Utah Permit Practice Test 1
This free Utah practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DLD tests. The real DLD Written Knowledge Test has 50 questions, and you need 40 correct (80%) to pass.
Question 1 of 30
1. 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.
2. A yellow diamond-shaped sign ahead shows a black walking figure. As you approach the marked crossing, what is the required response?
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Correct answer: B. A pedestrian crossing warning sign means people may be entering the roadway ahead, so reduce speed and prepare to stop. Pedestrians always lose in a collision with a car. Treat the walking figure as a person already stepping off the curb.
3. In Utah, 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. Utah law makes it illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.05% or higher. Alcohol slows judgment and reaction time, and impairment can begin well below that number. Treat 0.05% as a legal line, never a safe target.
4. You are heading to a party where you plan to drink. What is the safest plan for getting home?
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Correct answer: B. The safest plan is decided before the first drink: a sober designated driver, rideshare, taxi, or staying over. Once alcohol dulls your judgment, you cannot trust yourself to choose wisely. Plan the ride first, then the party.
5. You are 16 and hold a Utah driver license (not a permit). During which hours are you generally prohibited from driving?
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Correct answer: C. Utah Code 41-8-2 bars licensed drivers younger than 17 from driving between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Fatigue and darkness multiply teen crash risk. Exceptions cover work, school activities, farm work, emergencies, or a licensed adult 21+ beside you.
6. On its fastest highways, Utah allows a top posted speed limit of which value?
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Correct answer: A. The highest speed limit in Utah is 80 mph, and only certain highways are posted that high. Most roads carry lower limits, so drive by the signs in front of you, and slow down when conditions worsen.
7. What is a reliable way to judge whether you are following the vehicle ahead too closely?
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Correct answer: A. Pick a fixed marker like a pole or shadow; when the vehicle ahead passes it, count seconds until you arrive. Counting seconds works at any speed, unlike guessing car lengths. The road itself becomes your measuring tape.
8. Under Utah's Not-a-Drop law, a driver under 21 caught driving with alcohol in their system loses driving privileges for how long on a first offense?
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Correct answer: D. Utah's Not-a-Drop law denies driving privileges for six months the first time a driver under 21 has any measurable alcohol aboard. Utah pairs zero tolerance for minors with the nation's strictest 0.05% adult limit. Hook: one sip, six months.
9. You are driving through a residential district in Utah and see no speed limit signs. What is the default speed limit?
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Correct answer: C. Where no sign is posted, Utah's default residential limit is 25 mph. Homes mean driveways, pets, and kids near the road, so the default stays low. A posted sign always overrides the default, so watch for one.
10. At the top of a ramp you see a square sign with a red circle and a white horizontal bar reading DO NOT ENTER. What does it mean?
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Correct answer: A. DO NOT ENTER marks a roadway where traffic flows toward you, such as an exit ramp or one-way street. Entering it risks a head-on crash. If you have already turned in and see WRONG WAY, pull over and turn around safely.
11. Under Utah's Move Over law, what should you do when approaching a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights on the roadside?
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Correct answer: C. Utah's Move Over law says slow down, leave room, and change lanes away from a stopped vehicle with flashing lights when it's safe. Roadside workers keep getting struck. Skip it after a conviction and you face a mandatory four-hour class.
12. In Utah, a driver who is 21 or older commits a per-se drunk-driving offense once their blood alcohol concentration reaches which level?
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Correct answer: B. 'Per se' means the number alone proves the offense. In Utah, that number is 0.05%. No other proof of bad driving is needed at that level, and alcohol can still impair you below it.
13. In freezing weather, why do bridges and overpasses ice over before the roads around them?
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Correct answer: C. A bridge has cold air on top and underneath, while ordinary pavement is warmed by the ground below, so bridges freeze first. Slow down before crossing one in cold weather and avoid sudden braking or steering there.
14. Several vehicles reach a four-way stop at different times. Who has the right-of-way?
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Correct answer: B. At an all-way stop, the vehicle that arrives and stops first proceeds first, with others following in arrival order. This first-come, first-served system prevents confusion. Think of it as taking a number at a busy counter.
15. During a practice drive in Utah, 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 Utah is 25 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.
16. 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.
17. In Utah, what is the youngest age at which you can apply for a learner's permit?
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Correct answer: B. Utah issues learner's permits starting at age 15. The permit opens the first stage of graduated licensing, where you build skills with a supervising adult before earning fuller privileges. Know your state's number; it varies nationwide.
18. You have been driving through a no-passing zone. Which sign tells you the zone has ended and passing is allowed again when safe?
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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.
19. How much of a traffic lane is a motorcycle entitled to use?
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Correct answer: D. A motorcycle is entitled to a complete traffic lane, and you may not squeeze past one inside that lane. Riders need the full width to dodge hazards. Treat a motorcycle's lane like a car's lane: whole and off-limits.
20. Who may legally park in a space reserved for people with disabilities?
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Correct answer: C. Reserved accessible spaces are only for vehicles showing a valid disability placard or plate, used when the person it was issued to is aboard. These wide, close-in spots are essential access, which is why enforcement is strict everywhere.
21. 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.
22. Your 20-year-old cousin is the designated driver tonight in Utah. To obey the zero-tolerance law, they must keep their BAC below what threshold?
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Correct answer: A. In Utah, 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.
23. Utah requires new drivers under 18 to log 40 hours of supervised practice driving. How many of those hours must be completed after sunset?
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Correct answer: B. Utah law requires 40 hours of supervised practice, and 10 of them must come after sunset. Night driving brings glare and shorter sight distances, so supervised dark-hour practice matters. Remember it as 40 total, 10 in the dark.
24. 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.
25. In Utah, an under-21 driver can face a license suspension for alcohol at a much lower level than an adult DUI. That zero-tolerance level is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Reaching any detectable amount can cost a driver under 21 their license in Utah, even when they show no obvious impairment. The state treats underage drinking and driving as a license issue first, aiming to stop the habit early.
26. 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, never a target to hit.
27. Your car stalls on railroad tracks and a train is coming. What should everyone in the car do?
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Correct answer: D. Abandon the car immediately and run toward the oncoming train at an angle leading away from the tracks, so flying wreckage sails past you instead of into you. Trains cannot stop quickly. Cars are replaceable; people are not.
28. You are involved in a crash with another vehicle. What does the law require you to do?
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Correct answer: D. After any crash you are part of, stop at once, get help for the injured, trade license, registration, and insurance details, and report the crash when required. Leaving without doing these turns an accident into a crime.
29. How does the law treat a driver who leaves the scene of a crash they were involved in?
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Correct answer: B. Fleeing a crash you were part of, often called hit and run, is a serious crime everywhere, with penalties that grow if anyone was hurt. Staying is a legal duty. Whatever the damage, driving away doubles the trouble.
30. A traffic light turns steady yellow as you approach the intersection. What does this signal tell you?
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Correct answer: A. A steady yellow light warns that the signal is about to turn red. Stop if you can do it safely; if you are too close to stop smoothly, continue through with caution. Yellow means prepare, not race.
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