Colorado DMV Permit Practice Test 9
Set nine is the hard set. It is drawn toward the questions this site rates as difficult: multi-layer intersections, the interactions between two rules at once, and situations where the tempting answer is true in general but wrong in the specific case described. The distribution across topics matches the real exam, so a low score here does not mean the same thing as a low score on set one, but it does tell you which rules you have memorised without understanding. Use it as a diagnostic rather than a rehearsal. If you score well on the mixed sets and poorly on this one, your problem is not knowledge, it is care, and the fix is to slow down and reread the question before looking at the choices. Take it after you have been through at least four other sets, not as a starting point.
What is in this set
- Questions
- 25
- same length as the real exam
- Difficulty
- 0 easy · 7 medium · 18 hard
- Topics
- Road signs 5 · Right-of-way 4 · Safe driving 4 · Alcohol and drugs 3 · Speed limits 3 · Emergencies 2 · Vehicle equipment 2 · Licence rules 2
Take this set as a quiz
One question at a time, immediate feedback, and a review page that sends you to the rule you missed. Your answers are saved in this browser only, so you can close the tab and come back.
Study mode — all 25 questions, answers shown
-
Question 1 · Emergencies · hard
You press the brake pedal on a long downhill grade and it sinks to the floor with no resistance. What is the first thing you should do?
- A Switch off the ignition and coast to a stop
- B Pull the parking brake fully on at once
- C Steer into the guardrail to scrub off speed
- D Pump the pedal hard, then shift down through the gears and apply the parking brake gradually
Show the answer and why
D is correct. A pedal that sinks to the floor usually means either fluid loss or brake fade from sustained braking on a long descent, and the opening move covers both...
-
Question 2 · Right-of-way · medium
You are waiting in the middle of an intersection to turn left when the light turns yellow. Oncoming cars are still moving through at speed. What should you do?
- A Back up into the lane you came from
- B Turn right instead so you are out of the way
- C Complete the turn at once, because hesitation is what makes it dangerous
- D Hold your position with the wheels straight, then turn once oncoming traffic has cleared
Show the answer and why
D is correct. A driver who entered the intersection on a green light already owns that space.
-
Question 3 · Road signs · medium
A diamond-shaped sign with a yellow background is used for what purpose?
- A To regulate traffic, such as by requiring a stop
- B To show destinations, directions and distances
- C To warn of hazards or conditions ahead on the road
- D To mark construction work zones only
Show the answer and why
C is correct. Shape and colour carry meaning before the words do, and the yellow diamond is the standard warning shape across American roads.
-
Question 4 · Right-of-way · medium
A pedestrian has stepped into a marked crosswalk at an intersection with no traffic signal. What are you required to do?
- A Sound the horn once and pass behind the pedestrian
- B Slow to 10 mph and proceed carefully around the pedestrian
- C Stop and remain stopped until the pedestrian has cleared your lane and the lane beside it
- D Continue if the pedestrian has not yet reached the centre of the road
Show the answer and why
C is correct. Once a pedestrian has entered a marked crosswalk, the driver must yield, and yielding means stopping rather than squeezing past.
-
Question 5 · Alcohol and drugs · hard
A driver has had two drinks and also used cannabis earlier in the evening, believing the substances offset each other — one stimulating alertness, one calming. What does research show about combining alcohol and cannabis before driving?
- A Their impairments compound: the combination degrades driving-related skills more than either substance alone, while the user perceives less impairment
- B The combination's effects are identical to the effects of the alcohol alone
- C The combination is lawful as long as each substance individually was used legally
- D They counteract each other, so the combination is safer than either alone
Show the answer and why
A is correct. Alcohol and cannabis impair through different mechanisms, and 'offsetting' is a folk theory with no support in the driving data: the combination impairs...
-
Question 6 · Safe driving · hard
A car in the lane to your left is stopped, waiting to make a left turn. The pavement to its right is wide enough for another vehicle. When may you pass it on the right?
- A Never; passing on the right is prohibited in every circumstance
- B Only when the turning vehicle signals you forward with a hand gesture
- C When you can do so safely, staying on the paved roadway and without driving onto the shoulder
- D Only between sunrise and sunset
Show the answer and why
C is correct. Passing on the right is permitted when the vehicle ahead is making or waiting to make a left turn and the pavement to its right is sufficient to pass sa...
-
Question 7 · Emergencies · hard
Your engine stops while you are travelling at 35 mph, and the brake pedal immediately goes very hard with the steering suddenly heavy. What should you do?
- A Pump the brakes rapidly, because the brake system has failed
- B Press hard on the brake — the assistance is gone but the system still works — and steer to a safe place off the road
- C Shift to neutral and coast to wherever the car comes to rest
- D Switch the ignition off and engage the parking brake at once
Show the answer and why
B is correct. A stalled engine removes power assistance rather than stopping the car.
-
Question 8 · Vehicle equipment · hard
During a winter drive, you notice an unusual exhaust smell in the cabin and a headache developing. What is the correct response?
- A Treat it as a possible exhaust leak: get fresh air immediately, and have the exhaust system inspected before continuing to drive with the windows closed
- B Ignore it; exhaust smells in winter are normal and harmless
- C Increase the heater fan to dilute the smell inside the cabin
- D Open the windows fully and continue, since the smell will disperse as the engine warms
Show the answer and why
A is correct. Exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, which is colourless, odourless and accumulates in a closed cabin before the occupants notice anything except the s...
-
Question 9 · Road signs · hard
Beneath a railroad crossbuck at a crossing, a small rectangular plate displays the number 2. What does this supplementary plate tell the driver?
- A Trains here travel at two times normal speed
- B The crossing was inspected two years ago
- C The crossing is two miles from the nearest town
- D There are two tracks at this crossing, and a train on one can hide a train on the other
Show the answer and why
D is correct. The number plate under a crossbuck states how many tracks cross the roadway.
-
Question 10 · Vehicle equipment · hard
During a winter storm, a mountain interstate corridor is placed under an active traction law for passenger vehicles. What does compliance generally require of a standard two-wheel-drive car?
- A Nothing; traction laws apply only to commercial trucks
- B Adequate snow tyres with sufficient tread, chains, an approved alternative traction device, or all-wheel/four-wheel drive with appropriate tyres — ordinary summer tyres on two-wheel drive do not qualify
- C Driving at any speed with hazard lights activated
- D Waiting until the law is lifted, because no passenger car may proceed at all
Show the answer and why
B is correct. Colorado's mountain corridors operate a graduated code system in winter, and when a traction law activates, passenger vehicles must demonstrate actual g...
-
Question 11 · Safe driving · hard
You must cross railroad tracks that run almost parallel to the direction you are travelling. What is the safest way to cross them?
- A Move into a position that lets you meet the rails as close to a right angle as possible
- B Shift down a gear immediately before reaching the rails
- C Cross at whatever angle the lane naturally offers
- D Accelerate so the wheels do not catch
Show the answer and why
A is correct. Tracks running nearly alongside the road are treacherous because the crossing angle is so shallow that a tyre can follow the rail instead of crossing it...
-
Question 12 · Right-of-way · hard
A lane down the centre of the road carries a solid yellow line on the outside and a broken yellow line on the inside. What is this lane for?
- A A reversible through lane whose direction depends on the hour
- B High-occupancy vehicles during peak hours
- C Left turns by traffic travelling in either direction — never for passing or through travel
- D Emergency vehicles making their way along the centre of the road
Show the answer and why
C is correct. This is a shared left-turn lane, and its layout is the message: a broken line facing each direction of travel, with a solid yellow boundary along each o...
-
Question 13 · Safe driving · hard
You are waiting to turn left and see a motorcycle approaching in the opposite lane, apparently some distance off. What is the safest judgement?
- A Sound the horn and then complete the turn
- B Turn promptly so the rider has plenty of time to brake
- C Treat the gap exactly as you would for a car and turn now
- D Wait — a motorcycle is narrower than it appears and its closing speed is harder to judge than a car's
Show the answer and why
D is correct. Motorcycles defeat distance perception in two separate ways at once.
-
Question 14 · Licence rules · hard
Intermediate licences for young drivers restrict the number of teenage passengers they may carry. What is the evidence-based reason for this restriction?
- A Because a young driver's crash risk rises sharply with each teenage passenger in the vehicle, due to distraction and risk-taking influence, so the restriction removes the amplifying factor
- B To reduce wear on family vehicles used by teenagers
- C To ensure young drivers learn routes before carrying passengers
- D Because teenagers cannot legally be insured as passengers
Show the answer and why
A is correct. The passenger restriction is one of the most direct translations of crash research into licensing law.
-
Question 15 · Safe driving · hard
A large truck ahead signals a right turn but first swings out noticeably toward the left. Why does the driver do that, and what should you do?
- A The driver has mis-signalled — move up on the right and go past
- B The driver is looking for a wider lane — pass on the left immediately
- C It is nothing unusual; treat it exactly like a car making a right turn
- D The truck needs that extra width to complete the turn; stay well back and never squeeze into the gap on its right
Show the answer and why
D is correct. A long vehicle physically cannot turn right from the kerb lane the way a car does.
-
Question 16 · Speed limits · hard
Transportation agencies post speed limits after studying a road's design, its crash history and the speeds most drivers already choose. What does that process imply about the number on the sign?
- A The limit is a promise that the posted speed is always safe in all conditions
- B The limit is a minimum standard you are expected to approach whenever possible
- C The limit is set primarily to generate enforcement revenue
- D The limit reflects the road's engineering for ordinary conditions, and remains subject to the basic rule that you must slow for whatever conditions actually exist
Show the answer and why
D is correct. A posted limit is the product of engineering judgement about a road under normal conditions — alignment, sight lines, intersections, how traffic actuall...
-
Question 17 · Speed limits · hard
You are driving an unlit rural road at night on low beam. What does the term 'overdriving your headlights' mean?
- A Fitting bulbs brighter than the vehicle's rating permits
- B Driving with high beams lit while another vehicle approaches
- C Driving with the lamps mis-aimed above the horizon line
- D Travelling at a speed where your stopping distance exceeds the distance lit ahead of you
Show the answer and why
D is correct. Low beam reaches roughly sixty to a hundred metres ahead, and at night that pool of light is the whole of the information a driver has.
-
Question 18 · Right-of-way · hard
Which driver has to bring the vehicle to a stop at every railroad crossing regardless of whether a train is coming or the signals are active?
- A Every driver, at every crossing, on every occasion
- B Only school buses carrying children
- C Nobody, provided the crossing has been fitted with automatic gates
- D Any bus carrying passengers and any vehicle placarded for hazardous materials, alongside school buses
Show the answer and why
D is correct. The duty to stop unconditionally is narrow, attaching to specific vehicle categories rather than to everyone.
-
Question 19 · Alcohol and drugs · medium
For a Colorado driver aged 21 or over, which blood alcohol concentration is the legal limit for driving?
- A 0.08%
- B 0.04%
- C 0.05%
- D 0.02%
Show the answer and why
A is correct. Colorado treats 0.08% as the per se limit for drivers aged 21 and over: at or above that concentration the driver is impaired as a matter of law, and th...
-
Question 20 · Licence rules · hard
A parent who signed the application for a minor's licence later withdraws that consent. What happens to the minor's driving privilege?
- A It converts automatically into a probationary licence for a set period
- B Nothing, because only the DMV can withdraw a licence
- C The minor's licence and driving privilege may be withdrawn, and the signatory is relieved of further liability from that point
- D It stays valid, because the signatory's obligation ends once the licence is issued
Show the answer and why
C is correct. Consent for a minor's licence is not a formality that expires at issue.
-
Question 21 · Alcohol and drugs · hard
A driver records a breath result well below the per se limit, yet the officer notes weaving, slurred speech and poor divided attention. What is the likely outcome?
- A No case, because the reading came in under the legal limit
- B Only a warning, since the number is what matters
- C Automatic dismissal once any medical condition is mentioned
- D A charge remains available, because impairment can be proven from observed driving and sobriety testing even below that reading
Show the answer and why
D is correct. Most jurisdictions provide two distinct routes to proving impairment, and the number is only one of them.
-
Question 22 · Road signs · medium
The red lights at a railway crossing begin flashing and the gates start lowering as you approach. You cannot see a train. What should you do?
- A Stop short of the gate and wait until the signals stop and the arms rise
- B Accelerate to clear the tracks before the gate finishes lowering
- C Cross the tracks slowly if you cannot hear a train coming
- D Stop on the tracks and look both ways before proceeding
Show the answer and why
A is correct. Active crossing signals are conclusive, and their verdict replaces your own judgement about whether the track looks empty.
-
Question 23 · Speed limits · medium
You enter a work zone where workers are standing beside the travel lane and the lanes have been narrowed. How should you drive?
- A Move into the closed lane to put distance between you and the workers
- B Sound the horn before passing anyone working near the road
- C Reduce speed, open up following distance, and follow the flaggers' directions
- D Hold highway speed so you clear the zone as quickly as possible
Show the answer and why
C is correct. Work zones stack three hazards that rarely appear together elsewhere: lanes narrowed to below normal width, people on foot within arm's reach of moving...
-
Question 24 · Road signs · hard
Driving along a two-lane highway you pass a narrow wordless triangular sign mounted on the left-hand side and pointing to the right. What does it mark?
- A A hiker crossing ahead
- B The beginning of a no-passing zone — from here you may not overtake
- C A side road joining from the left
- D A lane ends ahead and you must merge right
Show the answer and why
B is correct. The pennant-shaped no-passing zone marker is one of the few signs whose meaning is carried entirely by shape and placement, with no text at all.
-
Question 25 · Road signs · medium
You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is showing a steady flashing red light in every direction. What does a flashing red require?
- A Stop completely, then proceed when the way is clear, treating the junction as an all-way stop
- B Stop and remain stopped until the signal returns to normal operation
- C Treat it as a flashing yellow and slow to half speed through the junction
- D Proceed through with caution, because flashing means the signal has no authority
Show the answer and why
A is correct. A flashing red converts the intersection into a stop-controlled one: every driver stops fully, then proceeds in turn when no conflicting traffic or pede...