Alabama ALEA Permit Practice Test 14
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. What does an ignition interlock restricted driver license cost in Alabama?
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Answer D: 150 dollars
ALEA charges 150 dollars for an ignition interlock restricted driver license.
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2. Your vehicle has broken down at night on a rural road and your phone has no signal. What is the safest thing to do?
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Answer C: Stay with the vehicle, keep the hazard lights on and wait for help
A lit vehicle is far easier to find than a person walking in the dark, and running the engine while you sleep risks carbon monoxide.
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3. An emergency vehicle with flashing lights and a siren is approaching from behind on a two-way street. What should you do?
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Answer C: Pull over to the right edge of the road and stop until it passes
Clearing a path by pulling to the right and stopping gives the emergency vehicle a predictable route, while stopping in mid-lane or inside an intersection blocks that path.
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4. A sign warns that the right lane ends ahead, and traffic is still flowing freely. What should you do if you are in that lane?
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Answer C: Signal, adjust your speed and move left in good time before the lane ends
When traffic is moving freely there is room to merge early and smoothly, which avoids the last-second lane change at the closure point.
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5. 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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6. You hold steady pressure on the brake pedal for the whole of a long descent. What is likely to happen?
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Answer B: The brakes overheat and fade, so they slow you less and less
Continuous braking heats the brakes until they fade and lose effectiveness; use a lower gear and short, firm applications instead.
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7. You must slow suddenly on a highway and a vehicle is following close behind you. What helps prevent a rear-end collision?
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Answer D: Tapping the brake pedal early so your brake lights flash a warning
Early brake light flashes give the driver behind more time to react, and slowing gradually instead of suddenly reduces the chance of being struck.
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8. You park facing downhill on a one-way street where the curb is on your left. Which way do the front wheels go?
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Answer A: Left, toward the curb on that side
Standard practice follows the curb rather than the side of the road: facing downhill the wheels point into the curb so a rolling vehicle is stopped by it. States differ on whether this is legally required.
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9. Why would this sign be installed on an approach?
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Answer B: Because the signal cannot be seen from far enough back for a driver to react in time
Advance notice of a signal is used where a crest, a curve, trees or a building keep the signal heads out of view until a driver is already too close to stop comfortably.
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10. Your exit from a three-lane highway is about a mile ahead on the right, and you are in the left lane. What should you do?
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Answer B: Start moving right now, one lane at a time
Plan ahead and change lanes one at a time well before the exit, so you never have to cut across several lanes at the gore.
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11. You are on a one-way street with two marked lanes. May you pass a slower vehicle on the right?
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Answer A: Yes, using the right lane, provided that the move is safe and signaled
On a roadway with two or more marked lanes in your direction, moving into the free lane and going by is a normal lane change rather than an unlawful pass.
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12. Where is this sign normally installed?
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Answer A: At an island or other obstruction in the roadway, to show which side traffic must take
It is placed at a divider, island or fixed obstruction so that drivers approaching it know without hesitating which side to pass on.
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13. What should you check on the hitch before towing a trailer?
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Answer B: That the coupler is locked and the safety chains are crossed underneath
The coupler must be latched and pinned, and the chains crossed under the tongue so they cradle it if the coupling lets go.
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14. What must you be sure of before you pull out to pass on a two-lane road?
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Answer A: That the road ahead is clear far enough for the whole pass
You need enough clear road to pull out, pass and return before any oncoming vehicle arrives, and you must judge that distance before you start.
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15. What most often starts a rear wheel skid?
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Answer A: Too much speed, braking or acceleration for the grip available
A skid begins when what you ask of the tires exceeds what the surface can give, which is usually a matter of speed and of how abruptly you use the controls.
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16. You have to leave a trailer parked on a slope. What extra step protects it?
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Answer D: Chock the trailer wheels as well as setting the brake
Chocks physically block the wheels, which is the only thing that still holds if a brake or a coupling lets go.
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17. You are making a U-turn at a signal on a green left arrow. Who must you still watch for?
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Answer D: People in the crosswalk you will cross as you come around
Even a protected arrow does not clear the crosswalk, and a U-turn sweeps across a crosswalk that pedestrians may already be using.
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18. The crossing gates begin to lower while your vehicle is still on the railroad tracks. What should you do?
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Answer B: Keep going forward and push through the gate if it should block your way
Gates are made to break away, and driving forward off the tracks is far safer than staying between them or backing up.
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19. You are approaching a narrow bridge where the road has one lane in each direction and no shoulder. What should you do about passing?
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Answer B: Do not pass on or near the bridge
A narrow bridge gives neither vehicle anywhere to go, so passing is prohibited there in the same way as on a hill or in a tunnel.
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20. 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.
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21. Traffic in a work zone is down to one lane in each direction, separated by a temporary double yellow line. May you pass?
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Answer C: No, temporary markings prohibit passing just as permanent ones do
A temporary marking has the same legal force as a permanent one, and a work zone is the last place with room to spare for an overtaking vehicle.
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22. You are passing a tractor-trailer on a wet freeway and its wheels throw heavy spray. What is the best technique?
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Answer B: Increase your wipers and pass steadily without hesitating
Spray blinds you for as long as you stay beside the truck, so prepare the wipers first and then spend as little time in the spray as possible.
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23. The green arrow protecting your turn changes to a steady yellow arrow. What is it telling you?
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Answer A: The protected turn is ending and you should prepare to stop
A steady yellow arrow warns that the arrow movement is being terminated and that a red indication will follow.
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24. A driver's destination lies along the street to the right, and this sign stands at that corner. How should the driver reach it?
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Answer D: By going on and using a later intersection where turning is allowed
When a movement is barred at one corner the driver has to reroute, normally by continuing and coming back to the destination from a permitted approach.
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25. You are following another vehicle down a long, steep grade. What should you do about the gap?
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Answer D: Make it longer, because both of you need more room to stop
Everything takes longer to stop on a downgrade, including the vehicle ahead, so the gap that works on the flat is no longer enough.
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26. You get into a heated argument with a passenger while driving. What should you do?
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Answer D: End the discussion or pull over to finish it
Anger narrows attention and encourages risk, and a conversation you cannot let go of is a passenger you should be parked to talk with.
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27. A driver who wants to reverse direction arrives at this sign. What is allowed?
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Answer C: Going on and reversing direction only where the maneuver is permitted
The restriction removes that maneuver at that spot entirely, so the driver has to continue and turn the vehicle around at a place where it is not prohibited.
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28. About how far does a vehicle travel in one second at 60 mph?
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Answer A: About 88 feet
At 60 mph you cover about 88 feet every second, which is why a glance of only two or three seconds means driving the length of several vehicles blind.
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29. Why is standing water across a road dangerous even when it looks shallow?
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Answer B: It can hide a washed out roadbed, a deep hole or a missing cover
You cannot see the surface under the water, and floods commonly wash the roadbed away or lift covers off drains.
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30. A steady green downward arrow is displayed above the lane you are in. What does it tell you?
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Answer A: You may drive in that lane
A green downward arrow means the lane beneath it is open for travel in your direction.