Virginia Permit Practice Test 2
A second full-length Virginia practice test: 30 fresh multiple-choice questions with zero repeats from Test 1. Check the DMV site for the current question count and passing score.
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 school bus on a two-lane road has stopped with red lights flashing and the stop arm out. You are coming the other way. What do you do?
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Correct answer: B. On an undivided road, both directions stop for a loading school bus. Children can run from either side. The only common exception is the far side of a divided highway with a real median. Red lights plus arm equals freeze.
2. BAC measures the percentage of alcohol in a person's blood. For drivers 21 and older in Virginia, what BAC puts them at or over the legal limit?
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Correct answer: C. BAC stands for blood alcohol concentration. In Virginia, 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.
3. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) in Virginia 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 Virginia starts with a learner's permit at 15½. Each stage lifts restrictions as skill grows, because crash risk is highest in a driver's first solo months. The ladder starts at 15½; climb it patiently.
4. In Virginia, 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. Virginia 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.
5. 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.
6. You are towing a small trailer on a highway posted 70 mph. What should you assume about a safe speed?
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Correct answer: B. Added weight and sway stretch your stopping distance, and some states post a lower tow limit. Even when the big number is legal, the safe number is often lower. If it sways, you are already too fast.
7. You approach a Virginia roundabout or traffic circle. Who yields, and which way does traffic move?
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Correct answer: A. Virginia’s roundabout warning signs describe a circular intersection with an island in the center, also called a traffic circle. Entering traffic must yield the right-of-way to traffic already in the circle and travel in a counterclockwise direction. One or more lanes may be present, so read the lane arrows.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. A parent in Virginia wants to start permit practice as soon as the law allows. The earliest learner's-permit age is:
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Correct answer: C. Virginia opens the learner's-permit door at 15½. Starting then, with a supervising adult, is how GDL is supposed to work. Younger than that, the answer is still wait.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. What should you do when you approach an intersection with a flashing yellow light?
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Correct answer: C. A flashing yellow light does not require a stop; it tells you to slow down, scan the intersection, and proceed carefully. It marks spots with extra risk, so treat flashing yellow as a caution flag, not a green light.
14. You are delivering food to a house on an unposted residential street in Virginia. Unless a sign changes it, what speed limit applies?
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Correct answer: A. Unposted residential streets in Virginia carry a default limit of 25 mph. The rule exists so drivers can stop for the unexpected, like a car backing out of a driveway. When a sign is posted, obey the sign instead.
15. 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.
16. A friend says every US interstate is 80 mph. In Virginia, the highest posted highway limit is actually:
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Correct answer: A. Interstate limits vary. Virginia tops out at 70 mph where posted. Learn the number for your state, then obey the sign in front of you, which is often lower.
17. Which official NHTSA NDR code records a financial-responsibility failure?
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Correct answer: A. Official 23 CFR 1327 Appendix A lists D35 Failure to comply with financial responsibility law and B63 Failed to file future proof of financial responsibility. The leftover insurance-or-keys mnemonic is not on that page; this nearby official national code is.
18. Before you can get a Virginia driver's license as a teen under 18, how much practice driving must your parent or guardian certify?
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Correct answer: D. Virginia parents or guardians must certify at least 45 practice hours, 15 of them after sunset, before an under-18 driver is licensed. Night driving is riskier, so a third of practice happens after dark — remember 45 and 15.
19. Many regulatory signs show a picture inside a red circle crossed by a red diagonal slash. In general, what does that design mean?
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Correct answer: D. In the MUTCD symbol system, a red circle with a diagonal slash over any picture means that action is not allowed, such as no trucks or no bicycles. It works without words, so drivers of any language understand instantly. Slash means stop doing it.
20. Which pair of official NHTSA NDR codes records driving while a license is revoked versus suspended?
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Correct answer: A. Official 23 CFR 1327 Appendix A (NHTSA NDR) lists B25 Driving while license revoked and B26 Driving while license suspended as separate codes. The leftover temporary-versus-erased definition is state terminology; this nearby official national code pair is.
21. An officer in Virginia 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 Virginia 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.
22. You are in the right lane when you see a yellow diamond sign showing the right lane narrowing into the left lane. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. A lane-ends sign warns your lane will disappear, so signal, match the other lane's speed, and merge before the pavement runs out. Drivers in the ending lane must yield to through traffic. Early, smooth merges prevent the last-second squeeze.
23. What does NHTSA say about over-the-counter and prescription drugs and driving?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drug-impaired-driving guidance says Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can cause extreme drowsiness, dizziness, and other side effects. Warnings against operating heavy machinery include driving a vehicle.
24. If your car stalls on a railroad track, what does NHTSA say to do first?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA railroad-crossing guidance says If your car stalls on a track, quickly get everyone out — even if you don’t see a train coming. Run away from the tracks and your car to avoid being hit by flying debris. Call the number on the blue emergency notification system sign.
25. You have signaled and checked your mirrors before a lane change. What is the one step left before you move over?
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Correct answer: C. Mirrors leave blind spots big enough to hide a whole car, so turn your head for a quick over-the-shoulder check before moving over. Signal, mirrors, head check: the lane change is not done until your neck moves.
26. Two solid yellow lines run down the center of the road. What do they prohibit?
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Correct answer: D. Double solid yellow lines ban passing for traffic in both directions, because sight distance or traffic makes passing unsafe there. Crossing is generally allowed only to turn into a driveway or side road, not to overtake.
27. Virginia enforces 'zero tolerance' for underage drinking and driving. In practice, a driver under 21 violates this law at what BAC?
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Correct answer: A. Zero tolerance in Virginia means the under-21 line sits at 0.02%, so even one drink can end in a suspended license. The memory hook is simple: under 21 means zero drinks before you drive.
28. You pass a round yellow sign marked with a large black X and the letters R R. What is it telling you?
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Correct answer: A. The round yellow RXR sign is the advance warning for a railroad crossing, posted well before the tracks. It gives you time to slow, quiet distractions, and scan for trains. Round and yellow means railroad ahead, not at, the sign.
29. When must Virginia drivers use headlights because of weather, besides night?
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Correct answer: A. Virginia tells you to use headlights whenever you use windshield wipers as a result of bad weather. Using headlights in the daytime also makes your vehicle easier to see. Wipers on, lights on.
30. Unless a sign posts another limit, the usual residential or city default in Virginia is:
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Correct answer: A. Virginia's typical unposted residential / city default is 25 mph. School zones and work zones drop lower. If houses line the street and no sign argues, start at 25 mph and watch the next plaque.
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