Texas Permit Practice Test 1
This free Texas practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DPS tests. You need 70% correct to pass the real DPS Class C knowledge exam (also called the written exam).
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 yellow diamond shows two arrows pointing toward each other. What conflict is ahead?
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Correct answer: A. The two-way traffic warning tells you opposing cars will soon share the road, often after a divided or one-way segment. Keep right and expect headlights in the other lane. Two arrows, two directions.
2. 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.
3. An officer stops an adult driver in Texas 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?
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Correct answer: C. A BAC of 0.08% or more is enough by itself for a DUI charge in Texas. The law uses a fixed number because alcohol impairs everyone, and drivers are poor judges of their own impairment behind the wheel.
4. On a dark road you see several black-and-yellow signs, each with a single sideways V pointing to the right, spaced along the roadside. What do they mark?
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Correct answer: B. Chevron alignment signs outline a sharp curve, each arrowhead pointing the direction the road bends. They are placed in a series so your headlights pick up the curve's shape at night. Follow the chevrons like breadcrumbs through the turn.
5. You see a red-and-white triangular sign reading YIELD as you approach a traffic circle. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. A yield sign tells you to slow down, check for traffic with the right-of-way, and stop only when necessary to let it pass. It keeps merges smooth without forcing pointless stops. Think of yield as give way, not a full stop every time.
6. What do open-container laws prohibit, according to NHTSA?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA open-container guidance says Open container laws prohibit the possession of any open alcoholic beverage container and the consumption of any alcoholic beverage by motor vehicle drivers or passengers. Those laws typically exempt passengers in buses, taxis, and the living quarters of mobile homes.
7. What driving does NHTSA say a learner’s permit allows?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA GDL guidance says A learner’s permit allows driving only while supervised by a fully licensed driver. An intermediate license allows unsupervised driving under certain restrictions. The leftover solo-practice claim is not on that page.
8. 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.
9. You are 19, and a breath test after a Texas traffic stop shows a detectable amount of alcohol below 0.08. For a first offense, how long is your driver license suspended?
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Correct answer: C. Texas zero tolerance: a driver under 21 whose test confirms any detectable alcohol loses the license for 60 days on a first offense. The state treats any sip as too many for minors. Hook: first slip, sixty days.
10. During a practice drive in Texas, 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 Texas 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.
11. 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.
12. How close to a Texas fire-station driveway may you park on the same side of the street?
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Correct answer: A. Texas forbids parking within 20 feet of a fire-station driveway entrance and, on the opposite side of the street, within 75 feet of that entrance. The extra opposite-side distance keeps the path clear for departing apparatus.
13. When does Texas law require you to turn on your headlights in the evening?
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Correct answer: D. Texas law requires headlights from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise, and whenever you cannot clearly see people or vehicles 1,000 feet ahead. Hook: half an hour on each side of the sun.
14. 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.
15. An officer in Texas 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 Texas are not judged by the adult 0.08%-style line. The threshold is any detectable amount. That is why testers keep asking the youth number separately from the adult number.
16. Why does Ready.gov say to disable cruise control on slippery roads?
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Correct answer: A. Official Ready.gov car-safety guidance says Disable your vehicle’s cruise control when driving on slippery, icy or snowy roads. That’s because if you lose traction or start to skid, the cruise control will accelerate to maintain your vehicle’s speed, causing your wheels to spin even faster.
17. 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.
18. In which situations should you add extra following distance behind the vehicle ahead?
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Correct answer: C. Add following distance whenever stopping gets harder or seeing gets worse: slick roads, tailgaters behind you, big trucks blocking your view, or motorcycles that can stop quickly. More risk calls for more room ahead of you.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. How do you drive through a modern Texas roundabout?
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Correct answer: A. Texas says a modern roundabout is a one-way circular intersection that uses yield signs rather than traffic lights. Slow down, yield to traffic already in the circle, travel counterclockwise, and make a right turn to exit. In a multi-lane roundabout, pick the correct entry lane from the advance sign and do not change lanes in the circle.
22. A friend says every US interstate is 80 mph. In Texas, the highest posted highway limit is actually:
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Correct answer: A. Interstate limits vary. Texas tops out at 85 mph where posted. Learn the number for your state, then obey the sign in front of you, which is often lower.
23. A classmate insists everyone must wait until 18 to start driving in Texas. The real minimum age for a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Your classmate is wrong: Texas 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.
24. You are driving through a residential district in Texas and see no speed limit signs. What is the default speed limit?
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Correct answer: C. Where no sign is posted, Texas's default residential limit is 30 mph. Homes mean driveways, pets, and kids near the road, so the default stays low. A posted sign overrides the default, so watch for one.
25. A person with a white cane is about to cross the street ahead of you. What must you do?
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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.
26. A school bus ahead stops with its red lights flashing on a two-lane road with no median. Which vehicles must stop?
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Correct answer: D. On a road without a dividing median, traffic in both directions must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and remain stopped until the lights turn off. Children may cross from either side, so every lane freezes.
27. In Texas, 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. Texas 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.
28. In Texas, 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 Texas, 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.
29. On a rural road at dusk you pass a yellow diamond sign showing a leaping deer. What is the proper response?
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Correct answer: A. A deer crossing sign marks a stretch where animals often enter the road, so slow down and watch the shoulders, particularly around dawn and dusk. Deer travel in groups, so one crossing usually means more are coming. Where there's one, expect another.
30. What does a posted speed limit actually tell you?
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Correct answer: A. A posted limit is the top legal speed when conditions are ideal: dry pavement, good visibility, light traffic. In worse conditions, a safe speed is lower. Treat the number as a ceiling to stay under, not a target to hit.
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