Illinois SOS Permit Practice Test 32

  • Questions35
  • Correct to pass28
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age15 years

Minimum age: 15 years with proof of enrollment in an approved driver education course; 17 years and 3 months without driver education

35 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 28 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. Unless otherwise posted, what speed limit applies outside urban districts in Illinois to house cars, campers, and vehicles weighing more than 8,001 pounds?

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    Answer D: 60 miles per hour

    Illinois sets a 60 mph speed limit outside urban districts for recreational vehicles, campers, and vehicles over 8,001 pounds, below the standard 70 mph interstate limit.

  2. 2. If an Illinois driver buys or leases a replacement vehicle within 30 days of accepting a cash settlement for a totaled vehicle, what must the insurance company do?

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    Answer A: Pay the applicable sales tax on the replacement vehicle

    Illinois requires an insurer to pay the applicable sales tax if the policyholder proves they bought or leased a replacement vehicle within 30 days of a cash settlement.

  3. 3. A driver has to stop for a train at this sign. How far back from the nearest rail should the vehicle be held?

    Two white crossed boards forming an X, with black lettering along each board
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    Answer C: No closer than roughly fifteen feet

    A train and its load overhang the rails, so stopping no closer than about fifteen feet keeps the vehicle outside the space the train actually sweeps.

  4. 4. 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.

  5. 5. No plaque stating days or hours accompanies this sign at the intersection. When does the restriction apply?

    A white square showing an arrow turning left inside a red circle with a red diagonal line through it
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    Answer D: At all times, since nothing limits it to particular periods

    A regulatory restriction runs continuously unless a supplemental plaque states the days or hours during which it applies.

  6. 6. A farm implement ahead of you on a two-lane road is wider than its own lane. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Hang back until you can see past it and pass only with a clear road

    Wide equipment hides the road ahead and may extend farther across the center line than it appears, so the pass needs more room and a much better view.

  7. 7. Under Illinois' Road Safety and Fairness Act, how often must a driver aged 81 to 86 renew a driver's license?

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    Answer B: Every two years, in person, with a vision test but no road test

    Drivers aged 81 to 86 must renew every two years in person and pass a vision test, but the Act no longer requires a road test based on age alone.

  8. 8. How long does a parallel parking space need to be for the car you are driving?

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    Answer D: About five or six feet longer than your vehicle

    A few extra feet at each end give you the room to swing in and to straighten up without touching the vehicles in front or behind.

  9. 9. What does a booster seat do for a child?

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    Answer B: It lifts the child so that the adult belt crosses hips and shoulder

    A booster raises the child so the adult belt lies on the strong parts of the body instead of the neck and the abdomen.

  10. 10. In a work zone a flagger signals you to stop, but the sign beside the road says the lane is open. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Obey the flagger

    A flagger controls the work zone in real time and the instruction outranks the signs and markings, which cannot reflect what is happening at that moment.

  11. 11. At a stop sign with a painted stop line and a crosswalk, where must you stop?

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    Answer D: At the stop line, before it and before the crosswalk

    You stop at the stop line first, and only if there is no stop line do you stop before the crosswalk, and only if there is neither do you stop before entering the intersection.

  12. 12. A SHOULDER DROP OFF sign warns that

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    Answer B: there is a step down from the pavement to the shoulder

    The sign is used where the edge of the pavement stands several inches above the shoulder, which can grab a wheel and pull the vehicle sideways.

  13. 13. What happens to your field of vision as your speed increases?

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    Answer C: It narrows, so you notice less at the sides of the road

    The faster you travel, the more your useful field of view narrows toward the center, so a hazard coming from the side is seen late or missed altogether.

  14. 14. How does higher speed affect the outcome of a crash?

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    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.

  15. 15. After an auto insurance loss in Illinois, within how many days must a policyholder typically submit a sworn proof of loss under most policies?

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    Answer A: 91 days

    Most Illinois auto insurance policies require a sworn proof of loss to be submitted within 91 days after the loss.

  16. 16. You are stopped at the yield line of a roundabout when an emergency vehicle comes up behind you with lights and siren. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Stay out of the roundabout and pull over to the right of your lane if there is room

    Never enter a roundabout ahead of an emergency vehicle and never stop inside one; wait clear of the entry so the crew can get through.

  17. 17. You have just been involved in a crash on a city street. Which sequence of first steps is correct?

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    Answer A: Stop where you are, check everyone for injuries, and then make the scene safe

    You are required to stop, and the first priority at the scene is people, followed by preventing a second collision.

  18. 18. The signal ahead has a sign prohibiting left turns, and your route needs a left. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Go straight on and find a legal place to turn and come back

    A turn prohibition applies to every driver, so you continue through and reach your route by another legal turn.

  19. 19. What should a driver do first after passing this sign?

    A yellow diamond showing two black lanes merging into one around a central island
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    Answer A: Move into the right-hand lane and stay there

    Traffic returns to two-way operation, so the driver keeps to the right of the centerline and stops treating the left side as available.

  20. 20. A center lane is bordered by a solid yellow line on the outside and a broken yellow line on the inside, with turn arrows painted inside it. What is that lane for?

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    Answer C: Left turns made by traffic traveling in either direction

    That marking pattern identifies a two-way left-turn lane, which drivers approaching from both directions may use to prepare for a left turn.

  21. 21. Where are children in the greatest danger around a school bus?

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    Answer B: In the roadway right around the bus, especially in front

    The danger zone is the band of roadway around the bus where the driver's view is poorest, and children crossing in front of the bus are hardest to see.

  22. 22. You are very angry after an argument and about to drive. What should you know?

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    Answer A: Strong emotions can impair judgment and attention much like alcohol

    Anger, grief and stress pull attention inward and encourage risk taking. Give yourself time to settle down before getting behind the wheel.

  23. 23. Why should you not leave the engine running when you walk away from your vehicle?

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    Answer C: Because the vehicle can be stolen or can move on its own

    An unattended running vehicle is an easy theft and, if the transmission slips or is knocked out of park, it can roll away with nobody at the wheel.

  24. 24. Which part of the space around your vehicle can you control best?

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    Answer A: The space ahead of you

    You choose your own following distance, so the gap in front is the space you truly control and the one that gives you time to react.

  25. 25. Two solid yellow lines are painted down the center of a two-way road. What do they mean?

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    Answer B: Traffic in neither direction may cross them to pass

    A double solid yellow line marks a no-passing zone that applies to traffic traveling in either direction.

  26. 26. Why does this warning matter more on a motorcycle than in a car?

    A yellow diamond with black lettering
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    Answer B: Because a sudden jolt can unsettle a two-wheeled machine and the rider can lose control

    A jolt can push a motorcycle off line or lift a wheel, so a rider slows early, comes slightly off the seat and keeps a relaxed but firm hold on the handlebars.

  27. 27. You have parked but your car sits across the line into the next space. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Pull out and park again fully inside one space

    A car over the line takes a space away from someone else and leaves too little room for the doors of the vehicles beside it.

  28. 28. What does a NARROW BRIDGE warning sign tell a driver?

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    Answer A: The bridge is tighter than the road leading up to it

    A narrow bridge still carries both directions, but with much less clearance than the approaches, so drivers should slow and hold their lane position carefully.

  29. 29. A pedestrian is waiting to cross ahead of you and you have slowed down. What helps most?

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    Answer D: Making eye contact, so that you both know you have seen each other

    Eye contact confirms that you have seen each other; waving someone across can send them into the path of another vehicle.

  30. 30. A sign reads MINIMUM SPEED 40. What does it require of a driver?

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    Answer C: Not to drive below that speed when conditions allow

    A minimum speed limit keeps unnecessarily slow vehicles from obstructing traffic, but it never overrides the duty to slow down for weather or congestion.

  31. 31. You are traveling at 55 mph on a rural road and come up behind a horse-drawn buggy. What is the main danger?

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    Answer D: You close on it very quickly because it moves at walking pace

    A buggy travels only a few miles an hour, so the gap closes far faster than drivers expect and there is very little time to brake once you see it.

  32. 32. A truck ahead of you is spreading salt or grit on the road. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Drop back so the material does not reach your car

    Spreaders throw material backward and sideways, and following close means stone chips and a screen full of spray, so leave extra distance.

  33. 33. Where are signs of this kind placed at an intersection?

    A black rectangle with a white arrow and white lettering
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    Answer C: At the near right and far left corners, facing drivers on the intersecting street

    They are installed at the corners of the intersecting street so that a driver about to turn in sees the restriction before committing to the turn.

  34. 34. How far should the driver chest be from the steering wheel?

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    Answer B: At least about ten inches

    The airbag deploys with great force in the first instants of a crash, so about ten inches between your chest and the wheel is the recommended minimum.

  35. 35. Your tires drop into deep slush that has built up between the travel lanes. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Ease off the accelerator and grip the wheel, since slush tugs the vehicle

    Slush grabs at the tires and can pull the vehicle sideways. Reduce power gently, hold the wheel firmly and avoid sudden steering or braking.