every state has an implied-consent law: by driving, you have already agreed to a breath, blood, or urine test after a lawful impaired-driving arrest. Driving is a privilege, and testing is part of the deal you accepted.
8. You see a five-sided sign shaped like a schoolhouse outline, in fluorescent yellow-green, showing two walking figures. What does the pentagon shape identify?
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Correct answer: D. The pentagon shape is reserved for school signs, warning of a school zone or crossing where children may be walking. The fluorescent yellow-green color grabs attention near schools. Think of the five-sided shape as a little schoolhouse to remember it.
9. It is late at night and the unposted residential streets in your Colorado neighborhood are empty. The legal maximum for these streets remains which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Empty or busy, day or night, the default limit on unposted residential streets in Colorado stays 30 mph. Darkness actually cuts how far you can see and react, so conditions may call for less, never more, than the limit.
10. You have held your Colorado minor driver license for three months. Which passenger may legally ride with you on a trip to the movies?
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Correct answer: C. During the first six months of a Colorado minor license, passengers under 21 are not allowed unless they are your siblings or there is a medical emergency. Family may ride; friends wait six months.
11. You are 25 and had wine at a dinner party in Colorado. Before driving home, you check the law. At what BAC does driving become illegal for you?
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Correct answer: D. For adult drivers in Colorado, driving is illegal at a BAC of 0.08% or above. Because impairment starts before the limit, the safest plan after drinking is a ride share, taxi, or sober designated driver.
12. Your brake pedal sinks to the floor and the car barely slows. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. Pump the pedal quickly to build pressure back, shift to a lower gear, and ease on the parking brake while steering toward safety. Work through the list calmly: pump, downshift, parking brake, and pick your escape path.
13. Before you can upgrade a Colorado instruction permit to a minor driver license, how much supervised driving must appear on your signed log?
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Correct answer: B. Colorado requires a signed log showing at least 50 hours of supervised driving, and 10 of those hours must be driven at night. Think 50/10: five-zero hours total, one-zero after dark.
14. You are passing a slower vehicle on a two-lane road. May you go over the speed limit to finish the pass quickly?
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Correct answer: D. The speed limit applies at all times, including while passing another vehicle. If you cannot complete a pass legally and safely, do not start it. Passing is a choice; speeding is never the tool that makes it legal.
15. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) in Colorado moves teens through permit, intermediate, and full-license stages. Entry into the first stage, the learner's permit, begins at what age?
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Correct answer: A. GDL entry in Colorado starts with a learner's permit at 15. Each stage lifts restrictions as skill grows, because crash risk is highest in a driver's first solo months. The ladder starts at 15; climb it patiently.
16. A school bus on an undivided Colorado road stops ahead with its red lights flashing. What must you do?
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Correct answer: C. In Colorado you must stop at least 20 feet from a school bus with flashing red lights, from either direction, until the lights quit flashing. Only a median or other physical barrier exempts you.
17. While driving, you notice a brown sign with white letters pointing toward a destination. What kind of place does a brown sign identify?
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Correct answer: A. Brown signs guide you to recreational and cultural spots such as parks, campgrounds, monuments, and historic sites. The earthy brown color hints at outdoor places. When you are hunting for scenery or history, follow the brown signs.
18. How does the law treat a driver who leaves the scene of a crash they were involved in?
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Correct answer: B. Fleeing a crash you were part of, often called hit and run, is a serious crime everywhere, with penalties that grow if anyone was hurt. Staying is a legal duty. Whatever the damage, driving away doubles the trouble.
19. You have been driving through a no-passing zone. Which sign tells you the zone has ended and passing is allowed again when safe?
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Correct answer: D. A white regulatory sign reading PASS WITH CARE marks the end of a no-passing zone. You may pass again, but only when the road ahead is clear. The word CARE reminds you the choice is still yours to judge.
20. In Colorado, 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 0.02% can cost a driver under 21 their license in Colorado, 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.
21. You merge onto an interstate in Colorado posted at the state's maximum speed limit. The fastest you may legally drive there is which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Colorado caps highway speed at 75 mph, its statewide maximum. Even on wide-open pavement, the posted number is the ceiling, and rain, fog, or traffic can make a much lower speed the only safe and legal choice.
22. A pedestrian is crossing your half of the street in a crosswalk at an intersection without signals. What must you do?
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Correct answer: A. Drivers must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, and crosswalks legally exist at intersections even when no lines are painted. People on foot have no protection in a collision, so treat every corner as a possible crosswalk.
23. On a steep, narrow Colorado mountain road with no room for two vehicles to pass, which driver must normally yield?
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Correct answer: D. Colorado gives uphill traffic the right-of-way on steep, narrow roads; the downhill driver must back up to a wider spot or turnout because reversing uphill is harder to control. Gravity decides: downhill yields.
24. In freezing weather, why do bridges and overpasses ice over before the roads around them?
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Correct answer: C. A bridge has cold air on top and underneath, while ordinary pavement is warmed by the ground below, so bridges freeze first. Slow down before crossing one in cold weather and avoid sudden braking or steering there.
25. A horizontal black sign with a white arrow and the words ONE WAY points to the left at an intersection. What does it tell you?
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Correct answer: C. A ONE WAY sign means every vehicle on that street must travel in the arrow's direction. Driving against it puts you head-on into traffic. Before turning onto any city street, glance for the arrow and follow where it points.
26. In Colorado, 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. Colorado 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, never a safe target.
27. Along a curb you see a white sign with a large letter P inside a red circle and slash. What does it tell you?
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Correct answer: C. A P covered by a red circle and slash is the international no-parking symbol, banning parking where the sign applies. It keeps curbs clear for visibility, hydrants, and traffic flow. Any symbol wearing the red slash is something you cannot do.
28. You turn off a busy road into a quiet subdivision in Colorado and see no speed limit sign on the new street. Your maximum legal speed is now which value?
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Correct answer: D. Once you enter an unposted residential street in Colorado, the limit drops to the default of 30 mph. Slow down as you turn in; the quiet look of a subdivision hides driveways, cyclists, and children near the pavement.
29. Where does modern guidance tell you to place your hands on the steering wheel?
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Correct answer: D. Hold the wheel near the 9 and 3 o'clock positions, level on each side. This grip gives balanced control and keeps your arms out of the path of a deploying airbag. Think low and wide, clear of the bag.
30. You park facing downhill on a street with a curb. Where should your front wheels point?
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Correct answer: C. When parking downhill with a curb, turn your front wheels toward the curb; if the car rolls, the tire wedges against the curb instead of drifting into traffic. Think downhill, dive toward the curb, and set the brake.
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