Oregon DMV Motorcycle Practice Test 53

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. A freeway sign reads BUSES ONLY ON SHOULDER 6 AM TO 9 AM. Who may drive on the shoulder then?

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    Answer A: Only the vehicles named on the sign, during the hours shown

    Shoulder running is granted by the sign to the class of vehicle and the hours the sign names, and it does not turn the shoulder into a general travel lane.

  2. 2. A yellow diamond shows a horse with a rider. Besides slowing down, what else should a driver do?

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    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.

  3. 3. Are ordinary eyeglasses or sunglasses adequate eye protection for riding?

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    Answer B: No, since they can shatter and let wind reach the eyes from the side

    Everyday lenses are not made to resist impact and leave the eyes open to wind and debris, so a face shield or goggles are needed instead.

  4. 4. Used correctly, roughly how much of a motorcycle's total stopping power comes from the front brake?

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    Answer B: About three quarters of it

    Braking shifts weight onto the front wheel, so a smoothly squeezed front brake supplies roughly 70 percent or more of the stopping power.

  5. 5. You are stopping for a red light in the rain and your stopping point is on a wide painted stop line and crosswalk. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Slow earlier and gently, since wet paint offers much less grip than pavement

    Painted stop lines and crosswalks turn slick when wet, so start braking early and squeeze gently rather than braking hard on the markings.

  6. 6. A large insect splatters on your face shield and blocks part of your view. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Keep control, look through a clear part, and clean it at the next stop

    Taking a hand off the bars or riding with your eyes closed is far more dangerous than a partly obscured view, so keep riding and clean the shield when you are stopped.

  7. 7. About how far behind a tractor-trailer does the driver's rear blind spot reach?

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    Answer C: Around 30 feet

    The area behind a large truck is hidden for roughly 30 feet, so a driver tucked in there cannot be seen at all.

  8. 8. You are turning right off a street into a parking lot driveway that crosses a bike lane and a sidewalk. Who has the right of way?

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    Answer D: Pedestrians on the sidewalk and riders in the bike lane

    Turning into a driveway means crossing the paths of people who were already traveling straight, so you give way to both the bike lane and the sidewalk.

  9. 9. What is the purpose of the padding built into the shoulders, elbows and knees of riding gear?

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    Answer C: It absorbs impact energy at the joints most likely to strike first

    Armor at the joints spreads and absorbs the force of an impact in the places that usually hit the ground first in a fall.

  10. 10. Who is best suited to ride as the sweep at the back of a group?

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    Answer B: An experienced rider who can handle a problem at the back

    The sweep has to notice a rider dropping back or stopping and deal with it away from the rest of the group, which takes judgment and experience.

  11. 11. A driver extends the left arm out the window and points it downward toward the road surface. What is being signaled?

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    Answer A: Slowing down or stopping

    The left arm extended downward is the standard hand signal for slowing or stopping.

  12. 12. A sign warns that the right lane ends ahead, and traffic is still flowing freely. What should you do if you are in that lane?

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    Answer C: Signal, adjust your speed and move left in good time before the lane ends

    When traffic is moving freely there is room to merge early and smoothly, which avoids the last-second lane change at the closure point.

  13. 13. Which action becomes clearly more risky beyond this sign?

    A yellow diamond showing two black arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down
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    Answer A: Using the left side of the roadway to overtake

    With vehicles coming the other way on the same pavement, overtaking on the left needs enough clear road to pull out, pass and return, which is often not available.

  14. 14. You are traveling beside a solid white lane line. What does it tell you?

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    Answer B: Crossing it is discouraged or prohibited, so stay in your lane

    A solid white line separates lanes going the same direction where lane changing is discouraged or prohibited, such as where a through lane meets a mandatory turn lane.

  15. 15. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?

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    Answer C: Well before the maneuver, so other drivers have time to react

    A signal is a warning to others, so it has to be given far enough ahead of the maneuver that drivers and pedestrians can adjust.

  16. 16. Why are pedestrians and cyclists a special risk on unlit streets at night?

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    Answer A: Dark clothing can make them invisible until they are very close

    A person in dark clothing reflects almost no light and may not appear until they are inside your stopping distance, so cut your speed where people may be about.

  17. 17. Which of these is announced with the same family of signs as the facility shown here?

    A blue square with a white letter H
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    Answer A: A rest area for travelers

    A rest area belongs to the same motorist service series, which points travelers toward facilities such as fuel, food, lodging and medical care.

  18. 18. You are turning left from a one-way street onto a two-way street. How should the turn be made?

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    Answer B: Start in the far left lane and finish just to the right of the center line

    Left turns begin from the lane nearest the left edge of the street you are leaving and must finish on the right-hand side of the center line of a two-way street.

  19. 19. A streetcar is coming along tracks in the middle of the street as you wait to turn across them. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Let the streetcar pass before you cross the tracks

    Rail vehicles cannot steer around you and need a long distance to stop, so drivers yield to a streetcar or light rail train.

  20. 20. A diamond-shaped sign is used to

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    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.

  21. 21. What does Oregon require of a motorcycle headlight?

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    Answer A: It must be on at all times

    Oregon law requires the motorcycle headlight to be on at all times, and modulating headlights are permitted during daylight hours.

  22. 22. When is a wet road usually most slippery?

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    Answer C: Just after the rain starts, before the surface oil is washed away

    Oil and dirt lying on the pavement mix with the first water and cut traction badly until continued rain washes the residue to the side of the road.

  23. 23. You are entering a freeway using an on-ramp with an acceleration lane. What is the correct technique?

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    Answer C: Use the acceleration lane to reach the speed of traffic, then merge into a gap while yielding to traffic already on the freeway

    The acceleration lane exists so you can match the speed of freeway traffic before merging, and drivers already on the freeway have the right-of-way.

  24. 24. How should a rider react to a deer or another large animal in the road?

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    Answer B: Brake and prepare to stop, because large animals move unpredictably

    A large animal can bolt in any direction at any moment, so the only reliable response is to slow down and be ready to stop.

  25. 25. A rectangular red sign with the white words WRONG WAY means that

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    Answer C: the driver is already traveling against the legal flow and must not continue

    The wrong way sign uses a white legend and border on red and addresses a driver who has entered a ramp or one-way roadway in the wrong direction, who should stop and turn around safely.