Illinois SOS Motorcycle Practice Test 22

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass20
  • Passing score80%
  • Minimum age16 years

Minimum age: 16 years; applicants aged 16 or 17 must also complete an IDOT-approved motorcycle training course

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 20 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. How can the vehicle ahead of you help you read the road at night?

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    Answer A: Its headlights light the road further ahead than yours can reach

    The lights of the vehicle ahead reach beyond your own beam, so its brake lights and the way it moves warn you about holes, turns and hazards you cannot yet see.

  2. 2. Which sequence describes a well-made turn?

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    Answer A: Signal, move into the correct lane, slow down, check, then turn

    Tell others first, take your position, lose the speed before the corner, take a final look, and only then steer through the turn.

  3. 3. The green left-turn arrow ends and a steady red ball comes on for your lane, at an intersection where no turn on red is allowed. What must you do?

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    Answer D: Stop and wait, because no turn is allowed while the red ball is lit

    Once a red indication faces your lane and no turn on red is permitted there, the turn is over; only a vehicle already inside the intersection completes its movement.

  4. 4. You are about to change lanes to the left when you notice a vehicle already overtaking you in that lane. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Hold your lane and your speed, and change only after that vehicle has gone by

    A signal asks for space but does not create it, and the overtaking driver has nowhere to go if you move across.

  5. 5. Which facility does this sign direct a traveler toward?

    A blue square with a white letter H
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    Answer B: A hospital offering emergency care

    This is the standard marker for medical care, used to lead a traveler to a hospital where emergency treatment is available.

  6. 6. The trapezoid sign shape is associated with

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    Answer C: recreational and cultural interest area signing

    The trapezoid is used for recreational and cultural interest area guide signs and for national forest route markers.

  7. 7. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you proceed?

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    Answer C: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop

    When a signal shows no indication at all, drivers on every approach must stop and then take turns, exactly as at an all-way stop.

  8. 8. An oncoming car is waiting to turn left across your path at an intersection. What is the safest response?

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    Answer D: Slow, cover the brakes and pick a lane position that keeps an escape path

    A car turning left in front of a rider is one of the most common motorcycle collisions, so the rider prepares to stop or swerve rather than trusting the driver to wait.

  9. 9. Why should gloves and jacket sleeves overlap?

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    Answer A: So no gap of bare skin is left at the wrist in a slide or the cold

    The wrist is easy to leave exposed, and a gap there lets in cold air and takes the full force of a slide, so gauntlets or elastic cuffs should close the gap.

  10. 10. Why is texting considered one of the most dangerous distractions?

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    Answer B: It combines visual, manual and cognitive distraction at the same time

    Reading or writing a message takes your eyes off the road, at least one hand off the controls and your attention off driving simultaneously.

  11. 11. You are stopped at a stop sign on a two-way stop intersection and the cross street has no stop signs at all. What does that mean for you?

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    Answer A: You yield to all cross traffic no matter how long that takes

    At a two-way stop only your direction is controlled, so there is no taking turns; you wait for a gap big enough to enter safely.

  12. 12. Why do experienced riders squeeze the clutch lever while starting the engine, even with the neutral light showing?

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    Answer A: In case a gear is engaged, so the motorcycle cannot lurch forward

    A neutral light can be wrong, and a disengaged clutch means the machine stays still even if the transmission is actually in gear.

  13. 13. A center lane is marked with a broken yellow line on each side and is controlled by overhead lane signals. How is that lane used?

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    Answer A: It carries traffic one way or the other according to the signals

    A reversible lane is marked with broken yellow lines on both sides and its direction of travel is set by the lane control signals above it.

  14. 14. What will the driver have to do at the point this sign refers to?

    A yellow diamond showing a small downward pointing triangle above a black arrow pointing at it
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    Answer C: Slow down and let conflicting traffic go first, stopping if that is what it takes

    Further along, the driver has to let conflicting traffic and pedestrians go first, reducing speed and stopping whenever that is necessary to avoid interfering with them.

  15. 15. When should you arrange your way home if you plan to drink?

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    Answer C: Before the first drink

    Judgment is the first thing alcohol weakens, so the plan has to be made while you can still make a good one.

  16. 16. Where do the greatest number of collisions involving motorcycles occur?

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    Answer D: At intersections

    Intersections concentrate crossing and turning paths, and the most common single event is a car turning left across the path of an oncoming motorcycle.

  17. 17. What does the solid white line running along the right side of a highway mark?

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    Answer A: The right edge of the traveled way

    A solid white edge line shows where the traveled way ends on the right, which is particularly useful at night and in poor visibility.

  18. 18. What should a rider confirm about the transmission before starting the engine?

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    Answer B: That it is in neutral, or that the clutch lever is squeezed all the way in

    Starting in gear with the clutch engaged can make the motorcycle lurch forward, so the machine must be in neutral or the clutch held in.

  19. 19. A load has been packed onto the seat behind you. What else must it not do?

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    Answer A: Restrict how you move on the seat or reach the controls

    Baggage that pins the rider in place or gets in the way of the handlebars and levers takes away the control the rider needs in an emergency.

  20. 20. Which clue suggests that a car waiting at a side street is about to pull out in front of you?

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    Answer B: The front wheels are turned and the car is creeping forward

    Turned wheels and a slow creep forward are the strongest signs that a driver is about to move, so cover the brakes and be ready to change your lane position.

  21. 21. What does the Lights and Electrics step of T-CLOCS include?

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    Answer A: The battery, the headlight, the brake light and the wiring

    This step covers the battery and its terminals, the headlight, tail and brake lights, the turn signals, the switches, the mirrors and the wiring.

  22. 22. You are stopped at a red light ready to turn right when a person pushing a stroller steps into the crosswalk. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Stay stopped until they have crossed your path

    A turn on red gives way to every pedestrian in the crosswalk, and someone pushing a stroller has even less room to react.

  23. 23. How should a passenger swing their leg when getting off the motorcycle?

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    Answer D: High and clear of the exhaust and the rear of the machine

    A leg dragged low across the back of the motorcycle can catch the seat or the luggage and will find the hot exhaust, so it is lifted well clear.

  24. 24. What should a passenger hold on to while the motorcycle is moving?

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    Answer B: The operator's waist, hips or belt, or a handhold provided for the passenger

    Holding the operator's waist, hips or belt, or a handhold designed for the passenger, keeps the passenger secure under acceleration and braking without pulling the operator off balance.

  25. 25. On a two-way street, where and how should you park at the curb?

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    Answer C: On the right side, facing the way traffic moves

    On a two-way street you must park on the right, headed in the direction of travel; parking facing traffic is prohibited.