Alabama DMV State Practice Set — 37 Questions with Answers

Blinking your brake lights or turning on the hazard flashers lets the people behind you know early that traffic is stopping for a crash ahead, which gives them room to slow down. These signals warn of danger or an unexpected slowdown; they are not a way to thank another driver or something to use while reversing out of a parking spot.

Tip Hazard flashers are for warning others of a sudden danger, not for excusing double-parking or for ordinary driving.

Before you back up, change lanes or brake suddenly, check the traffic behind you with your mirrors and by turning your head. Look over your shoulder through the rear window when backing, and check your blind spot before moving into another lane. These are the moments when a collision with someone behind you is most likely: backing takes you toward whatever is back there, and if you change lanes or brake hard, a vehicle coming up behind you may have no room to avoid you.

ALEA examiners check the test vehicle first and will not begin if it is unsafe, is missing seat belts, or has equipment that keeps the examiner from reaching the brake pedal. Have your car and paperwork ready before your appointment.

Most states require a parallel-parked car to have its wheels within 12 inches of the curb, and some allow up to 18, so staying within 12 inches keeps you legal in either case. A wider gap leaves the car sticking out into the travel lane, where it becomes a hazard to passing traffic.

Tip A gap of roughly 6 to 12 inches keeps you within the limit while protecting your tires from the curb.

Headlights are required from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise, plus whenever rain, fog, snow, or dim light makes people and vehicles hard to see. They help you see the road and help others see you.

If a school bus stops on a two-lane road with its red lights flashing, traffic approaching from either direction has to stop and stay put until the lights go off and the bus moves on. Simply slowing down is not sufficient, including when the bus is on the opposite side of the road.

Tip Drivers on the far side of a highway split by a physical divider, such as a raised median, are not required to stop.

Cutting through a parking lot, gas station or other property to dodge a traffic control device is against the law. The only exception is when a police officer instructs you to do it, because an officer's directions take priority over signs and signals.

The law requires headlights starting 30 minutes after the sun sets and ending 30 minutes before it rises, which means that in the morning you can turn them off when sunrise is half an hour away. Leave them on longer when rain, fog, or snow limits visibility.

Each of these lowers the force of the crash: objects that give way absorb energy, a stationary object adds no speed of its own, and a glancing blow transfers less force than a head-on hit. If a collision is likely, brake hard and steer toward the least harmful option.

One standard drink is any of these: 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of regular beer. They contain roughly the same amount of alcohol, so what you drink matters much less than how much.

Alabama keeps Stage II drivers off the road from midnight to 6 a.m. unless an exception applies, such as driving with a parent or with a licensed driver who is at least 21, or traveling to or from work, a school or religious event, or an emergency.

Passing must always be done on the paved, main part of the road. Pulling onto the shoulder or dirt edge to get by is never allowed, even next to a vehicle that is turning left.

After a blowout, hold the steering wheel firmly, take your foot off the accelerator, and keep the car going straight while it loses speed on its own. Braking hard can make you lose control, so stop only after you have eased off the road to a safe spot.

Flashing red lights mean the bus has stopped so children can get on or off, so you must halt at least 20 feet away and stay put until the lights go off and the bus pulls away. On an undivided road, traffic coming from the opposite direction must stop as well.

Water on the pavement makes stopping take longer, so open up a gap of at least 4 to 5 seconds behind the vehicle ahead. Brake, steer and accelerate gently to avoid skidding.

Tip On wet pavement, plan on about twice your usual following distance so you have room to stop.

To indicate a right turn, stick your left arm through the driver's window and bend it up at the elbow so your hand points toward the sky. A straight, extended arm signals a left turn, while an arm bent downward signals that you are slowing down or stopping.

Major highways carry heavy, fast-moving traffic, so staying alert and being ready for hazards such as merging vehicles, sudden slowdowns or debris are both part of driving safely there. Keep a safe following distance and signal before every lane change.

Slippery pavement gives your tires less traction, so lose speed before a curve or intersection rather than while you are in it. Speeding into a curve, or waiting until you are already descending a hill to downshift, makes a skid more likely.

Set the front wheels so that the curb would stop the car if it started to roll: angle them toward the curb if the car points downhill and away from it if the car points uphill. Apply the parking brake every time.

Tip Downhill means wheels toward the curb; uphill with a curb means wheels away from it.

Rain, ice and fog cut your tires' grip and how far you can see, so you need extra time and room to stop. Leave more than the usual two seconds behind the car ahead, and slow down instead of hurrying.

No one number is safe in every situation. Choose your speed based on the weather, the road surface, how far you can see and how heavy traffic is, and remember that driving under the limit can still be too fast in poor conditions.

As soon as you hear a siren or notice red or blue lights flashing, give the emergency vehicle the right-of-way by moving to the right edge of the road and stopping until it goes by. You must do this no matter what other drivers are doing.

All three situations call for a lower speed: narrow or curving roads leave little room for error, intersections and railroad crossings bring cross traffic and trains, and slick pavement makes stopping take longer. Driving slower buys you extra time to react.

For drivers 21 and older, the standard legal limit is a BAC of 0.08%. Drivers under 21 are covered by zero-tolerance laws with a far lower limit, so 0.08% is not the cutoff for 18- to 20-year-olds, and 0.06% is not the standard adult limit.

Tip Watch the decimal point closely: the adult limit is 0.08% BAC, not 0.8%.

Alabama's minimum liability coverage is $25,000 if one person is injured or killed, $50,000 if a single crash injures or kills two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage. The $50,000 amount is for multiple victims, not for one person.

The usual guideline is the three-second rule: keep at least 3 seconds between you and the vehicle ahead. In rain, fog or other poor conditions, leave more time so you can react and stop.

Alcohol slows reactions and clouds judgment, so impaired drivers often brake abruptly, creep along well below the flow of traffic, weave or drift between lanes, or make unusually wide turns. If you notice these signs, stay well back and, when it is safe, report the vehicle to the police.

In Alabama, anyone convicted of DUI must attend DUI school, a course on how alcohol impairs driving. The other penalties, such as fines, a suspended license and possible jail, are much heavier than a $100 fine, a one-week suspension or a mere warning.

A stop sign, a red signal, and a stop order from an officer directing traffic each require a full stop. The same duty applies in other cases too, such as a school bus with flashing red lights or a train approaching a railroad crossing.

A school zone carries a 15 mph limit while the restriction is in effect, such as during school hours when children are around. Slow down and watch closely for students and crossing guards. Stop and wait whenever a crossing guard holds up a STOP sign or children are in the crosswalk.

The headlight requirement begins 30 minutes after sunset, when fading daylight makes it harder for others to see you. Also turn them on at any hour when rain, snow, or fog limits visibility.

Stopping distance is the ground you cover while reacting plus the distance needed to brake, so it changes with your speed, reaction time, the road surface, your tires and your brakes. The hour on the clock does not change how your brakes and tires work, although darkness may call for a slower speed.

Getting behind the wheel on a public road counts as advance permission for a chemical test, such as a breath test, after a lawful DUI arrest. Saying no to the test brings separate penalties, among them loss of the license.

A U-turn in a school zone is dangerous because children may appear anywhere, and some states ban it there outright. Obeying the speed limit and letting children cross are duties in a school zone, not things to avoid.

Your turn signal warns other drivers, your mirrors show traffic behind and beside you, and a quick look over your shoulder covers the blind spots the mirrors cannot reach. Skipping either check can leave a vehicle right beside you unnoticed, and skipping the signal leaves other drivers unaware that you are moving over.

At an intersection with no signs or signals, you yield to a vehicle approaching from your right, and a driver turning left yields to vehicles coming straight from the other direction. The yellow car has no one on its right, so it goes first; the blue car, which has the yellow car on its right, goes next; and the truck, turning left, goes last.

The driver and every passenger, in the front and in the back, must be buckled up whenever the vehicle is moving, and young children like the one pictured must ride in a properly installed child safety seat. Seat belts sharply reduce the chance of serious injury or death in a crash.