Massachusetts Permit Practice Test 3
A third full-length Massachusetts practice test: 30 more questions with zero repeats from Tests 1 or 2 — including extra Massachusetts-specific rules. The real RMV learner's permit exam has 25 questions, and you need 18 correct (72%) to pass.
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. You are towing a small trailer on a highway posted 70 mph. What should you assume about a safe speed?
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Correct answer: B. Added weight and sway stretch your stopping distance, and some states post a lower tow limit. Even when the big number is legal, the safe number is often lower. If it sways, you are already too fast.
2. At a BAC of .02, what typical effect does NHTSA list first?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drunk-driving guidance says .02 Some loss of judgment; relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood. Testers invent leftover first-skill folklore. Learn that official wording, then answer the knowledge test from those words.
3. Which sign shape and color combination marks an interstate route?
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Correct answer: D. Interstate routes are marked by a shield split into a red band on top and a blue field below, with white numbers. Spotting the shield quickly helps you follow or avoid a freeway. Shield equals interstate.
4. Can a small amount of alcohol affect driving, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drunk-driving guidance says even a small amount of alcohol can affect driving ability. Even small amounts of alcohol affect one’s brain and the ability to drive. Testers invent leftover one-beer-is-nothing courtesy.
5. 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.
6. You are delivering food to a house on an unposted residential street in Massachusetts. Unless a sign changes it, what speed limit applies?
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Correct answer: A. Unposted residential streets in Massachusetts carry a default limit of 30 mph. The rule exists so drivers can stop for the unexpected, like a car backing out of a driveway. When a sign is posted, obey the sign instead.
7. Your younger sibling asks when they can get a learner's permit in Massachusetts. What age do you tell them?
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Correct answer: A. Tell them 16; that is when Massachusetts allows a learner's permit application. Until then, driving on public roads is off the table. Graduated licensing phases in privileges so new drivers gain experience under lower-risk conditions.
8. Unless a sign posts another limit, the usual residential or city default in Massachusetts is:
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Correct answer: A. Inside a thickly settled or business district, a rate of speed exceeding thirty miles per hour for a distance of one-eighth of a mile is prima facie evidence it is greater than is reasonable and proper, unless the way is otherwise posted.
9. For a driver 21 or older in Massachusetts, the per-se BAC limit is:
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Correct answer: A. Massachusetts sets the adult per-se limit at 0.08%. That is a legal line, not a recommendation to drink up to it. Impairment starts earlier, and Massachusetts can still charge you for unsafe driving below the number.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. On any road sign, what does the color red signal to drivers?
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Correct answer: D. Red is reserved for the strongest commands: stop, yield, do not enter, and wrong way. It marks actions that are forbidden or must halt. When red appears, something about your movement has to change right now.
13. A parent in Massachusetts wants to start permit practice as soon as the law allows. The earliest learner's-permit age is:
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Correct answer: C. Massachusetts opens the learner's-permit door at 16. Starting then, with a supervising adult, is how GDL is supposed to work. Younger than that, the answer is still wait.
14. May you drive unsupervised on a learner’s permit, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA GDL guidance says A learner’s permit allows driving only while supervised by a fully licensed driver. GDL reduces the amount of unsupervised driving by 16-year-olds. The leftover empty-road exception is not on that page.
15. What is the minimum speed you are expected to maintain on the Massachusetts Turnpike?
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Correct answer: A. The Massachusetts Turnpike enforces a 40 mph minimum because vehicles crawling far below highway flow cause rear-end crashes; Boston Harbor tunnels use a 20 mph minimum. Hook: the Pike's floor is 40.
16. If coffee is not enough, what short-term drowsy-driving step does NHTSA list?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drowsy-driving guidance says Drinking coffee or energy drinks alone is not always enough. They might help you feel more alert, but the effects last only a short time. Pull over for a short 20-minute nap in a safe place.
17. While planning a road trip across Massachusetts, you look up the fastest speed any of its highways allow. What is that statewide maximum?
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Correct answer: A. Massachusetts's top speed limit is 65 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.
18. You are parking facing uphill on a street with a curb. Which way should you turn your front wheels?
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Correct answer: B. When parking uphill with a curb, turn the wheels away from the curb and let the car roll back until a tire rests against it. The curb then works as a block. Up and away is the memory cue.
19. Drivers under 21 in Massachusetts are held to a stricter alcohol standard than adults. What is the BAC threshold for these younger drivers?
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Correct answer: B. Adults have a higher per-se number, but the under-21 standard in Massachusetts is 0.02%. Alcohol is already off-limits for minors, so the driving rule matches: for young drivers, the practical limit is zero drinks.
20. Why do most GDL programs limit teen passengers in the first months of licensure?
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Correct answer: A. Crash data show that extra teen passengers raise risk more than almost any other GDL factor. The limit is a safety rule, not a punishment. Fewer friends in the car means more attention on the road.
21. A school-zone sign is posted 25 mph, and children are on the sidewalk. The next block is posted 35. When may you return to 35?
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Correct answer: B. School-zone speeds apply through the marked zone while children are present or the lights flash, depending on the sign. Do not jump back to the higher limit at the building line. Wait for the zone to end.
22. A white regulatory sign reads NO TURN ON RED. You have a circular red light and want to go right. What must you do?
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Correct answer: B. NO TURN ON RED cancels the usual after-stop right turn. Wait for green. Cities post this where pedestrians or poor sightlines make a red-light turn dangerous. The sign overrules the general permission.
23. A yellow diamond sign shows a car with wavy skid marks trailing behind its tires. When does this warning matter most?
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Correct answer: D. The skidding-car sign warns that the road ahead becomes slippery when wet, so slow down and avoid sudden braking or sharp steering in rain, snow, or ice. The first minutes of rain are often the slickest, as water lifts oil off the pavement.
24. You turn off a busy road into a quiet subdivision in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts, 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.
25. Traffic around you on a Massachusetts highway posted at the state maximum starts flowing faster than the signs allow. Your personal legal limit remains which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Other drivers speeding does not raise your limit; on Massachusetts's fastest highways it stays 65 mph. Move right and let them pass instead of matching them. Speed limits bind each driver individually, whatever the surrounding traffic does.
26. 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.
27. How far from an oncoming vehicle must a Massachusetts driver regulate headlights so they do not dazzle the other driver?
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Correct answer: A. 540 CMR 22.05 requires a Massachusetts operator who approaches an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet to regulate the headlamps so no dangerous or dazzling light rises more than 42 inches above a uniform grade when measured 75 feet or more ahead. Five hundred feet is the oncoming-dim trigger, separate from the 500-foot daytime visibility rule.
28. In which situations should you add extra following distance behind the vehicle ahead?
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Correct answer: C. Add following distance whenever stopping gets harder or seeing gets worse: slick roads, tailgaters behind you, big trucks blocking your view, or motorcycles that can stop quickly. More risk calls for more room ahead of you.
29. 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.
30. In Massachusetts, 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. Massachusetts 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.
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