South Dakota Permit Practice Test 2
A second full-length South Dakota practice test: 30 fresh multiple-choice questions with zero repeats from Test 1. You need 80% correct to pass the real DPS Knowledge 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 hold a South Dakota restricted minor's permit. Which trip may you legally make alone after 10 p.m.?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D. South Dakota lets restricted permit holders drive alone after 10 p.m. only on the most direct route to or from school, church, work, or farm duties. Social trips are not covered, so plan late travel around those four exceptions.
2. How does NHTSA say alcohol changes the abilities needed to drive?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drunk-driving guidance says Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain, impairing thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination. All these abilities are essential to operating a vehicle safely.
3. You are turning left at an intersection on a green light while an oncoming car heads straight toward the intersection. What is the rule?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C. A driver turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight or turning right, crossing only when there is a safe gap. Straight traffic keeps its speed and path, so the turning driver waits. Left turn equals lower priority.
4. A GPS in South Dakota suggests 40 mph on a residential block with no posted limit. The handbook-style default you should prefer is:
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Apps guess; South Dakota's default for this kind of street is 25 mph unless a sign posts otherwise. Believe the sign first, then the state's default, then the gadget.
5. Setting cruise control on a rural South Dakota interstate posted at the state maximum, you should set it no higher than which speed?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. The state maximum in South Dakota is 80 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.
6. After two drinks at a barbecue in South Dakota, you consider driving home. For a driver 21 or older, that becomes illegal starting at which BAC?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Driving in South Dakota 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.
7. You have been driving through a no-passing zone. Which sign tells you the zone has ended and passing is allowed again when safe?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D. A white regulatory sign reading PASS WITH CARE marks the end of a no-passing zone. You may pass again, but only when the road ahead is clear. The word CARE reminds you the choice is still yours to judge.
8. The light is steady green as you reach an intersection. Which statement is true?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. A green light means you may proceed, but only after yielding to pedestrians and vehicles still clearing the intersection. Green grants permission, not protection, so look left, right, and left again before you enter.
9. A white regulatory sign reads NO TURN ON RED. You have a circular red light and want to go right. What must you do?
Show answer & explanation
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.
10. Children are playing near the curb on an unposted neighborhood street in South Dakota. Unless a sign says otherwise, the fastest you may legally drive here is which speed?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. The default residential limit in South Dakota is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. With children nearby, you should often go slower still, because stopping distance grows quickly with speed and kids can dart into the street without warning.
11. How does the alcohol in a regular beer compare with a standard glass of wine or a single shot of liquor?
Show answer & explanation
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.
12. A yellow diamond shows a sideways wind-sock or windswept tree. What risk is ahead?
Show answer & explanation
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.
13. A freeway on-ramp has a recommended speed of 35 mph on a yellow plaque. The freeway is posted 65. What should you do on the ramp curve?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Yellow advisory speeds mark ramps and curves that cannot be taken at the highway limit. Slow for the curve, then speed up in the acceleration lane. Advisory plaques are the voice of physics, not decoration.
14. Headed downhill at a curb, which way does the official CA handbook (nationally taught hill technique) turn the front wheels?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Official California Driver Handbook parking technique — taught the same way nationwide — says Headed downhill: Turn your front wheels into the curb or right toward the side of the road. Remember to set the parking brake and leave the vehicle in park, or in gear for manual transmission.
15. A white sign with a green arrow and the word ONLY is mounted beside a traffic signal. When may you move in that direction?
Show answer & explanation
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.
16. Why does NHTSA tell you to slow down in snow or sleet?
Show answer & explanation
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 bridges-ice-first sentence is not on that page; this nearby official slick-surface rule is.
17. Why do most GDL programs limit teen passengers in the first months of licensure?
Show answer & explanation
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.
18. Unless the township board posts a different zone, what is the speed limit on a South Dakota township road?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C. South Dakota limits township roads to 55 mph unless the township board posts a different zone. These narrow rural routes hide blind intersections and farm equipment, so the statutory cap sits below the 65 mph highway default.
19. Where does modern guidance tell you to place your hands on the steering wheel?
Show answer & explanation
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.
20. An officer stops an adult driver in South Dakota and a breath test is given. At what BAC reading can that driver be charged with driving under the influence, even if their driving looked steady?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C. A BAC of 0.08% or more is enough by itself for a DUI charge in South Dakota. The law uses a fixed number because alcohol impairs everyone, and drivers are poor judges of their own impairment behind the wheel.
21. A person with a white cane is about to cross the street ahead of you. What must you do?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. A white cane or guide dog marks a pedestrian who is blind, and that person has the right-of-way every time. Stop if needed and do not honk, which can confuse them. White cane means your brakes, not your horn.
22. Orange signs, cones, and barrels suddenly appear along the highway. What does the color orange tell you?
Show answer & explanation
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.
23. Under South Dakota's zero-tolerance law, what BAC level counts as a violation for a driver under 21?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. South Dakota's zero-tolerance law sets the under-21 threshold at 0.02%, far stricter than the adult standard. Underage drinking is illegal to begin with, so the safest and simplest rule is zero alcohol before driving.
24. The vehicle ahead displays an orange triangle with a red border on its rear. What does that tell you?
Show answer & explanation
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.
25. A parent in South Dakota wants to start permit practice as soon as the law allows. The earliest learner's-permit age is:
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C. South Dakota opens the learner's-permit door at 14. Starting then, with a supervising adult, is how GDL is supposed to work. Younger than that, the answer is still wait.
26. What does official NHTSA Move Over guidance tell you to do when flashing lights are stopped on the shoulder?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA Move Over guidance says All states require drivers to move over and slow down for emergency vehicles with flashing lights. 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.
27. What is the highest posted highway speed you should expect to see in South Dakota?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C. South Dakota's top posted highway limit is 80 mph. Most roads are lower. Do not treat the state maximum as the speed for every freeway ramp or work zone.
28. A South Dakota flashing yellow arrow is showing for a left turn. What may you do?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. South Dakota says a flashing yellow arrow means you may cautiously enter the intersection to make the indicated turn when it is safe, after yielding the right-of-way to oncoming traffic. It is not a protected green arrow.
29. While you wait to turn, the green arrow changes to a steady yellow arrow. What is the signal telling you?
Show answer & explanation
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.
30. On a two-lane South Dakota highway you approach a stopped ambulance using flashing lights. What does the move-over law require?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Where South Dakota drivers cannot move over a lane, the law requires slowing to at least 20 mph under the posted limit, beginning 300 feet before the stopped vehicle. Less speed near responders means a much shorter stopping distance.
Enter or Space also advances.