Illinois SOS motorcycle warm-up test

  • 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

10 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 8 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. On a rural road, the driver of a slow farm tractor ahead of you signals a left turn even though there is no road or driveway in sight. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Stay behind the tractor, because it may be turning into a field entrance

    Farm equipment often turns into fields through gaps you cannot see, and it may swing wide to do so. Passing a vehicle that is signaling a left turn is a common cause of crashes.

  2. 2. You are waiting to turn left at a solid green light with no green arrow. Oncoming traffic is approaching. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Yield to the oncoming traffic and turn only when there is a safe gap

    A solid green light permits the left turn but does not protect it, so you must yield to oncoming vehicles and to pedestrians before turning.

  3. 3. On a two-lane road with a broken yellow center line, may you cross it to turn into a driveway on the left?

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    Answer C: Yes, when it is safe and the oncoming lane is clear

    A broken center line may be crossed for a pass or for a left turn into a road or a driveway, once the oncoming lane is clear.

  4. 4. What should you confirm about your saddlebags before riding away?

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    Answer A: That both are latched shut and neither is overloaded

    An unlatched or overstuffed bag can swing open or sag into the rear wheel or the exhaust, either of which can wreck the machine's handling at once.

  5. 5. You are approaching the crest of a hill and cannot see the road beyond it. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Slow down and keep well to the right

    Beyond a blind crest there may be a stopped vehicle, a cyclist or an oncoming driver crossing the center line, so reduce speed and hold your own side.

  6. 6. A driver on a hands free call looks straight at a red light and drives through it. What best explains this?

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    Answer B: The eyes saw it but the brain did not process it

    Attention, not eyesight, decides what a driver actually sees, and a loaded mind can leave a driver looking straight at a hazard without registering it.

  7. 7. You are turning right on a red light where that is permitted. What does the law require first?

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    Answer B: A full stop, then yielding to traffic and pedestrians

    A right turn on red is allowed only after stopping completely and giving way to everyone who has the green, including people in the crosswalk.

  8. 8. What effect does low tire pressure have on a motorcycle?

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    Answer C: It makes steering, braking and general handling worse

    An underinflated tire changes shape under load, which makes the motorcycle steer heavily and respond unpredictably.

  9. 9. Someone stops drinking heavily at two in the morning and drives to work at eight. What is true?

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    Answer A: They may still be impaired and over the limit

    The body removes alcohol at a slow, fixed rate, so a heavy night can leave a driver impaired well into the next morning no matter how they feel.

  10. 10. Every signal head at an intersection is flashing red in all directions. How should you treat the intersection?

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    Answer C: As an all-way stop, stopping and then going in turn

    Red flashing in every direction means each approach must stop, so the intersection works exactly like an all-way stop.