North Carolina Permit Practice Test 2
A second full-length North Carolina practice test: 30 fresh multiple-choice questions with zero repeats from Test 1. You need 80% correct to pass the real NCDMV Knowledge test (written test covering traffic laws and safe driving practices; oral versions available on request).
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 North Carolina flashing yellow signal (circular, not the arrow) is showing. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. North Carolina says the flashing yellow signal has the same meaning as a warning sign. Slow down and proceed with caution. The flashing yellow arrow head is the turn-lane version already in the bank and still requires a yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
2. May you park on the paved travel lane of a North Carolina highway?
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Correct answer: A. North Carolina lists the paved or primary-travel portion of any highway as a no-parking place, along with crosswalks, sidewalks, and bridges. Pull fully off the travel lane. A car sitting in the through lane is a crash waiting for fog.
3. 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.
4. Your GPS routes you through a North Carolina neighborhood of homes and parked cars with no posted speed limit. State law caps your speed there at what value?
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Correct answer: D. State law gives unposted residential areas in North Carolina a default cap of 35 mph (inside municipal corporate limits unless otherwise posted). Parked cars shrink your view of crossing pedestrians, which is exactly why the cap is low. Posted signs, where present, replace the default.
5. In North Carolina, supervised behind-the-wheel practice with a permit can begin once a teen reaches which age?
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Correct answer: C. Supervised practice starts at 15 in North Carolina, once the teen holds a learner's permit. Every practice hour with a licensed adult builds judgment that classroom study alone cannot teach, which is why the permit stage exists.
6. If it becomes hard to control the car, what does Ready.gov tell you to do?
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Correct answer: A. Official Ready.gov car-safety guidance says If it becomes hard to control the car, pull over, stop the car and set the parking brake. The leftover pump-the-failed-brake list is not on that page; this nearby official loss-of-control sentence is.
7. While planning a road trip across North Carolina, you look up the fastest speed any of its highways allow. What is that statewide maximum?
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Correct answer: A. North Carolina's top speed limit is 70 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.
8. What is the maximum speed limit for a school bus on North Carolina roads?
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Correct answer: C. School buses in North Carolina may never exceed 45 mph, while school activity buses are capped at 55 mph. Big vehicles full of children need extra stopping room — pace yourself patiently behind a bus.
9. On slick or snow-covered roads, what following-distance step does NHTSA list?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA winter-driving guidance says On the road, increase your following distance enough so that you’ll have plenty of time to stop for vehicles ahead of you. The leftover count-the-seconds mnemonic is not on that page; this nearby official following-distance sentence is.
10. While you wait to turn, the green arrow changes to a steady yellow arrow. What is the signal telling you?
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Correct answer: D. A steady yellow arrow warns that the protected turning phase is about to end. Stop if you can do so safely; drivers already at the point of no return may finish the turn cautiously. Yellow arrow means wrap up, not speed up.
11. After two drinks at a barbecue in North Carolina, 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 North Carolina 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.
12. 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.
13. Do automated driver-assistance features remove your duty to watch the road, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA automated-vehicle guidance says Every vehicle currently for sale in the United States requires the full attention of the driver at all times for safe operation. Even the highest level of driving automation available to consumers requires the full engagement and undivided attention of drivers.
14. 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.
15. A quiet electric car is coming up behind a pedestrian in a parking lot. What extra care should you take?
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Correct answer: B. EVs and hybrids are hard to hear at low speed. Handbooks increasingly mention that quiet approach. In lots and on neighborhood streets, expect people to step out without looking. If they cannot hear you, you have to see for them.
16. In North Carolina, 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. North Carolina 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.
17. 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.
18. Your 20-year-old cousin is the designated driver tonight in North Carolina. To obey the zero-tolerance law, they must keep their BAC below what threshold?
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Correct answer: A. In North Carolina, drivers under 21 violate the zero-tolerance law once their BAC reaches any detectable amount. A true designated driver drinks nothing at all; that is the whole job, and it keeps every passenger legally and physically safe.
19. In North Carolina, illegally passing a stopped school bus that is loading students carries a minimum fine of how much?
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Correct answer: B. Passing a stopped school bus in North Carolina is a Class 1 misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine, and judges cannot soften it with a prayer for judgment. Hitting someone raises it to a felony — flashing reds mean stop.
20. Two cars arrive at a four-way stop at the same time, facing each other, and the car across from you is going straight. You want to turn left. Who should go first?
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Correct answer: B. At a four-way stop, through traffic goes before a facing left turn when you arrive together. The left-turner would otherwise cut across the straight path. Straight first, then the left — same idea as an unprotected green.
21. You merge onto an interstate in North Carolina 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. North Carolina caps highway speed at 70 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 classmate insists everyone must wait until 18 to start driving in North Carolina. The real minimum age for a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Your classmate is wrong: North Carolina grants learner's permits at 15. Starting earlier gives you months of supervised practice while risk is lowest. When rules feel fuzzy, confirm them in the official state driver handbook.
23. What is the safest way to handle your speed through a sharp curve?
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Correct answer: B. Slow to a safe speed before the curve begins, then hold steady or gently accelerate through it. Braking mid-curve can break tire grip and cause a skid. Do your slowing on the straightaway, your steering in the bend.
24. You see a white square sign showing a curved U-shaped arrow inside a red circle with a slash through it. What is prohibited?
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Correct answer: B. The slashed U-arrow bans U-turns at that location, usually because oncoming drivers cannot see you turn around in time. Continue to a spot where reversing direction is legal and safe. Red circle plus slash means the pictured move is forbidden.
25. 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.
26. The traffic signal is dark at an intersection because of a power failure. How should you treat it?
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Correct answer: A. A dark signal is treated like a stop sign in every direction so nobody assumes they have a green. Come to a full stop, then apply the usual all-way-stop order. No lights means nobody has a free pass.
27. Ahead of a raised concrete median you see a white sign reading KEEP RIGHT with an arrow curving to the right. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. KEEP RIGHT tells you the roadway splits around an island, median, or obstruction, and all traffic must pass on the right side. Passing left would put you into oncoming lanes. Follow the arrow around the obstacle, then continue straight.
28. What is parallel parking, according to the official CA handbook wording used nationwide?
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Correct answer: A. Official California Driver Handbook wording says Parallel parking is when you park in line with the road and other parked vehicles. State inch-from-curb finish numbers differ, so this leftover uses that nationally applicable definition instead of inventing a national inch rule.
29. You see a yellow pennant-shaped sign on the left side of your lane that reads NO PASSING ZONE. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. The pennant is the only sign that points to the left, marking the start of a no-passing zone. Do not pull out to pass until you see a regular passing-allowed marking. Left-side pennant means stay put.
30. A tire blows out at highway speed. What should you do first?
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Correct answer: B. A blowout pulls the car; your job is to keep it pointed straight while speed drops. Hard braking can spin you. Once you are slow and under control, signal and move off the pavement. Hold, ease, then brake.
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