Massachusetts Permit Practice Test 4
A fourth full-length Massachusetts practice test: 30 more questions with zero repeats from Tests 1–3 — 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. Why is it illegal to park on a sidewalk or in a crosswalk?
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Correct answer: B. Sidewalks and crosswalks are reserved walking space; a parked car there pushes pedestrians, strollers, and wheelchairs out into traffic lanes. The law keeps walking paths continuous and safe. If people walk there, your car does not belong there.
2. 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 not the tool that makes it legal.
3. How many questions are on the official Massachusetts learner's permit exam?
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Correct answer: A. The RMV publishes a 25-question learner's permit exam in Massachusetts. Practice tests on this site are 30 questions so you can train in short sets; the real count is 25. Aim to beat the official passing score, not just finish.
4. You approach an intersection with no signs or signals, and another vehicle approaches from a cross street at about the same time. Who should yield?
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Correct answer: A. At an uncontrolled intersection, slow down and yield to any vehicle that reaches it at about the same time from your right. Without signs, this default rule sorts out conflicts. Same tiebreaker as a four-way stop: right goes first.
5. What is the three-second following rule in good weather?
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Correct answer: A. Pick a fixed mark. When the car ahead passes it, count one-thousand-one, two, three. You should not reach the mark sooner. That gap grows with speed. Double it in rain; triple it on ice. Testers treat this as the core distance question.
6. A friend says every US interstate is 80 mph. In Massachusetts, the highest posted highway limit is actually:
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Correct answer: A. Interstate limits vary. Massachusetts tops out at 65 mph where posted. Learn the number for your state, then obey the sign in front of you, which is often lower.
7. In Massachusetts, what is the youngest age at which you can apply for a learner's permit?
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Correct answer: B. Massachusetts issues learner's permits starting at age 16. 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.
8. An ice-cream truck is stopped ahead and children are gathered around it. How should you drive past?
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Correct answer: C. Slow way down and cover your brake near children or a stopped ice-cream truck, because kids chase treats and forget traffic completely. Expect someone small to dart out. Around children, drive as if one already has.
9. 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.
10. A white rectangular sign reads WRONG WAY. You have just entered a ramp. What is the safest first move?
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Correct answer: C. WRONG WAY means you are driving toward oncoming traffic. Stop without blocking others if you can, then leave the roadway the way you came or wait for help. Continuing forward is how head-on crashes start.
11. A blind pedestrian with a white cane or guide dog is crossing a Massachusetts street. What does the White Cane Law require?
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Correct answer: A. Massachusetts’ White Cane Law requires a complete stop for a blind pedestrian crossing a street, whether they use a white cane or a guide dog. Remain stopped until they have safely crossed. Do not honk, wave them on, or pass another vehicle that is already stopped.
12. A Massachusetts driver approaches a flashing red signal indication. What does state law require?
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Correct answer: A. M.G.L. c. 89, § 9 says that except when a police officer directs you to proceed, a driver approaching a stop sign or a flashing red signal must stop at the marked line, or before the crosswalk, or at the nearest point with a view, then yield to traffic that is a hazard.
13. In Massachusetts, state law sets a default limit for residential districts that applies wherever no speed limit sign is posted. That default is which of the following?
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Correct answer: B. Massachusetts law fixes the unposted residential default at 30 mph. Lawmakers keep it low because residential streets are full of crossings, parked cars, and pedestrians. Remember: no sign means the default applies, and posted signs override it.
14. An officer in Massachusetts stops a driver who is 18. A test shows a very small amount of alcohol. The under-21 threshold that can trigger a violation is:
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Correct answer: C. Under-21 drivers in Massachusetts are not judged by the adult 0.08%-style line. The threshold is 0.02%. That is why testers keep asking the youth number separately from the adult number.
15. How much stopping room does FMCSA say large trucks and buses need?
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Correct answer: A. Official FMCSA passenger-vehicle guidance says Large trucks and buses need the length of up to two football fields to safely stop. Leave extra space when merging in front of these large vehicles, to give them the stopping space they need.
16. A yellow diamond shows a sideways wind-sock or windswept tree. What risk is ahead?
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Correct answer: A. Crosswind warnings mark bridges, cuts, and open plains where gusts shove vans, trucks, and empty trailers. Ease off the gas and keep both hands on the wheel. If you drive something tall, treat the sign as a speed cut.
17. How much space must a Massachusetts driver leave when passing a bicycle or other vulnerable user?
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Correct answer: A. M.G.L. c. 90, § 14 requires an operator passing a vulnerable user — including a person on a bicycle — to pass at a safe distance of not less than 4 feet and at a reasonable and proper speed. Four feet is the current number. If you cannot leave that space in the same lane, use part of an adjacent lane when it is safe.
18. You are passing a slow truck on a Massachusetts highway posted at the state's maximum limit. Even while passing, your legal ceiling stays at which speed?
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Correct answer: B. Passing grants zero extra speed allowance; in Massachusetts the ceiling on those top-posted highways stays 65 mph. If you cannot complete the pass within the limit, wait for a better gap. The limit binds every maneuver.
19. Can prescription or over-the-counter medicine make driving illegal, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drug-impaired-driving guidance says it’s illegal everywhere in America to drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines, or any potentially impairing drug–prescribed or over the counter.
20. You want to turn left on a circular green light with no arrow. Oncoming cars are coming straight through. Who goes first?
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Correct answer: B. A circular green lets you turn left only after yielding to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians. It is not a protected green arrow. Wait in the intersection if your state allows, then complete the turn without cutting anyone off.
21. You are driving past a school crossing just as classes let out. What must you be prepared to do?
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Correct answer: C. Near school crossings you must slow to any posted school speed and stop whenever children or crossing guards are in the crosswalk. Kids are small, quick, and unpredictable, so extra caution is required. Expect the unexpected wherever students gather.
22. A teen walks into a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) office in Massachusetts 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 RMV accepts learner's permit applications at age 16 in Massachusetts. 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.
23. You are low on fuel on a long highway drive. Signs of which color point you to services such as gas, food, lodging, and hospitals?
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Correct answer: B. Blue signs mark motorist services, including fuel, food, lodging, rest areas, and hospitals. They let travelers plan a stop before leaving the highway. When your body or your car needs something, look for blue.
24. What space does NHTSA tell you to give a speeding driver?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA speeding guidance says Give speeding drivers plenty of space. Speeding drivers may lose control of their vehicle more easily. The leftover slow-vehicle-blocks-flow sentence is not on that page; this nearby official space rule is.
25. How does the official NHTSA NDR code book label leaving a crash without aiding?
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Correct answer: A. Official 23 CFR 1327 Appendix A lists B01 Hit and run—failure to stop and render aid after accident. Related codes cover fatal, injury, and property-damage hit-and-run. State penalties vary; this leftover uses that official national label.
26. Orange signs, cones, and barrels suddenly appear along the highway. What does the color orange tell you?
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Correct answer: B. Orange is reserved for temporary traffic control, meaning construction and maintenance zones. Workers, machines, and lane shifts may appear with little warning, so slow down and stay alert. When you see orange, think people at work.
27. During a practice drive in Massachusetts, your mom asks: 'No sign here, so how fast can you legally go on this residential street?' What is the correct answer?
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Correct answer: B. With no sign posted, the residential default in Massachusetts is 30 mph. A good habit for new drivers: entering any neighborhood, assume the default, scan for signs, and let posted limits override it whenever they appear.
28. Until what age does NHTSA say to keep a child in the back seat?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA car-seat guidance says Keep your child in the back seat at least through age 12. All children under 13 ride in the back seat for maximum safety. Rear-facing is required under age 1.
29. A classmate in Massachusetts claims the adult DUI line is 0.10%. The official per-se BAC for drivers 21 and older is which value?
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Correct answer: C. Your classmate is using an outdated number. Massachusetts treats 0.08% as the adult per-se line. Memorize the current figure from the official handbook, not a rumor from an older relative.
30. 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.
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