Maryland Permit Practice Test 2
A second full-length Maryland practice test: 30 fresh multiple-choice questions with zero repeats from Test 1. The real MVA Knowledge Test (25-question noncommercial Class C test for the Learner's Instructional Permit) has 25 questions, and you need 22 correct (88%) to pass.
Question 1 of 30
1. You are 25 and had wine at a dinner party in Maryland. 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 Maryland, 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.
2. Traffic around you on a Maryland highway posted at the state maximum starts flowing faster than the signs allow. Your personal legal limit remains which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Other drivers speeding never raises your limit; on Maryland's fastest highways it stays 70 mph. Move right and let them pass instead of matching them. Speed limits bind each driver individually, whatever the surrounding traffic does.
3. What is the safest way to handle your speed through a sharp curve?
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Correct answer: B. Slow to a safe speed before the curve begins, then hold steady or gently accelerate through it. Braking mid-curve can break tire grip and cause a skid. Do your slowing on the straightaway, your steering in the bend.
4. A classmate insists everyone must wait until 18 to start driving in Maryland. The real minimum age for a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Your classmate is wrong: Maryland grants learner's permits at 15 years, 9 months. Starting earlier gives you months of supervised practice while risk is lowest. When rules feel fuzzy, confirm them in the official state driver handbook.
5. On its fastest highways, Maryland allows a top posted speed limit of which value?
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Correct answer: A. The highest speed limit in Maryland is 70 mph, and only certain highways are posted that high. Most roads carry lower limits, so drive by the signs in front of you, and slow down when conditions worsen.
6. You are heading to a party where you plan to drink. What is the safest plan for getting home?
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Correct answer: B. The safest plan is decided before the first drink: a sober designated driver, rideshare, taxi, or staying over. Once alcohol dulls your judgment, you cannot trust yourself to choose wisely. Plan the ride first, then the party.
7. 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.
8. You keep yawning and your eyes feel heavy on a long drive. What actually fixes drowsiness?
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Correct answer: A. Only sleep cures sleepiness, so pull off somewhere safe and rest when drowsiness hits. Loud music, open windows, and caffeine wear off within minutes, and a driver who nods off is as dangerous as a drunk one.
9. You park facing downhill on a street with a curb. Where should your front wheels point?
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Correct answer: C. When parking downhill with a curb, turn your front wheels toward the curb; if the car rolls, the tire wedges against the curb instead of drifting into traffic. Think downhill, dive toward the curb, and set the brake.
10. In freezing weather, why do bridges and overpasses ice over before the roads around them?
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Correct answer: C. A bridge has cold air on top and underneath, while ordinary pavement is warmed by the ground below, so bridges freeze first. Slow down before crossing one in cold weather and avoid sudden braking or steering there.
11. You stop at a red light planning to turn right, and a white sign beside the signal reads NO TURN ON RED. What does the sign change?
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Correct answer: A. Many places allow a right turn on red after a complete stop, but a NO TURN ON RED sign removes that option. It appears where crosswalks or sight lines make red-light turns risky. When posted, red simply means wait.
12. Your brake pedal sinks to the floor and the car barely slows. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. Pump the pedal quickly to build pressure back, shift to a lower gear, and ease on the parking brake while steering toward safety. Work through the list calmly: pump, downshift, parking brake, and pick your escape path.
13. Your right wheels drop off the pavement onto a soft shoulder. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. If your wheels leave the pavement, do not yank the wheel; ease off the gas, slow down, and steer back gently once traffic allows. A sudden jerk against the pavement lip can flip or launch the car.
14. An officer stops an adult driver in Maryland and a breath test is given. At what BAC reading can that driver be charged with driving under the influence, even if their driving looked steady?
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Correct answer: C. A BAC of 0.08% or more is enough by itself for a DUI charge in Maryland. The law uses a fixed number because alcohol impairs everyone, and drivers are poor judges of their own impairment behind the wheel.
15. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) in Maryland 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 Maryland starts with a learner's permit at 15 years, 9 months. Each stage lifts restrictions as skill grows, because crash risk is highest in a driver's first solo months. The ladder starts at 15 years, 9 months; climb it patiently.
16. How long must you hold a Maryland provisional license with a clean driving record before it converts to a full driver's license?
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Correct answer: D. Maryland requires 18 conviction-free months on a provisional license before you graduate to a full license, and a conviction or probation before judgment restarts the clock. Drive clean for a year and a half to earn full privileges.
17. You are driving on a divided Maryland highway outside any business or residential district, and no speed limit signs are posted. What is the maximum legal speed?
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Correct answer: C. Maryland's statutory limit on divided highways outside business and residential districts is 55 mph, while undivided ones default to 50 mph. A median buys five extra mph — remember divided 55, undivided 50.
18. After passing a large truck, why is it dangerous to merge back quickly and then brake?
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Correct answer: B. A heavy truck needs far more stopping distance than a car, so cutting in close and braking leaves the trucker no room and no options. Merge back only when the whole truck appears in your rearview mirror.
19. An emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder ahead with lights flashing. What do move-over laws require?
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Correct answer: D. Every state has a move-over law: shift a lane away from stopped emergency or service vehicles with flashing lights, or slow well down when changing lanes is unsafe. Roadside workers stand inches from traffic; give them that lane.
20. Under Maryland's implied consent law, what did you agree to simply by driving on the state's public roads?
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Correct answer: D. In Maryland, driving on public roads counts as consent to chemical testing when police suspect impairment, and refusing the test leads the MVA to suspend your license. Picking up the keys is the consent.
21. In Maryland, state law sets a default limit for residential districts that applies wherever no speed limit sign is posted. That default is which of the following?
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Correct answer: B. Maryland law fixes the unposted residential default at 30 mph. Lawmakers keep it low because residential streets are full of crossings, parked cars, and pedestrians. Remember: no sign means the default applies, and posted signs override it.
22. The light is steady green as you reach an intersection. Which statement is true?
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Correct answer: B. A green light means you may proceed, but only after yielding to pedestrians and vehicles still clearing the intersection. Green grants permission, not protection, so look left, right, and left again before you enter.
23. Without reading any words, what does a yellow, diamond-shaped sign always tell you?
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Correct answer: C. Yellow diamonds are warning signs: they alert you to hazards or changing conditions such as curves, intersections, or merging traffic. They advise rather than order. Shape and color alone should make you lift off the gas.
24. 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.
25. Maryland 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 Maryland 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.
26. A yellow diamond sign shows a small red stop sign symbol with an upward arrow. What should you do when you see it?
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Correct answer: C. A stop-ahead warning is used where the actual stop sign is hidden by a curve, hill, or trees. Start braking as soon as you see it, since the real stop will appear with little warning.
27. 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.
28. Who qualifies to supervise you while you practice with a Maryland learner's permit?
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Correct answer: A. A Maryland supervising driver must be at least 21, licensed for at least three years, and sitting in the front passenger seat. Remember 21, 3, front seat — experienced help close enough to reach the wheel.
29. 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.
30. Wide white stripes cross the pavement ahead, marking a crosswalk. What do these markings require of you as a driver?
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Correct answer: C. Crosswalk stripes show where pedestrians are expected to cross, and drivers must yield to people within them. You stop only when someone is crossing or a sign or signal requires it. Painted stripes mean feet ahead.
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