Utah DLD Permit Practice Test 20
- Questions50
- Correct to pass40
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. An officer directing traffic faces you and holds one hand up with the open palm toward your vehicle. What does the gesture mean?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop before reaching the officer
A raised open palm shown toward a driver is the standard signal to stop.
-
2. Another driver is behaving aggressively toward you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Avoid eye contact, give them room to go on their way and do not respond to provocation
Responding to an aggressive driver escalates the conflict, while creating distance and refusing to engage takes you out of the situation. Report serious threats once you can do so safely.
-
3. The traffic around you is moving well above the limit on a wide highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Keep to the limit and stay to the right, letting faster traffic pass
The limit is a legal maximum, and the safe way to differ from the traffic around you is to keep right and let it go by.
-
4. Why would this sign be installed on an approach?
Show answer
Answer B: Because the signal cannot be seen from far enough back for a driver to react in time
Advance notice of a signal is used where a crest, a curve, trees or a building keep the signal heads out of view until a driver is already too close to stop comfortably.
-
5. After an hour on a hot highway your tire pressure reads higher than it did in the morning. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Nothing, because pressure rises when tires heat up
Air expands as the tire warms, so a hot reading is normally above the cold setting. Bleeding air off would leave the tire underinflated once it cooled.
-
6. A large electronic advertising sign beside the road catches your eye. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Glance briefly and return your eyes to the road
Bright changing displays are designed to hold attention, so treat them like any roadside object and give them no more than a brief glance.
-
7. You see a shield for a three-digit Interstate whose first digit is even. What does that tell you about the route?
Show answer
Answer C: It loops around a city and rejoins its parent route
A three-digit Interstate beginning with an even digit is a loop or beltway that connects back to the main route at both ends, while an odd first digit marks a spur.
-
8. What does a traction control system do?
Show answer
Answer A: It limits wheel spin when you accelerate
Traction control cuts power or brakes a spinning wheel so the tires can grip when you pull away or accelerate on a slippery surface.
-
9. What does a first conviction for illegally passing a stopped school bus cost a Utah driver, beyond any points?
Show answer
Answer C: A fine of up to 1,000 dollars and 10 hours of community service
Utah punishes a first conviction for passing a stopped school bus with a fine of up to 1,000 dollars plus 10 hours of community service.
-
10. You have turned onto a ramp at night and your headlights pick out large white arrows painted on the pavement pointing straight back at you. What do they mean?
Show answer
Answer C: You are traveling against the flow and must turn back
Wrong-way arrows are laid so that a driver going the correct way never sees them head on, so an arrow pointing at you means you are on the ramp backwards.
-
11. A deer suddenly steps onto the road ahead of you at night. What is the safest response?
Show answer
Answer C: Brake firmly and stay in your lane rather than swerving
Swerving at speed often leads to a rollover or a head-on crash that is far worse than hitting the animal. Brake hard, hold your lane and expect more deer to follow.
-
12. A yellow diamond shows a horse with a rider. Besides slowing down, what else should a driver do?
Show answer
Answer C: Avoid using the horn or revving the engine
The equestrian crossing sign warns of horses on or across the road, and a sudden noise can startle an animal into the traffic lane.
-
13. What is the safest way to pass a bicyclist on a road with two lanes going your way?
Show answer
Answer D: Change lanes completely, as you would for a car
A bicycle is entitled to the room a vehicle needs, and moving into the next lane gives the rider space to swerve around a drain or a pothole.
-
14. You drive onto a section where the top layer has been milled off and the surface is grooved. How will it feel?
Show answer
Answer C: The steering may wander, so hold the wheel firmly and slow down
Grooves cut into the pavement tug at the tires and make the steering feel restless. A firm grip and a lower speed keep the vehicle tracking straight.
-
15. A line of short dashes set closer together than an ordinary lane line runs beside your lane where a ramp leaves the highway. What does a dotted line of that kind convey?
Show answer
Answer A: A warning that the lane is about to change function
Dotted lines give guidance or warning about a downstream change, such as a lane that becomes an exit only lane or a lane line carried across an intersection.
-
16. A large panel mounted on a trailer at the roadside displays a flashing arrow pointing left. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: Move into the lane to your left
An arrow panel directs traffic out of a closed lane, so the arrow shows the direction you must move rather than the shape of the road ahead.
-
17. Which shape is used for the school advance warning sign and the school crossing sign?
Show answer
Answer B: An upward-pointing pentagon
The five-sided pentagon with its point up identifies school signing, so the outline alone tells a driver that children may be present.
-
18. A driver is thinking about overtaking a slower vehicle and sees this sign a short distance ahead. What does it mean for that pass?
Show answer
Answer B: The pass must be finished before the restricted section begins
The sign marks the start of a section where passing is prohibited, so a driver may not be on the left side of the road beyond it; any pass has to be completed before that point or not started at all.
-
19. Why is smooth, early braking better than hard, late braking?
Show answer
Answer D: It keeps you in control and gives the driver behind more warning
Braking early and gently keeps the tires well within their grip and gives following drivers time to react to your brake lights.
-
20. How does higher speed affect the outcome of a crash?
Show answer
Answer A: It leaves less time to react and greatly increases the force of impact
Speed shortens the time available to avoid a hazard and raises the energy released in an impact, so both the likelihood and the severity of a crash increase.
-
21. You are already inside a roundabout when an emergency vehicle approaches with lights and siren. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer B: Continue to your exit, leave the roundabout, then pull over and stop
Stopping inside a roundabout blocks the circulating roadway, so you should exit first and then pull over clear of the intersection.
-
22. You are passing a tractor-trailer on a wet freeway and its wheels throw heavy spray. What is the best technique?
Show answer
Answer B: Increase your wipers and pass steadily without hesitating
Spray blinds you for as long as you stay beside the truck, so prepare the wipers first and then spend as little time in the spray as possible.
-
23. What is the safest way to handle an unrestrained pet or a child who needs attention while you are driving?
Show answer
Answer D: Secure pets before the trip and pull over safely before attending to a child
A loose animal or an urgent situation in the back seat can capture a driver's attention completely, so restrain pets beforehand and stop in a safe place when someone needs help.
-
24. Another driver takes a right of way that was legally yours. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Give way to the other driver and avoid the crash, whatever the law says
Right of way is something you give, not something you take, and being in the right is no protection in a collision.
-
25. For an auto policy issued or renewed after December 31, 2024, what are Utah's minimum liability limits, in order of injury per person, injury per accident, and property damage?
Show answer
Answer C: 30,000 / 65,000 / 25,000 dollars
Utah Code sets the current minimum liability coverage at 30,000 dollars per person, 65,000 dollars per accident, and 25,000 dollars for property damage, for policies issued or renewed after December 31, 2024.
-
26. On a two-lane road with a broken yellow center line, may you cross it to turn into a driveway on the left?
Show answer
Answer C: Yes, when it is safe and the oncoming lane is clear
A broken center line may be crossed for a pass or for a left turn into a road or a driveway, once the oncoming lane is clear.
-
27. You are ready to pull out of a parallel parking space into the traffic lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Signal, check the mirror and blind spot, and wait for a gap
A driver leaving a parking space must yield to traffic already in the lane, so signal, look for the gap and only then move out.
-
28. Your right wheels have dropped onto a soft shoulder. Why should you not steer straight back onto the pavement?
Show answer
Answer A: The tires can catch the pavement edge and throw you across the road
A tire pressed against the edge of the pavement climbs it suddenly, and at speed that jolt can send the vehicle across the center line.
-
29. Traffic safety experts describe three kinds of driver distraction. Which set is correct?
Show answer
Answer A: Visual, manual and cognitive
Distraction takes the eyes off the road, the hands off the controls or the mind off driving, and many activities do more than one of those at once.
-
30. A pedestrian is crossing at a corner where no crosswalk is painted on the pavement. What is your duty?
Show answer
Answer A: Yield, because a legal crosswalk exists at the corner even without paint
Every intersection has a crosswalk whether or not it is marked, and drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing there.
-
31. A regulatory sign posted at the start of a road reads LENGTH LIMIT 30 FEET. What does it control?
Show answer
Answer B: The overall length of vehicle allowed on that road
Some states post a length limit where tight curves or narrow structures lie ahead; it bars vehicles or combinations longer than the figure shown from using that road.
-
32. The inside of your windshield keeps fogging up on a cold, damp day. What clears it best?
Show answer
Answer B: The defroster with the air conditioning on, which dries the air
Fog on the inside is moisture from the cabin air. The air conditioner dries that air, and the defroster warms the glass, so together they clear it and keep it clear.
-
33. You are making a legal U-turn at an intersection. Who has the right of way?
Show answer
Answer C: Everyone else, until your turn is complete
A U-turn crosses several paths at once, so you yield to oncoming vehicles, to crossing traffic and to pedestrians before starting it.
-
34. Where does Utah guidance say a rear facing car seat should never be installed?
Show answer
Answer D: In the front seat of a vehicle with an active airbag
A rear facing car seat should never be installed in a front seat protected by an active airbag, since the airbag can strike the back of the seat during a crash.
-
35. Your car has side curtain airbags. What should you avoid doing?
Show answer
Answer B: Resting your head against the window or the door pillar
A side airbag deploys from the pillar or roof rail, so a head leaning against that area is directly in its path.
-
36. On an unlit road, about how far ahead do high beams normally let you see?
Show answer
Answer D: About 350 to 500 feet ahead of the vehicle
High beams light roughly 350 to 500 feet of road and low beams far less, which is why night speeds have to be chosen around the beam, not the limit.
-
37. A diamond-shaped sign is used to
Show answer
Answer A: warn of a condition on or next to the road that may call for caution
The diamond is the standard shape of the warning series, which alerts drivers to conditions that would otherwise not be obvious in time to react.
-
38. How does going a long time without sleep compare with drinking?
Show answer
Answer A: It can impair a driver in much the same way
Long periods awake produce slow reactions, poor judgment and lapses of attention that resemble the effects of alcohol, which is why fatigue counts as impairment.
-
39. What point value does Utah assign to a conviction for speeding 11 to 20 mph over the posted limit?
Show answer
Answer B: 55 points
Utah rates a mid range speeding conviction, 11 to 20 mph over the limit, at 55 points, between the lighter and heavier speeding tiers.
-
40. A sign reads REDUCED SPEED LIMIT AHEAD. What does it tell you?
Show answer
Answer D: A lower limit begins further along the road
The sign gives advance notice so a driver can slow gradually, and the new figure takes effect at the speed limit sign that follows.
-
41. You reach a red light with a sign reading NO TURN ON RED. What may you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Wait for the green; no turn is allowed while the light is red
That sign removes the usual permission to turn on red at the intersection, so you must wait for a green indication.
-
42. What happens when alcohol is combined with another drug that also affects the nervous system?
Show answer
Answer B: Impairment is often far greater than either one alone would produce
Combined substances can multiply each other's effects, producing impairment well beyond what a driver would expect from either one taken separately.
-
43. On a regulatory sign, what does a red circle with a diagonal slash drawn over a symbol mean?
Show answer
Answer D: The movement or action shown by the symbol is prohibited
A red circle with a diagonal slash is the standard way of showing that the movement pictured inside it, such as a U-turn or a right turn, is not allowed.
-
44. A driver on the street this sign governs is preparing to turn left at the next corner. Which lane should the vehicle be in beforehand?
Show answer
Answer A: The lane closest to the left curb
All the traffic here runs the same way, so nothing is coming toward the driver and the turn is taken from the extreme left lane rather than from beside the middle of the roadway.
-
45. The Utah Highway Safety Office compares the distance covered during an average texting glance at 55 mph to what?
Show answer
Answer B: The length of a football field
At 55 mph, the roughly five second glance drivers take to read or send a text covers a distance about the length of a football field, according to Utah's Highway Safety Office.
-
46. Smoke from a nearby fire is drifting across the highway. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow down, use low beams, and close the windows and vents
Smoke cuts visibility like fog and can make your eyes water. Low beams, a much lower speed and closed vents protect both your view and the air in the car.
-
47. What benefit does a Utah applicant aged 19 or older get for completing driver education, even though it is optional at that age?
Show answer
Answer A: It waives the 40 hour practice requirement and extends the permit holding period beyond 90 days
For applicants 19 and older, completing driver education waives the 40 hour supervised practice requirement and extends how long the permit can be held beyond the usual 90 days.
-
48. What is the only reliable remedy for a driver who is sleepy?
Show answer
Answer A: Sleep
Caffeine, fresh air and noise may make you feel alert for a few minutes, but they do not remove the need for sleep. Stop somewhere safe and rest.
-
49. What is true about an airbag once it has inflated in a crash?
Show answer
Answer B: It must be replaced by a technician before the car is driven any further
An airbag is a single use device, and the module and often the belts must be replaced before the vehicle protects anyone again.
-
50. You want to turn right at a steady red light and no sign prohibits the turn. What is required?
Show answer
Answer B: Come to a complete stop, then yield to traffic and pedestrians before turning
A right turn on a steady red is permitted only after a complete stop and only after yielding to cross traffic and to pedestrians, and a posted sign can prohibit it entirely.