Colorado Permit Practice Test 2
A second full-length Colorado practice test: 30 fresh multiple-choice questions with zero repeats from Test 1. You need 80% correct to pass the real DMV Driving Knowledge Test (commonly called the written or permit test).
Question 1 of 30
1. Unless signs show otherwise, what speed limit applies on Colorado's narrow, winding mountain highways and blind curves?
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Correct answer: A. Colorado law sets 20 mph as the lawful speed on narrow, winding mountain highways and on blind curves unless signs say otherwise. The state's tightest roads get its lowest default limit.
2. Smoke and flames start coming from under your hood while you drive. What should you do?
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Correct answer: C. Stop away from buildings and fuel, shut off the engine, and move everyone well back. Opening the hood feeds the flames air, and burning vehicles can explode, so fight nothing bigger than a tiny fire. Distance saves lives.
3. You received your Colorado instruction permit at age 15 and want a minor driver license as soon as possible. How long must you hold the permit first?
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Correct answer: D. Colorado requires every applicant under 18 to hold an instruction permit for 12 full months before a minor license can be issued. One full year of supervised practice — think of it as a permit birthday before your license.
4. A freeway lane is marked with white diamond symbols, and a sign says the lane is for high-occupancy vehicles (HOV 2+). Who may drive in it during the posted hours?
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Correct answer: B. Diamond-marked HOV lanes are reserved for vehicles meeting the posted occupancy, like two or more people in an HOV 2+ lane. Rewarding shared rides moves more people in fewer cars. The diamond means special rules, so read the sign before entering.
5. You are driving past a school crossing just as classes let out. What must you be prepared to do?
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Correct answer: C. Near school crossings you must slow to any posted school speed and stop whenever children or crossing guards are in the crosswalk. Kids are small, quick, and unpredictable, so extra caution is required. Expect the unexpected wherever students gather.
6. How should a lap and shoulder belt be worn so it protects you in a crash?
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Correct answer: D. Wear the lap belt low and snug over your hips and the shoulder belt across your chest, because those strong bones absorb crash forces safely. Belts on your belly or behind your back can cause serious internal injuries.
7. After passing a large truck, why is it dangerous to merge back quickly and then brake?
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Correct answer: B. A heavy truck needs far more stopping distance than a car, so cutting in close and braking leaves the trucker no room and no options. Merge back only when the whole truck appears in your rearview mirror.
8. Without reading any words, what does a yellow, diamond-shaped sign always tell you?
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Correct answer: C. Yellow diamonds are warning signs: they alert you to hazards or changing conditions such as curves, intersections, or merging traffic. They advise rather than order. Shape and color alone should make you lift off the gas.
9. You are on an entrance ramp about to merge onto a freeway. Who is responsible for yielding?
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Correct answer: A. Drivers merging onto a freeway must yield to traffic already on it, using the ramp to match speed and slide into a gap. Through traffic cannot stop safely at highway speeds, so the entering driver adapts.
10. How does the alcohol in a regular beer compare with a standard glass of wine or a single shot of liquor?
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Correct answer: B. A standard beer, glass of wine, and shot of liquor each deliver about the same alcohol, so switching drinks does not protect you. Your body counts drinks, not drink types. One is one, whatever the glass looks like.
11. A friend in Colorado says, 'I feel fine, so I can drive.' Feelings aside, the law sets the illegal BAC for drivers 21 and older at which number?
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Correct answer: B. Feeling fine proves nothing; alcohol dulls the very judgment you use to check yourself. In Colorado, 0.08% is the per-se limit for adults, and measurable impairment often shows up well before a driver reaches it.
12. You are in a left-turn lane facing oncoming traffic, and the signal shows a steady red arrow. What does the arrow mean?
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Correct answer: A. A steady red arrow prohibits the movement it points toward; you must stop and stay put until the signal changes. It shields turning drivers from crossing busy oncoming lanes. Think of a red arrow as a closed gate.
13. Traffic around you on a Colorado highway posted at the state maximum starts flowing faster than the signs allow. Your personal legal limit remains which speed?
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Correct answer: C. Other drivers speeding never raises your limit; on Colorado's fastest highways it stays 75 mph. Move right and let them pass instead of matching them. Speed limits bind each driver individually, whatever the surrounding traffic does.
14. You are in the right lane when you see a yellow diamond sign showing the right lane narrowing into the left lane. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. A lane-ends sign warns your lane will disappear, so signal, match the other lane's speed, and merge before the pavement runs out. Drivers in the ending lane must yield to through traffic. Early, smooth merges prevent the last-second squeeze.
15. You hold only a learner's permit and your supervising adult is unavailable. When may you drive by yourself?
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Correct answer: C. A permit never allows solo driving; a qualified supervisor must ride with you every time. Getting caught alone can mean tickets, permit suspension, and a longer wait for your license. Shortcuts here only stretch out the process.
16. Why can driving much slower than the vehicles around you be dangerous?
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Correct answer: D. A vehicle crawling well below the flow of traffic makes others brake hard, bunch up, and pass, which multiplies conflict points. Crashes often come from speed differences, not speed alone, so avoid blocking the normal flow.
17. You are approaching an intersection and the traffic light turns steady red. What must you do?
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Correct answer: C. A steady red light requires a full stop before the stop line or crosswalk, or before entering the intersection if there is no line. Stopping at the line protects people crossing. Remember: red means stop, every time.
18. Under Colorado's zero-tolerance law, what BAC level counts as a violation for a driver under 21?
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Correct answer: B. Colorado's zero-tolerance law sets the under-21 threshold at 0.02%, far stricter than the adult standard. Underage drinking is illegal to begin with, so the safest and simplest rule is zero alcohol before driving, always.
19. Under Colorado law, what blood THC level allows a court to infer that you were driving under the influence of marijuana?
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Correct answer: A. Colorado law creates a permissible inference of DUI when a driver's blood holds five or more nanograms of THC per milliliter. Remember the handful: five fingers, five nanograms.
20. You are counting down the days until you can start driving in Colorado. The earliest age you can hold a learner's permit is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. The countdown ends at 15, the minimum learner's permit age in Colorado. Starting at the minimum is smart: more months of supervised practice before licensure means more experience with traffic, weather, and night driving while coached.
21. A tow truck sits stopped on a Colorado highway with hazard lights flashing, and traffic prevents you from changing lanes. What does the Move Over Law require?
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Correct answer: A. Colorado's Move Over Law covers any stationary vehicle showing flashing hazard lights: change lanes away when safe, and otherwise slow to at least 20 mph below the posted limit. Move over or slow way down.
22. Your GPS routes you through a Colorado neighborhood of homes and parked cars with no posted speed limit. State law caps your speed there at what value?
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Correct answer: D. State law gives unposted residential areas in Colorado a default cap of 30 mph. Parked cars shrink your view of crossing pedestrians, which is exactly why the cap is low. Posted signs, where present, replace the default.
23. What does the term "no-zone" mean when you drive near a large truck?
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Correct answer: C. No-zones are the huge blind spots in front of, behind, and beside a large truck where the driver simply cannot see you. A quick test: if you cannot see the driver's face in the truck's mirror, you are invisible.
24. A 30-year-old driver in Colorado takes a chemical test after a crash. Prosecutors can prove DUI from the test result alone once the BAC is at least which value?
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Correct answer: D. A test showing 0.08% or higher proves per-se DUI in Colorado without any other evidence of impairment. Lawmakers chose that threshold because crash risk climbs sharply near it, though alcohol degrades driving skills at lower levels too.
25. Children are playing near the curb on an unposted neighborhood street in Colorado. Unless a sign says otherwise, the fastest you may legally drive here is which speed?
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Correct answer: A. The default residential limit in Colorado is 30 mph unless otherwise posted. With children nearby, you should often go slower still, because stopping distance grows quickly with speed and kids can dart into the street without warning.
26. You are parking facing uphill on a street with a curb. Which way should you turn your front wheels?
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Correct answer: B. When parking uphill with a curb, turn the wheels away from the curb and let the car roll back until a tire rests against it. The curb then works as a block. Up and away is the memory cue.
27. What is a reliable way to judge whether you are following the vehicle ahead too closely?
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Correct answer: A. Pick a fixed marker like a pole or shadow; when the vehicle ahead passes it, count seconds until you arrive. Counting seconds works at any speed, unlike guessing car lengths. The road itself becomes your measuring tape.
28. A teen walks into a Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office in Colorado to apply for a first learner's permit. The office can accept the application once the teen is what age?
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Correct answer: B. The DMV accepts learner's permit applications at age 15 in Colorado. Bring proof of identity, residency, and usually a parent's signature, then pass the knowledge and vision screenings. Age is simply the first box to check.
29. Your headlights suddenly go dark while you are driving at night. What should you do first?
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Correct answer: C. First flick the headlight switch and dimmer, since the problem may be a loose connection; then use parking, hazard, or turn lights to stay visible while you leave the road. Never keep driving blind hoping the lights return.
30. On a multilane highway, white lines separate the lanes. What does the white color tell you about the traffic around you?
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Correct answer: B. White lines divide lanes of traffic that flow the same way, while yellow divides opposing flows. Reading line color at a glance tells you instantly where oncoming cars can be. White means with you, yellow means toward you.
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