Tennessee Permit Practice Test 2
A second full-length Tennessee practice test: 30 fresh multiple-choice questions with zero repeats from Test 1. The real TDOSHS Driver License Knowledge Test has 30 questions, and you need 24 correct (80%) to pass.
Question 1 of 30
1. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) in Tennessee moves teens through permit, intermediate, and full-license stages. Entry into the first stage, the learner's permit, begins at what age?
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Correct answer: A. GDL entry in Tennessee starts with a learner's permit at 15. Each stage lifts restrictions as skill grows, because crash risk is highest in a driver's first solo months. The ladder starts at 15; climb it patiently.
2. Under Tennessee's implied consent law, what will likely happen if you refuse a lawful request for an alcohol or drug test?
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Correct answer: A. By driving in Tennessee you have already consented to alcohol and drug testing, so refusing an officer's lawful request typically costs your license for twelve months. Remember: the keys came with consent — refuse the test, lose a year.
3. What happens when a car hydroplanes on a wet road?
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Correct answer: C. Hydroplaning happens when tires ride up on a layer of water instead of the pavement, erasing steering and braking grip. Higher speeds make it far more likely. Ease off the gas smoothly; think of tires turning into water skis.
4. An officer stops an adult driver in Tennessee and a breath test is given. At what BAC reading can that driver be charged with driving under the influence, even if their driving looked steady?
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Correct answer: C. A BAC of 0.08% or more is enough by itself for a DUI charge in Tennessee. The law uses a fixed number because alcohol impairs everyone, and drivers are poor judges of their own impairment behind the wheel.
5. A 30-year-old driver in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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.
6. What is the safest way to carry young children in your vehicle?
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Correct answer: B. Children are safest buckled in the back seat, and a rear-facing seat must never sit in front of an active airbag, which can strike the seat with deadly force. Little riders belong behind you, away from the bag.
7. Tennessee enforces 'zero tolerance' for underage drinking and driving. In practice, a driver under 21 violates this law at what BAC?
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Correct answer: A. Zero tolerance in Tennessee means the under-21 line sits at 0.02%, so even one drink can end in a suspended license. The memory hook is simple: under 21 means zero drinks before you drive.
8. Signs on Tennessee highways vary from road to road, but the law sets one absolute top limit for the fastest routes. That limit is which value?
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Correct answer: D. By statute, 70 mph is the fastest any Tennessee road can be posted. Below that ceiling, engineers set each road's limit for its design and traffic, which is why the posted sign on your road always governs.
9. You see a red-and-white triangular sign reading YIELD as you approach a traffic circle. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. A yield sign tells you to slow down, check for traffic with the right-of-way, and stop only when necessary to let it pass. It keeps merges smooth without forcing pointless stops. Think of yield as give way, not always stop.
10. Two solid yellow lines run down the center of the road. What do they prohibit?
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Correct answer: D. Double solid yellow lines ban passing for traffic in both directions, because sight distance or traffic makes passing unsafe there. Crossing is generally allowed only to turn into a driveway or side road, never to overtake.
11. A power outage has left the traffic signals at an intersection completely dark. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. When a signal is completely dark, treat the intersection as an all-way stop: stop fully, yield to vehicles that arrived first, and proceed in turn. This shared rule keeps order when the usual electronic referee is offline.
12. In Tennessee, an under-21 driver can face a license suspension for alcohol at a much lower level than an adult DUI. That zero-tolerance level is which of these?
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Correct answer: D. Reaching 0.02% can cost a driver under 21 their license in Tennessee, even when they show no obvious impairment. The state treats underage drinking and driving as a license issue first, aiming to stop the habit early.
13. 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.
14. Orange signs, cones, and barrels suddenly appear along the highway. What does the color orange always tell you?
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Correct answer: B. Orange is reserved for temporary traffic control, meaning construction and maintenance zones. Workers, machines, and lane shifts may appear with little warning, so slow down and stay alert. When you see orange, think people at work.
15. What do financial responsibility laws require of you before you drive?
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Correct answer: D. Every state requires drivers to show they can pay for harm they cause, and auto insurance is the usual proof. Crashes create huge bills in seconds, so the rule protects victims. Simple memory hook: no coverage, no keys.
16. Your right wheels drop off the pavement onto a soft shoulder. What should you do?
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Correct answer: B. If your wheels leave the pavement, do not yank the wheel; ease off the gas, slow down, and steer back gently once traffic allows. A sudden jerk against the pavement lip can flip or launch the car.
17. Your younger sibling asks when they can get a learner's permit in Tennessee. What age do you tell them?
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Correct answer: A. Tell them 15; that is when Tennessee allows a learner's permit application. Until then, driving on public roads is off the table. Graduated licensing phases in privileges so new drivers gain experience under lower-risk conditions.
18. Your brake pedal sinks to the floor and the car barely slows. What should you do?
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Correct answer: A. Pump the pedal quickly to build pressure back, shift to a lower gear, and ease on the parking brake while steering toward safety. Work through the list calmly: pump, downshift, parking brake, and pick your escape path.
19. An ambulance with flashing lights and a siren comes up behind you on a two-way street. What should you do?
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Correct answer: C. When an emergency vehicle approaches with lights and siren, pull to the right edge of the road and stop, avoiding blocking intersections. A predictable move to the right opens a clear lane. Everyone right, everyone stopped, help gets through.
20. Wide white stripes cross the pavement ahead, marking a crosswalk. What do these markings require of you as a driver?
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Correct answer: C. Crosswalk stripes show where pedestrians are expected to cross, and drivers must yield to people within them. You stop only when someone is crossing or a sign or signal requires it. Painted stripes mean feet ahead.
21. Who may legally park in a space reserved for people with disabilities?
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Correct answer: C. Reserved accessible spaces are only for vehicles showing a valid disability placard or plate, used when the person it was issued to is aboard. These wide, close-in spots are essential access, which is why enforcement is strict everywhere.
22. How does alcohol change the skills you rely on to drive?
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Correct answer: B. Alcohol slows your reactions, throws off coordination, and blurs and narrows vision, so every core driving skill suffers at once. Impairment starts before you feel drunk. Think of alcohol as turning down every dial you drive with.
23. Traffic around you on a Tennessee 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 Tennessee's fastest highways it stays 70 mph. Move right and let them pass instead of matching them. Speed limits bind each driver individually, whatever the surrounding traffic does.
24. Can prescription pills or over-the-counter cold medicine lead to an impaired-driving charge?
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Correct answer: A. Impaired-driving laws care about your condition, not the label on the bottle, so prescription and over-the-counter medicines that cause drowsiness or slow reactions can bring a DUI charge. Read warning labels before you drive, not after.
25. Before turning left across oncoming traffic, why should you look twice for motorcycles?
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Correct answer: A. A motorcycle's narrow profile fools your eyes: it looks farther away and slower than it really is. Many rider deaths happen when cars turn left across their path. Look twice and judge twice before you commit.
26. If you fail the Tennessee driver license knowledge test, how soon can you try again at a Driver Services Center?
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Correct answer: A. Tennessee imposes a mandatory one-day wait after every failed knowledge test, and the $2 application fee is charged again each attempt. The pause pushes you to restudy the manual — fail today, study tonight, test tomorrow at the earliest.
27. The light is steady green as you reach an intersection. Which statement is true?
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Correct answer: B. A green light means you may proceed, but only after yielding to pedestrians and vehicles still clearing the intersection. Green grants permission, not protection, so look left, right, and left again before you enter.
28. On a multi-lane Tennessee road, what does the Move Over Law require when you approach a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights?
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Correct answer: C. Tennessee's Move Over Law says shift into a lane away from stopped emergency, utility, or highway maintenance vehicles with flashing lights, or slow down cautiously if you cannot. Roadside workers stand feet from traffic — give a lane or give up speed.
29. 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.
30. How long must you hold a Tennessee learner permit before you can move up to the Intermediate Restricted license?
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Correct answer: C. Tennessee requires a 180-day permit hold before the Intermediate Restricted license, giving new drivers roughly six months of supervised practice. Think 'six months on a permit' — about half a year behind the wheel before you drive with fewer limits.
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