Minnesota Permit Practice Test 1
This free Minnesota practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DVS tests. You need 80% correct to pass the real DVS Class D written 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. You are 25 and had wine at a dinner party in Minnesota. 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 Minnesota, 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.
2. A freeway lane is marked with white diamond symbols, and a sign says the lane is for high-occupancy vehicles (HOV 2+). Who may drive in it during the posted hours?
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Correct answer: B. Diamond-marked HOV lanes are reserved for vehicles meeting the posted occupancy, like two or more people in an HOV 2+ lane. Rewarding shared rides moves more people in fewer cars. The diamond means special rules, so read the sign before entering.
3. You are driving at night with high beams on when a vehicle approaches from the other direction. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. Dim to low beams for oncoming traffic so you do not blind another driver. If glare hits you, look toward the right edge of your lane to stay on course. Courtesy with light keeps everyone able to see.
4. Your street ends at a T-intersection with a through road. Who has the right-of-way?
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Correct answer: B. When your road ends at a T-intersection, traffic on the continuing through road has the right-of-way, and you must yield before turning onto it. The road that ends waits; picture the through road as the main current.
5. At a crosswalk signal, what is the difference between the walking-person symbol and the raised-hand symbol?
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Correct answer: C. The walking-person symbol invites pedestrians to begin crossing, while the raised hand warns them not to start; a flashing hand means finish crossing if already in the street. Drivers should expect people in the crosswalk during these phases.
6. 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.
7. Wide white stripes cross the pavement ahead, marking a crosswalk. What do these markings require of you as a driver?
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Correct answer: C. Crosswalk stripes show where pedestrians are expected to cross, and drivers must yield to people within them. You stop only when someone is crossing or a sign or signal requires it. Painted stripes mean feet ahead.
8. You stop at a red light planning to turn right, and a white sign beside the signal reads NO TURN ON RED. What does the sign change?
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Correct answer: A. Many places allow a right turn on red after a complete stop, but a NO TURN ON RED sign removes that option. It appears where crosswalks or sight lines make red-light turns risky. When posted, red simply means wait.
9. Signs on Minnesota highways vary from road to road, but the law sets one absolute top limit for the fastest routes. That limit is which value?
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Correct answer: D. By statute, 70 mph is the fastest any Minnesota road can be posted. Below that ceiling, engineers set each road's limit for its design and traffic, which is why the posted sign on your road governs.
10. 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.
11. What first winter-driving step does NHTSA list on a slick surface?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA winter-driving guidance says Slow down. It’s harder to control or stop your vehicle on a slick or snow-covered surface. The leftover hard-brake-on-bridge sentence is not on that page; this nearby official slick-surface rule is.
12. How does the alcohol in a regular beer compare with a standard glass of wine or a single shot of liquor?
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Correct answer: B. A standard beer, glass of wine, and shot of liquor each deliver about the same alcohol, so switching drinks does not protect you. Your body counts drinks, not drink types. One is one, whatever the glass looks like.
13. What is the minimum license revocation for a first-offense DWI in Minnesota?
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Correct answer: A. A first DWI offense in Minnesota brings a revocation of at least 90 days, and aggravating factors stretch it longer. The state removes impaired drivers quickly because alcohol crashes are so deadly. Anchor it: first DWI, three months gone.
14. A parent in Minnesota 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. Minnesota opens the learner's-permit door at 15. Starting then, with a supervising adult, is how GDL is supposed to work. Younger than that, the answer is still wait.
15. What is the highest posted highway speed limit in Minnesota?
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Correct answer: A. Minnesota's highest posted highway limit is 70 mph. Most stretches are lower, and work zones or weather can cut it further. Do not assume every freeway in Minnesota is signed at the state maximum.
16. 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.
17. A 19-year-old is pulled over in Minnesota 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 Minnesota, a violation begins at any detectable amount. 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.
18. A yellow diamond sign shows two arrows curving apart around an oval island. What is this sign telling you about the road ahead?
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Correct answer: D. The divided highway begins sign means opposing traffic will soon be separated by a median or barrier. Stay right of the divider and do not cross it. Picture the two arrows as lanes splitting around an island you must not enter.
19. Which shape is used only for yield signs, so you can recognize the sign even when you cannot read its face?
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Correct answer: D. Only yield signs use the downward-pointing triangle, just as only stop signs use the octagon. Unique shapes let drivers react from the outline alone in fog or darkness. Picture the point aiming down, telling you to back off and give way.
20. During a practice drive in Minnesota, 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 Minnesota 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.
21. Under Minnesota's zero-tolerance law, what BAC level counts as a violation for a driver under 21?
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Correct answer: B. Minnesota's zero-tolerance law sets the under-21 threshold at any detectable amount, far stricter than the adult standard. Underage drinking is illegal to begin with, so the safest and simplest rule is zero alcohol before driving.
22. Unless a sign posts another limit, the usual residential or city default in Minnesota is:
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Correct answer: A. Minnesota's typical unposted residential / city default is 30 mph. School zones and work zones drop lower. If houses line the street and no sign argues, start at 30 mph and watch the next plaque.
23. Your Minnesota light is green, but you cannot move through the intersection immediately and completely. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. Minnesota’s intersection gridlock rule says you should not enter a signal-controlled intersection unless you can move through it immediately, continuously, and completely. A green light does not excuse blocking the box. Wait for room on the far side.
24. A GPS in Minnesota suggests 40 mph on a residential block with no posted limit. The handbook-style default you should prefer is:
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Correct answer: C. Apps guess; Minnesota's default for this kind of street is 30 mph unless a sign posts otherwise. Believe the sign first, then the state's default, then the gadget.
25. A power outage has left the traffic signals at an intersection completely dark. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. When a signal is completely dark, treat the intersection as an all-way stop: stop fully, yield to vehicles that arrived first, and proceed in turn. This shared rule keeps order when the usual electronic referee is offline.
26. What penalties does NHTSA list for impaired driving?
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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 chemical-test sentence is not on that page; this nearby official penalty list is.
27. Traffic around you on a Minnesota 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 Minnesota's fastest highways it stays 70 mph. Move right and let them pass instead of matching them. Speed limits bind each driver individually, whatever the surrounding traffic does.
28. 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.
29. Does the posted speed limit stay safe in bad weather, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA speeding guidance says Speed also affects your safety even when you are driving at the speed limit but too fast for road conditions, such as during bad weather, when a road is under repair, or in an area at night that isn’t well lit. The leftover hydroplane-film sentence is not on that page; this nearby official weather-speed rule is.
30. If your tire drops off the edge of the pavement onto the shoulder, what does official ND driver-manual wording (nationally taught drop-off technique) tell you?
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Correct answer: A. Official North Dakota Noncommercial Driver’s Manual wording — taught the same way in many state manuals — says If your tire drops off the edge of the pavement onto the shoulder, do not try to swerve back onto the pavement because you may lose control of your vehicle. Grip the steering wheel and ease up on the accelerator. After you have slowed down and are in complete control, look for traffic behind you, signal, and turn gently back onto the pavement.
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