New York Permit Practice Test 1
This free New York practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DMV tests. The real DMV permit test has 20 questions, and you need 14 correct (70%) 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. 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.
2. A white sign with a green arrow and the word ONLY is mounted beside a traffic signal. When may you move in that direction?
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Correct answer: B. A signal-mounted green arrow with ONLY ties that movement to the arrow indication. Go that way when the arrow is on and the path is clear; otherwise wait. Arrows assign time as well as direction.
3. When a vehicle with flashing lights is stopped on or next to a roadway, what does official NHTSA Move Over guidance say drivers should do?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA Move Over guidance says all 50 states have Move Over laws. When a vehicle with flashing lights is stopped on or next to a roadway, drivers approaching the vehicle should change into a lane not immediately adjacent to the vehicle, or slow down to a reasonable speed if you’re unable to safely make a lane change.
4. A school bus stops with red lights flashing on the other side of a divided New York highway. You must:
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Correct answer: A. New York requires traffic in both directions to stop for a school bus with flashing red lights, even across a divided highway; first-offense fines start at $250. Children dart unpredictably from every angle. Hook: red flash, all lanes stop, statewide.
5. Which agency administers the learner's-permit knowledge test in New York?
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Correct answer: A. In New York, driver licensing — including the permit knowledge test — is run by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Federal agencies write guidance and fund programs, but they do not hand you a New York permit. When in doubt, start at the DMV site.
6. You are studying for the New York permit knowledge exam and want to schedule it as early as the law allows. You can hold a learner's permit beginning at which age?
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Correct answer: C. In New York, 16 is the earliest age for a learner's permit, so plan your knowledge exam around that date. Study the official handbook, since permit questions come from it, and arrive with the required documents ready.
7. 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.
8. Unless a local sign posts a different number, how far must you stay from a fire hydrant when you park?
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Correct answer: B. Most state handbooks use a 15-foot keep-clear zone at hydrants so firefighters can hook up hoses without moving cars. Fifteen is the number social-study threads keep missing. If you can touch the hydrant from the door, you are too close.
9. On a multilane highway, white lines separate the lanes. What does the white color tell you about the traffic around you?
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Correct answer: B. White lines divide lanes of traffic that flow the same way, while yellow divides opposing flows. Reading line color at a glance tells you instantly where oncoming cars can be. White means with you, yellow means toward you.
10. You are on a through street. A driver on a driveway to your right is waiting to enter. Who must yield?
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Correct answer: B. Drivers leaving a driveway, alley, or parking lot yield to all traffic on the street, including bikes and people walking. The street already has the flow. Think: entering traffic waits; through traffic keeps moving unless a sign says otherwise.
11. Signs on New York 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, 65 mph is the fastest any New York 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.
12. 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.
13. A work zone is posted 45 mph with workers on foot beside the cones. Why should you treat that number as a hard ceiling?
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Correct answer: A. Work-zone limits protect people standing inches from traffic, and many states double the fine. Slow to the posted number before the first cone. Orange zone, orange alert: the speed is real and the penalty is steeper.
14. After two drinks at a barbecue in New York, you consider driving home. For a driver 21 or older, that becomes illegal starting at which BAC?
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Correct answer: A. Driving in New York becomes a per-se DUI at a BAC of 0.08%. Drinks affect people differently, so you cannot reliably guess your number. When you have been drinking, the smart decision is simply to skip driving.
15. If a state legalizes marijuana possession, may you drive under the influence of the drug?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drug-impaired-driving guidance says Even in states where marijuana laws have changed, it is still illegal to drive under the influence of the drug. Driving impaired by any substance is against the law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. BAC measures the percentage of alcohol in a person's blood. For drivers 21 and older in New York, what BAC puts them at or over the legal limit?
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Correct answer: C. BAC stands for blood alcohol concentration. In New York, 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.
19. At a railroad crossing you see a white X-shaped sign reading RAILROAD CROSSING, with no gates or flashing signals. How should you treat it?
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Correct answer: B. The crossbuck is a regulatory sign that legally works like a yield sign at the tracks. Trains cannot swerve or stop quickly, so you must give way every time. At passive crossings, your eyes and ears are the only warning system.
20. Work-area signs in New York are which color, and how slow might the posted work-zone limit be?
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Correct answer: B. New York work-area signs are orange with black symbols. A posted work-zone limit can drop to 25 mph, and you must obey flaggers even if no number is posted. Orange zone, slow zone.
21. You are in a left-turn lane facing oncoming traffic, and the signal shows a steady red arrow. What does the arrow mean?
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Correct answer: A. A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points toward; you must stop and stay put until the signal changes. It shields turning drivers from crossing busy oncoming lanes. Think of a red arrow as a closed gate.
22. 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.
23. Setting cruise control on a rural New York interstate posted at the state maximum, you should set it no higher than which speed?
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Correct answer: B. The state maximum in New York is 65 mph, so cruise control should not be set above it where that limit is posted. Think of the posted limit as a ceiling for ideal conditions, not a required speed.
24. An 18-year-old in New York has one beer at a graduation party and then drives. At what BAC could this driver already be violating the zero-tolerance law?
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Correct answer: C. One beer can push a young driver to 0.02%, the level where New York's zero-tolerance law kicks in. The rule protects new drivers, whose crash risk rises quickly with alcohol. Skip every drink if you plan to drive.
25. A center lane is bordered on each side by a solid yellow line with a broken yellow line inside it, and white left-turn arrows are painted for both directions. How may you use this lane?
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Correct answer: A. A two-way left-turn lane is shared by both directions for left turns only. Enter just before your turn, watch for opposing drivers using the same lane, and never travel or pass in it. Turn, do not cruise.
26. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) in New York 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 New York starts with a learner's permit at 16. Each stage lifts restrictions as skill grows, because crash risk is highest in a driver's first solo months. The ladder starts at 16; climb it patiently.
27. A car ahead of you is stopped at a New York marked crosswalk, or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, to let a pedestrian cross. May you pass it?
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Correct answer: A. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1151(c) says that when any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to let a pedestrian cross, a driver coming from the rear shall not overtake and pass that stopped vehicle. The stopped car hides the person in the street. In New York this is a no-pass rule, not a suggestion.
28. An officer in New York 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 New York 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.
29. How does NHTSA describe the graduated driver licensing system?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA GDL guidance says GDL is a three-phase system for beginning drivers, consisting of a learner’s permit, an intermediate license, and a full license. GDL allows beginning drivers to acquire driving experience in less-risky situations and under direct supervision during the learner’s permit phase.
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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