Alaska Permit Practice Test 1
This free Alaska practice test has 30 multiple-choice questions covering road signs, right-of-way, speed limits, and safe driving — the same topics the DMV tests. The real DMV General Knowledge Test has 20 questions, and you need 16 correct (80%) to pass.
Question 1 of 30
1. You turn off a busy road into a quiet subdivision in Alaska and see no speed limit sign on the new street. Your maximum legal speed is now which value?
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Correct answer: D. Once you enter an unposted residential street in Alaska, the limit drops to the default of 25 mph. Slow down as you turn in; the quiet look of a subdivision hides driveways, cyclists, and children near the pavement.
2. You are 16 and want an Alaska provisional license. How long must you have held a valid instruction permit first?
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Correct answer: C. Alaska makes 16- and 17-year-olds hold a valid permit six months before the DMV issues a provisional Class D license, and a traffic conviction during that window restarts the wait. Six months of clean practice unlocks the next step.
3. 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.
4. After drinking, what is the only thing that will actually sober you up?
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Correct answer: C. Only time makes you sober, because your liver removes alcohol at its own steady pace. Coffee, cold showers, and exercise just create a wide-awake drunk. Memory hook: you cannot rush the liver; you can only wait it out.
5. Under Alaska's provisional license rules, which passengers may you carry with no qualifying adult in the vehicle?
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Correct answer: A. An Alaska provisional driver may not carry passengers under 21 unless a parent, guardian, or someone 21 or older is aboard, but siblings are the standing exception. Brothers and sisters ride free; other young passengers need an adult.
6. 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.
7. You are turning left at an intersection on a green light while an oncoming car heads straight toward the intersection. What is the rule?
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Correct answer: C. A driver turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight or turning right, crossing only when there is a safe gap. Straight traffic keeps its speed and path, so the turning driver waits. Left turn equals lower priority.
8. A tire blows out while you are driving at highway speed. What is the safest response?
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Correct answer: B. During a blowout, hold the wheel firmly, lift off the gas, and let the car slow on its own before easing off the road. Hard braking on three good tires invites a spin. Steady hands beat fast feet.
9. A horizontal black sign with a white arrow and the words ONE WAY points to the left at an intersection. What does it tell you?
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Correct answer: C. A ONE WAY sign means every vehicle on that street must travel in the arrow's direction. Driving against it puts you head-on into traffic. Before turning onto any city street, glance for the arrow and follow where it points.
10. How long is an Alaska non-commercial instruction permit valid, and how many times can it be renewed?
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Correct answer: D. Alaska issues the permit for two years and allows exactly one renewal, so a learner who stalls can run out of permit. Practice steadily rather than counting on repeat renewals: two years, one renewal, no more.
11. BAC measures the percentage of alcohol in a person's blood. For drivers 21 and older in Alaska, what BAC puts them at or over the legal limit?
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Correct answer: C. BAC stands for blood alcohol concentration. In Alaska, 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.
12. A truck ahead signals a right turn but first swings out toward the left. What should you do?
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Correct answer: C. Long vehicles swing wide to make right turns, and the tempting gap on their right closes like a trap once the trailer comes around. Hold back and wait. Never slide into the right side of a turning truck.
13. The vehicle ahead displays an orange triangle with a red border on its rear. What does that tell you?
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Correct answer: D. The orange triangle is the slow-moving vehicle emblem, common on farm equipment and horse-drawn wagons. You close in on these vehicles faster than you expect, so back off early and pass only with a clear, legal gap.
14. 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.
15. A 19-year-old is pulled over in Alaska after a party. Under the zero-tolerance law, what BAC is enough for an underage drinking-and-driving violation?
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Correct answer: D. For drivers under 21 in Alaska, a violation begins at any detectable amount. Zero-tolerance laws exist because young, inexperienced drivers face high crash risk with any alcohol. If you are underage, the only legal amount is none.
16. Signs on Alaska highways vary from road to road, but the law sets one absolute top limit for the fastest routes. That limit is which value?
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Correct answer: D. By statute, 65 mph is the fastest any Alaska road can be posted. Below that ceiling, engineers set each road's limit for its design and traffic, which is why the posted sign on your road always governs.
17. How should a lap and shoulder belt be worn so it protects you in a crash?
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Correct answer: D. Wear the lap belt low and snug over your hips and the shoulder belt across your chest, because those strong bones absorb crash forces safely. Belts on your belly or behind your back can cause serious internal injuries.
18. What happens when a car hydroplanes on a wet road?
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Correct answer: C. Hydroplaning happens when tires ride up on a layer of water instead of the pavement, erasing steering and braking grip. Higher speeds make it far more likely. Ease off the gas smoothly; think of tires turning into water skis.
19. Children are playing near the curb on an unposted neighborhood street in Alaska. Unless a sign says otherwise, the fastest you may legally drive here is which speed?
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Correct answer: A. The default residential limit in Alaska is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. With children nearby, you should often go slower still, because stopping distance grows quickly with speed and kids can dart into the street without warning.
20. 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.
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. 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.
23. A center lane is bordered on each side by a solid yellow line with a broken yellow line inside it, and white left-turn arrows are painted for both directions. How may you use this lane?
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Correct answer: A. A two-way left-turn lane is shared by both directions for left turns only. Enter just before your turn, watch for opposing drivers using the same lane, and never travel or pass in it. Turn, do not cruise.
24. Your younger sibling asks when they can get a learner's permit in Alaska. What age do you tell them?
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Correct answer: A. Tell them 14; that is when Alaska allows a learner's permit application. Until then, driving on public roads is off the table. Graduated licensing phases in privileges so new drivers gain experience under lower-risk conditions.
25. In Alaska, 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 Alaska, that number is 0.08%. No other proof of bad driving is needed at that level, and alcohol can still impair you below it.
26. You are in a left-turn lane facing oncoming traffic, and the signal shows a steady red arrow. What does the arrow mean?
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Correct answer: A. A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points toward; you must stop and stay put until the signal changes. It shields turning drivers from crossing busy oncoming lanes. Think of a red arrow as a closed gate.
27. You see a five-sided sign shaped like a schoolhouse outline, in fluorescent yellow-green, showing two walking figures. What does the pentagon shape identify?
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Correct answer: D. The pentagon shape is reserved for school signs, warning of a school zone or crossing where children may be walking. The fluorescent yellow-green color grabs attention near schools. Think of the five-sided shape as a little schoolhouse to remember it.
28. What is the difference between a suspended license and a revoked license?
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Correct answer: A. A suspension parks your driving privilege for a set time or until you meet conditions, while a revocation cancels it entirely, usually forcing you to reapply later. Think of suspension as paused and revocation as erased.
29. You fail the written knowledge test at an Alaska DMV office. When may you try again?
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Correct answer: A. Alaska lets you retake a failed written test the next day, so a miss costs you a day rather than a month. Use that evening to reread the manual sections that tripped you up instead of guessing again.
30. While planning a road trip across Alaska, you look up the fastest speed any of its highways allow. What is that statewide maximum?
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Correct answer: A. Alaska's top speed limit is 65 mph, found only on its fastest designated highways. Expect lower posted limits on most stretches, and remember signs always control: the maximum applies only where a sign actually posts it.
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