Alabama ALEA Permit Practice Test 43
- Questions30
- Correct to pass24
- Passing score80%
- Minimum age15 years
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1. You stop at a rest area because you are sleepy. How long a nap is usually recommended?
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Answer D: About fifteen to twenty minutes
A short nap of fifteen to twenty minutes restores useful alertness without leaving the grogginess a longer sleep can bring, and you should wait a few minutes before driving on.
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2. You are waiting in a center two-way left-turn lane. What should you expect from oncoming traffic?
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Answer A: Oncoming drivers may enter the same lane to prepare their own left turns
Both directions share a two-way left-turn lane, so an oncoming vehicle may be waiting in it and you must never treat it as yours alone.
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3. Some states allow a left turn against a red light. Which movement is it?
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Answer A: A left turn from a one-way street onto another one-way street
The movement generally allowed on red is one-way to one-way, because the turn does not cross any lane of oncoming traffic; a few states also extend it to a two-way street turning onto a one-way street.
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4. You back into an unattended parked car in a lot and cause visible damage. What must you do?
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Answer A: Try to find the owner, or leave a note with your name and contact details, and report the crash
Hitting an unattended vehicle carries the same duties as any crash. Leaving without identifying yourself is a hit-and-run offense.
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5. You want to stop briefly and the only space is in the travel lane alongside a vehicle already parked at the curb. Is this allowed?
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Answer D: No, double parking blocks a travel lane and is prohibited
Stopping in the roadway beside a parked vehicle removes a lane from traffic and forces other drivers to swerve around you, which is why double parking is prohibited.
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6. 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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7. A sign with a yellow background and a black legend generally conveys
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Answer B: a general warning
Yellow is the background color used for general warning signs, so a yellow sign tells the driver to expect something ahead rather than to obey a rule.
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8. When is a driver at the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel?
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Answer B: Late at night, early morning and mid afternoon
The body clock produces its deepest dips in alertness in the small hours and again in the middle of the afternoon, and crash records follow those dips.
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9. What does a broken line indicate, whatever color it is painted?
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Answer C: That crossing it is permitted
A broken line always describes a permissive condition, and the color then tells the driver whether the traffic beyond it runs the same way or the opposite way.
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10. What is the right speed for a normal right turn at a city corner?
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Answer C: Slow enough to hold your lane and stop for a pedestrian
A city right turn is tight and crosses a crosswalk, so the correct speed is one that keeps you inside your lane and still allows a stop.
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11. What is a microsleep?
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Answer D: A few seconds of sleep, sometimes with the eyes open
A microsleep is an involuntary lapse of a few seconds during which the driver is asleep and the vehicle travels blind, often without the driver knowing.
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12. What is a marked loading zone for?
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Answer A: Loading and unloading only, not for general parking
A loading zone is reserved for actively loading or unloading goods or passengers; leaving a vehicle there for other reasons is a parking violation.
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13. Why is a U-turn on a one-way street a problem?
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Answer A: You would end up facing the wrong way against all the traffic
Every lane of a one-way street runs the same way, so turning around leaves you driving head-on against all of the traffic.
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14. Heavy trucks have worn deep ruts into a highway lane and rain has filled them. What is the danger?
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Answer D: Water collects in them, so the tires can lose contact with the road
Ruts hold standing water long after the rest of the lane has drained, which makes them the most likely place to start hydroplaning.
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15. Apart from giving you room to stop, what else does a longer following gap do for you?
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Answer D: It widens your view of the road and the traffic ahead
Sitting further back lets you see past and around the vehicle in front, so hazards reach your eyes seconds earlier.
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16. What can happen to an Alabama driver convicted of a mandatory liability insurance violation?
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Answer A: A fine of up to 500 dollars for a first violation and a possible six month license suspension
Alabama sets fines of up to 500 dollars for a first insurance violation and up to 1,000 dollars afterwards, with a possible six month driver license suspension.
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17. A small yellow plaque showing a speed number below a curve warning sign gives
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Answer C: the speed recommended for the condition being warned about
The advisory speed plaque belongs to the warning series and states the speed judged safe for the condition ahead under good circumstances, not a regulatory limit.
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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. Why is it dangerous to make a left turn from the second lane from the center?
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Answer C: Because a driver in the lane beside you is turning into the same space
Drivers in the proper turn lane are entitled to that space, and turning across them puts two vehicles into one path through the intersection.
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20. What belongs in a basic emergency kit carried in a car?
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Answer D: A flashlight, a first aid kit, jumper cables and some warning devices
A useful kit lets you see, be seen, treat an injury and restart the vehicle; carrying loose gasoline is a fire risk.
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21. What must a driver be ready for beyond this sign?
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Answer C: Vehicles approaching from the opposite direction in the next lane over
The separation between the two directions runs out, so from that point oncoming vehicles share the same pavement and the driver has to keep right.
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22. Which of these would appear as a symbol on a blue general service sign?
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Answer A: A hospital
General service signs cover facilities such as hospitals, fuel, food, lodging, camping, telephones and rest areas, all shown in white on blue.
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23. When does Alabama law require headlights, rather than parking lights alone, to be switched on?
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Answer C: From half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise
Alabama requires headlights from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise, and whenever visibility falls below 500 feet.
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24. Which vehicle is most affected by a strong side wind?
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Answer D: A van or a car towing a tall trailer
Wind pushes against the side area of a vehicle, so tall boxy shapes and trailers are moved far more than low heavy ones.
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25. An entrance ramp joins a highway just before an exit ramp leaves it. What should you expect in that short section?
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Answer D: Vehicles crossing paths as some enter and others leave
In a weaving section entering traffic moves left while exiting traffic moves right over the same short stretch, so lane changes there need extra room and extra care.
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26. After an hour on a hot highway your tire pressure reads higher than it did in the morning. What should you do?
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Answer D: Nothing, because pressure rises when tires heat up
Air expands as the tire warms, so a hot reading is normally above the cold setting. Bleeding air off would leave the tire underinflated once it cooled.
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27. What is the purpose of a wide solid white line painted straight across your lane on the approach to an intersection?
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Answer C: It shows the point where a required stop must be made
A stop line indicates the point at which the stop required by a signal or a stop sign is to be made, ahead of the crosswalk and the intersection.
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28. Your phone is in a mount on the dashboard rather than in your hand. What is true?
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Answer B: It still takes your eyes and mind off the road
A mount solves the hand problem but not the eye or the mind problem, and reading or tapping a mounted screen costs the same seconds of attention.
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29. Your right wheels drop off the edge of the pavement onto a soft shoulder. What should you do?
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Answer C: Ease off the accelerator, hold the wheel straight and steer back gently once you have slowed
Yanking the wheel while the tires are pressed against a pavement lip can throw the vehicle across the road, so slow down first and then make a gentle correction.
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30. In plain words, what is understeer?
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Answer B: The vehicle keeps going straight even though the wheels are turned
Understeer means the front tires have run out of grip, so the vehicle takes a wider line than the one you steered.