Illinois SOS Motorcycle Practice Test 38
- Questions25
- Correct to pass20
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age16 years
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1. What is the most effective way for a rider to be seen by other drivers?
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Answer C: Wear brightly colored reflective gear, or a reflective vest over dark clothing
The most common thing drivers say after a collision with a motorcycle is that they never saw it, and bright reflective gear on the helmet and torso is the largest visible surface the rider controls.
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2. How should space management change with a passenger aboard?
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Answer B: Allow a greater following distance and wait for larger gaps in traffic
A loaded motorcycle accelerates and stops more slowly, so it needs more room ahead and bigger gaps to merge, to pass or to cross traffic.
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3. The only person offering you a ride home has been drinking. What should you do?
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Answer B: Do not get in; find another way home
A passenger in an impaired driver's vehicle shares all of the risk and can do nothing about it from the seat, so the only safe answer is another ride.
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4. A large truck is passing you on a two-lane road. What is the safest thing to do?
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Answer C: Keep right in your lane and ease off the gas a little
Staying in your own lane and easing off shortens the pass without forcing you onto a soft shoulder or into the truck's path.
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5. What must you do before changing lanes, in addition to signaling and checking your mirrors?
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Answer D: Glance over your shoulder to check the blind spot the mirrors do not cover
Mirrors leave an area beside and behind the vehicle that they cannot show, so a quick head check is needed before the vehicle moves sideways.
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6. The street you are turning right onto has a bike lane along its right edge. Where should your vehicle end up?
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Answer B: In the first traffic lane to the left of the bike lane
A bike lane is not a travel lane for motor vehicles, so the nearest lane you may finish a right turn in is the first general traffic lane beside it.
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7. 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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8. Trees block the view along the tracks as a driver approaches this sign. What approach speed is correct?
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Answer B: Slow enough to stop before the nearest rail once a train comes into view
Where the view along the track is obstructed, the only safe speed is one that still leaves stopping distance after a train first becomes visible.
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9. A set of reversible express lanes is closed off with gates and signs while it runs the other way. What must you never do?
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Answer C: Enter past a closed gate or a sign showing the lanes are closed
When reversible lanes are closed they may already be carrying traffic in the opposite direction, so entering past a gate can put you head-on into that traffic.
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10. You are riding where fresh pavement meets an older lane that sits an inch or two lower. How should you move across that edge?
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Answer A: Slow down and cross the edge at as sharp an angle as the lane allows
A pavement edge break can steer the front wheel along it if you meet it at a shallow angle, so slow, hold the bars firmly and cross it steeply.
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11. A large insect splatters on your face shield and blocks part of your view. What should you do?
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Answer D: Keep control, look through a clear part, and clean it at the next stop
Taking a hand off the bars or riding with your eyes closed is far more dangerous than a partly obscured view, so keep riding and clean the shield when you are stopped.
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12. In a work zone the temporary lane lines conflict with the old lines still visible on the pavement. Which do you follow?
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Answer C: The temporary markings, which show the current traffic pattern
Temporary markings define the traffic pattern in force, and the old lines are simply the layout that no longer applies.
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13. The road ahead is broken up with potholes and rough patches. What should you do?
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Answer C: Slow down, since a hole hit at speed can wreck a tire or wheel
A lower speed cuts the impact on tires, wheels and suspension and gives you time to choose a line through the rough surface.
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14. What is the best path through a curve where you can see all the way to the exit?
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Answer A: Start toward the outside, move toward the inside, then drift back out
Entering wide, cutting toward the inside and running back out straightens the path, which means less lean angle for the same speed and a better view.
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15. You are approaching an intersection in a line of traffic. What can you do to be more visible to a driver waiting to pull out?
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Answer D: Move to a lane position where you are not hidden behind the vehicle ahead
A motorcycle tucked directly behind a larger vehicle is invisible to a waiting driver until the moment it appears, so the rider moves to where the headlight can be seen.
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16. At night you are judging your distance from the rider ahead by their tail light. What is the risk?
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Answer A: A single small light gives a poor sense of how far away it really is
Distance is very hard to judge from one small light in the dark, so riders should leave extra space rather than trust the impression the light gives.
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17. When should speed be adjusted for a curve?
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Answer B: Before entering the curve
Slowing before the curve lets the rider hold a steady or slightly increasing throttle through it, which settles the suspension and keeps traction predictable.
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18. How does a wet road change the distance you need to stop?
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Answer C: It lengthens it, so you need a much bigger gap ahead
Water between the tire and the road cuts grip, so braking distance grows and the gap that works on dry pavement is no longer enough.
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19. You see a shield for a three-digit Interstate whose first digit is even. What does that tell you about the route?
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Answer C: It loops around a city and rejoins its parent route
A three-digit Interstate beginning with an even digit is a loop or beltway that connects back to the main route at both ends, while an odd first digit marks a spur.
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20. If you must abandon a vehicle stuck on the tracks with a train coming, why do you move toward the train and away at an angle?
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Answer D: Because debris from the impact is thrown forward, away from the train
A train pushes wreckage down the track ahead of it, so walking toward the train and off to the side keeps you out of the debris path.
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21. Another driver takes a right of way that was legally yours. What should you do?
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Answer A: Give way to the other driver and avoid the crash, whatever the law says
Right of way is something you give, not something you take, and being in the right is no protection in a collision.
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22. 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.
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23. A yellow diamond shows an arrow bent into a series of reversing turns. What does it warn about?
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Answer A: Three or more changes of direction close together
The winding road sign replaces a string of separate curve signs where several bends follow one another with only short straights between them.
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24. While you swerve around an obstacle, what should the rest of your body be doing?
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Answer C: Staying upright with the knees against the tank while the motorcycle leans
A swerve happens through the handlebars, and a body that stays still and anchored to the tank lets the motorcycle move quickly beneath the rider.
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25. The crossbuck, formed by two rectangular arms crossed in an X, is placed
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Answer D: on each highway approach to a railroad grade crossing
The crossbuck marks the location of a highway-rail grade crossing and is required on each highway approach to that crossing.