Illinois SOS Permit Practice Test 4
Test 4 of 10. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 28 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real Illinois test.
- Questions35
- Correct to pass28
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. At a railroad crossing with no gates and no flashing lights, the crossbuck is normally combined with which sign?
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Answer C: A yield sign, or a stop sign where an engineering study calls for one
At a passive crossing the crossbuck forms an assembly with a yield sign, or with a stop sign when an engineering study or engineering judgment supports it, so the driver knows who must give way to the train.
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2. A bicyclist stops at a four-way stop just before you do. Who goes first?
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Answer B: The bicyclist, who reached the intersection and stopped there before you did
A bicyclist on the roadway follows the same right of way rules as a driver, so arrival order decides the turn.
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3. Which occupants must wear a safety belt under Illinois law?
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Answer D: All drivers and passengers age 8 and older, in both the front and back seats
Illinois requires every driver and passenger age 8 and older to wear a safety belt in the front and back seats, and passengers under 8 must be in an appropriate child restraint.
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4. Which gasoline-powered passenger vehicles are generally subject to Illinois' vehicle emissions inspection program in the Chicago and Metro-East St. Louis areas?
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Answer D: Most 1996-and-newer vehicles, once they are four years old
Illinois' vehicle emissions inspection program generally covers 1996-and-newer gasoline-powered passenger vehicles once they reach four years old, in the Chicago and Metro-East St. Louis areas.
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5. How may a two-way left-turn lane never be used?
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Answer B: As a through travel lane or a passing lane
The lane exists only for turning movements, so traveling or passing along it puts you head-on with vehicles turning from the opposite direction.
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6. You are driving on a rural road with no sidewalk. Where should you expect to meet pedestrians?
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Answer A: Walking toward you on your side of the road
Where there is no sidewalk, pedestrians are taught to walk facing traffic, so they appear on your side of the road coming toward you.
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7. Halfway through a curve you realize you are going too fast. What is the best response?
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Answer C: Ease off the gas gently and look where you want to go
Easing off transfers a little weight to the front tires without upsetting the balance, and looking through the curve keeps your steering smooth.
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8. 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.
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9. A tow truck with flashing amber lights is loading a car on the shoulder ahead. How should you treat it?
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Answer B: Give it the same room as an emergency vehicle
Tow operators, utility crews and highway workers face the same danger from passing traffic, so move over or slow down for their flashing amber lights too.
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10. You want to turn right at a steady red light and no sign prohibits the turn. What is required?
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Answer B: Come to a complete stop, then yield to traffic and pedestrians before turning
A right turn on a steady red is permitted only after a complete stop and only after yielding to cross traffic and to pedestrians, and a posted sign can prohibit it entirely.
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11. For how long after an Illinois DUI conviction must a driver typically carry high-risk (SR-22) auto insurance?
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Answer C: Three years
A DUI conviction in Illinois typically requires the driver to carry high-risk auto insurance for three years.
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12. When should you move into the lane you need for a turn?
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Answer D: Well before the intersection, as soon as you know your route
Getting into the correct lane early lets other drivers read your intentions and keeps you from making a sudden lane change at the corner.
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13. Automated red light camera enforcement in Illinois is authorized only in counties that meet certain criteria. Which of these is one of the counties where it is authorized?
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Answer C: Cook
Illinois authorizes automated red light enforcement only in Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, McHenry, Will, Madison, and St. Clair counties.
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14. Until what age does Illinois require a child to ride in a rear-facing child restraint system?
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Answer B: Until age 2, unless the child weighs more than 40 pounds or is more than 40 inches tall
Illinois requires rear-facing restraint until age 2 unless the child weighs more than 40 pounds or measures more than 40 inches.
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15. You are in a passing zone that continues over the crest of a hill ahead. May you start a pass?
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Answer B: Only if you can finish it well before the crest
Beyond the crest you cannot see oncoming traffic, so any part of the pass that happens there is being made blind.
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16. You are driving on a road covered with a layer of wet fallen leaves. What should you expect?
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Answer B: As little grip as on ice, plus hidden markings and hidden holes
Wet leaves are as slippery as ice and they hide the lane lines and any potholes underneath, so slow well before curves and stops.
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17. On a long drive you notice repeated yawning, missed exits and drifting toward the lane line. What should you do?
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Answer C: Pull off at a safe place and sleep, or change drivers
Those are warning signs that sleepiness is already interfering with driving, and only rest restores alertness. Fresh air, music and caffeine do not reverse it.
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18. What do flashing yellow lights on a school bus mean?
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Answer A: The bus is about to stop to load or unload, so prepare to stop
The amber lights are the warning phase that comes before the red lights and the stop arm, so drivers should slow down and get ready to stop.
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19. What is the minimum period of license revocation for a second DUI conviction occurring within 20 years of the first, under Illinois law?
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Answer B: Five years
A second DUI conviction within a 20-year period carries a minimum five-year revocation of driving privileges.
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20. When does Illinois law specifically require headlights to be turned on besides at night?
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Answer C: Whenever the windshield wipers are in use
Illinois law requires drivers to use headlights whenever the windshield wipers are operating, and headlights should also be used when objects 1,000 feet away cannot be seen.
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21. Under Illinois' Road Safety and Fairness Act, how often must a driver aged 79 or 80 renew a driver's license, and is a road test required?
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Answer C: Every four years, in person, with a vision test but no road test
The Road Safety and Fairness Act keeps the standard four-year renewal cycle for drivers aged 79-80 and requires only a vision test, not a road test.
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22. You are approaching a yield sign and no other vehicle is anywhere in sight. What does the sign require?
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Answer A: Slow down and be ready to stop, but stop only if needed
A yield sign requires you to slow and give way, and to stop only when traffic or pedestrians make stopping necessary.
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23. You are approaching a yield sign on a ramp that joins a busy street. What does the sign require?
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Answer A: Slow down, be ready to stop, and let the other traffic go first
A yield sign means you must slow, be prepared to stop and give way to traffic on the road you are entering; a full stop is required only when traffic makes it necessary.
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24. When a school bus stops on a four-or-more-lane Illinois roadway that has at least two lanes of traffic in the opposite direction, which vehicles must stop?
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Answer A: Only lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction as the school bus
On a four-or-more-lane roadway with at least two opposing lanes, only the lanes traveling in the same direction as the school bus must stop; pupils are not required to cross that many lanes to reach their stop.
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25. May you stop in a marked bicycle lane to let a passenger out?
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Answer B: No, stopping there forces riders into the traffic lane
A vehicle stopped in a bike lane pushes riders out into moving traffic, which is exactly what the lane exists to prevent.
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26. Where should your hands normally rest on the steering wheel?
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Answer C: On opposite sides of the wheel, near the 9 and 3 positions
Hands placed opposite each other near the middle of the wheel give smooth, balanced control and keep the arms clear of a deploying air bag.
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27. The vehicle ahead of you has pulled out to pass a truck. May you follow it out and pass as well?
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Answer B: No, wait until it is done and judge the road for yourself
You cannot see past the vehicle ahead of you, and if it has to abort the pass there is nowhere for either of you to go.
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28. Under Illinois' basic speed law, besides curves and hill crests, in which other situations must a driver reduce speed even without a posted sign lowering the limit?
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Answer B: When approaching and crossing an intersection, or traveling on a narrow or winding roadway
Illinois' basic speed law also requires reduced speed when approaching and crossing an intersection and when traveling on a narrow or winding roadway.
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29. What is the minimum loss of driving privileges for a driver under 21 convicted of an actual DUI offense, not merely the Zero Tolerance trace-of-alcohol rule, on a first occasion?
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Answer B: Two years
A first DUI conviction for a driver under 21 carries a minimum two-year loss of driving privileges, double the one-year minimum that applies to adult first offenders.
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30. Two drivers each have three drinks, one over three hours and one in half an hour. What is the difference?
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Answer C: The fast drinker reaches a higher peak level
The liver removes alcohol at a steady rate, so drinking faster than the body can clear it pushes the blood alcohol level much higher.
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31. Under Illinois insurance rules, when may a policyholder retain their own totaled vehicle after a cash settlement?
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Answer A: Only if the vehicle is nine model years of age or older
Illinois insurance rules permit a policyholder to retain a totaled vehicle only if it is nine model years of age or older.
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32. A signal beside a fire station stays dark until apparatus is about to leave, when it shows yellow and then red. What must a driver do?
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Answer B: Stop on the red and wait until the signal goes dark again
An emergency vehicle signal is a real traffic signal, so its red indication must be obeyed while the apparatus pulls out into the street.
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33. A school sign combined with an AHEAD plaque, or with a plaque giving a distance in feet, forms an assembly that
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Answer B: warns of a school crossing located further along the road
The school advance crossing assembly is placed before the crosswalk to give drivers notice, while a different assembly marks the crossing itself.
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34. You are already inside an intersection when you realize you should be in the lane beside you. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stay in your lane through the intersection and change lanes afterwards
Drivers in an intersection are watching for cross traffic and turning vehicles, so an unexpected sideways move there is easily missed.
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35. How does braking distance change if you double your speed?
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Answer D: It grows much more than twice as long
Braking distance increases with the square of speed, so doubling speed roughly quadruples the distance needed to stop.