Washington Permit Practice Test 3
A third full-length Washington practice test: 30 more questions with zero repeats from Tests 1 or 2 — including extra Washington-specific rules. The real DOL knowledge test has 40 questions, and you need 32 correct (80%) to pass.
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. 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.
2. You are 25 and had wine at a dinner party in Washington. Before driving home, you check the law. At what BAC does driving become illegal for you?
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Correct answer: D. For adult drivers in Washington, driving is illegal at a BAC of 0.08% or above. Because impairment starts before the limit, the safest plan after drinking is a ride share, taxi, or sober designated driver.
3. You are counting down the days until you can start driving in Washington. The earliest age you can hold a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. The countdown ends at 15, the minimum learner's permit age in Washington. Starting at the minimum is smart: more months of supervised practice before licensure means more experience with traffic, weather, and night driving while coached.
4. 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.
5. Why is texting on a handheld phone one of the most dangerous things a driver can do?
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Correct answer: A. Texting combines all three types of distraction at once: visual, manual, and cognitive, since your eyes, hands, and thoughts all leave the road together. A driver who is not looking, holding, or thinking is barely driving at all.
6. 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.
7. During a practice drive in Washington, 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 Washington 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.
8. You are parking facing uphill on a street with a curb. Which way should you turn your front wheels?
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Correct answer: B. When parking uphill with a curb, turn the wheels away from the curb and let the car roll back until a tire rests against it. The curb then works as a block. Up and away is the memory cue.
9. What supervision does NHTSA require during the learner’s permit phase?
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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. The leftover front-seat-only sentence is not on that page; this nearby official supervision rule is. Learn that official wording, then answer the knowledge test from those words.
10. A 19-year-old driver in Washington says a single sip cannot matter. Under the under-21 rule, the limit is which of these?
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Correct answer: B. Washington applies a zero-tolerance rule for drivers under 21: 0.02%. A sip can be enough. If you are under 21, the only safe plan is no alcohol before driving.
11. How far away must working Washington brake lights be clearly visible?
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Correct answer: A. Washington says brake lights are red and must be clearly visible from 100 feet away. If they are not working, use the left-arm hand signal out the driver-side window. A burned-out brake lamp is a fail item, not a cosmetic issue.
12. Setting cruise control on a rural Washington interstate posted at the state maximum, you should set it no higher than which speed?
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Correct answer: B. The state maximum in Washington is 70 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.
13. 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.
14. After two drinks at a barbecue in Washington, 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 Washington 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.
15. You're driving on an ocean beach in Grays Harbor County, Washington, where beach driving is allowed. What speed limit applies?
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Correct answer: A. Washington treats drivable ocean beaches as state highways with a 25 mph limit, and pedestrians and bicyclists always have the right-of-way there. Sand, walkers, and waves demand city-street speed. Beach equals twenty-five.
16. What is the first official NHTSA TireWise step if you have a tire blowout while driving?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA TireWise blowout guidance says Hold the steering wheel with both hands. Gradually release the accelerator. Once your vehicle has stabilized, continue to slow down and pull off the road where and when you judge it’s safe to do so. Any overreaction – including slamming on the brakes – can result in a loss of control over the vehicle.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Where is the official Washington driver handbook published?
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Correct answer: A. The DOL publishes the Washington handbook for free. That book is the source the knowledge test is written from. Our questions are original study items grounded in those rules, not a substitute for reading the handbook.
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. Leaving a one-way street, you see a yellow diamond sign with two vertical arrows pointing in opposite directions. What is it warning you about?
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Correct answer: A. The two-way traffic sign warns that the one-way section is ending and vehicles will now come toward you. Keep to the right and use extra care when passing. Two opposite arrows mean the road now flows both ways.
22. What does NHTSA say happens to alcohol after it enters the bloodstream?
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Correct answer: A. Official NHTSA drunk-driving guidance says alcohol passes into the bloodstream where it accumulates until it is metabolized by the liver. The leftover coffee-or-shower sobriety claim is not on that page; this nearby official body text is.
23. A Washington traffic signal is a flashing red stop signal. What must you do?
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Correct answer: A. RCW 46.61.065 treats flashing red as a stop signal. Stop at the marked line, or before the crosswalk, or at the nearest point with a view of approaching traffic, then follow ordinary stop-sign rules. Do not treat the flash as a broken green.
24. 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.
25. A GPS in Washington suggests 40 mph on a residential block with no posted limit. The handbook-style default you should prefer is:
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Correct answer: C. Apps guess; Washington'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.
26. Why do speed limits drop in highway work zones?
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Correct answer: A. Work zones squeeze traffic past workers, machinery, narrowed lanes, and sudden stops, so limits drop to give everyone more reaction time. Many places also raise fines there. Slow down where people are standing next to moving traffic.
27. 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.
28. The posted limit is unchanged, but traffic, weather, and light have all gotten worse. What does the basic speed rule require?
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Correct answer: C. The basic speed rule says you may not drive faster than conditions safely allow, no matter what the sign posts. Rain, darkness, and crowds shrink your margin for error. Conditions set the real limit; the sign sets the ceiling.
29. 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.
30. In Washington, what is the youngest age at which you can apply for a learner's permit?
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Correct answer: B. Washington 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.
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