DMV Practice Lab · Car practice sample
South Carolina printable driving practice
20 questions · Choose one answer for each question. Check your choices against the answer key after you finish.
A short sample of car driving questions. Read the handbook to cover the other topics you need.
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Practice questions
1. Your light turns green, but the next block is full. What should you do?
- Wait until you can clear the intersection.
- Enter and wait across the crosswalk.
- Sound your horn and move forward.
- Follow the car ahead without checking space.
My answer:
2. Two vehicles reach an uncontrolled intersection at approximately the same time. One is on your right. Who yields?
- The vehicle on your right yields to you.
- You yield to the vehicle on your right.
- The smaller vehicle goes first.
- The driver traveling farther has priority.
My answer:
3. Before entering a roundabout, you should:
- Expect circulating drivers to stop for you.
- Enter beside another vehicle without checking.
- Yield to vehicles already circulating.
- Drive clockwise to reach a nearby exit.
My answer:
4. A stopped school bus flashes red across an undivided four-lane road with two traffic lanes in each direction. You are traveling in the opposite direction. Under South Carolina's bus rule:
- You must stop because there is no raised median.
- You may pass only after the bus driver waves.
- You must drive onto the shoulder.
- You are not required to stop, but must watch for children.
My answer:
5. You stopped for a school bus's flashing red lights. Under the bus stopping rule, when may you resume, provided the way is safe?
- Once the bus moves or its red lights stop.
- After waiting ten seconds.
- As soon as one child has crossed.
- Whenever an approaching car continues past it.
My answer:
6. How far in advance must the required signal be given before turning or moving right or left on the roadway?
- Only during the final 10 feet.
- Continuously for at least the last 100 feet.
- Only after you start the movement.
- For 500 feet on every road.
My answer:
7. What is a shared center left-turn lane intended for?
- Passing a slow vehicle.
- Continuous travel when the regular lane is busy.
- Preparing for or making a left turn.
- Parking while waiting for a passenger.
My answer:
8. How close may you park to a crosswalk at an intersection?
- As close as 3 feet.
- Within 5 feet if your hazard lights are on.
- On the crosswalk if you stay in the car.
- No closer than 20 feet.
My answer:
9. Before opening your door on the traffic side of a parked car, you must:
- Check that opening it will not interfere with moving traffic.
- Assume cyclists will move around the door.
- Open it halfway to make others slow down.
- Keep it open to reserve space for loading later.
My answer:
10. A car is passing you. What is the appropriate response?
- Accelerate until it falls back behind you.
- Keep a steady course and do not speed up.
- Move toward the centerline to discourage it.
- Brake suddenly without a traffic reason.
My answer:
11. Under favorable conditions, what minimum following interval does the South Carolina manual recommend?
- One second.
- Half a second for every lane.
- At least four seconds.
- Exactly one car length at any speed.
My answer:
12. What is the safest time to reduce speed for a sharp curve?
- At the sharpest point using hard braking.
- Only after you feel the tires sliding.
- After leaving the curve.
- Before entering the curve.
My answer:
13. Which three parts make up total stopping distance?
- Perception, reaction and braking distance.
- Fuel range, tire width and engine size.
- Acceleration, cruising and lane-changing distance.
- Mirror distance, horn distance and parking distance.
My answer:
14. A tire suddenly blows out while you are moving. What should you do first?
- Stamp on the brake immediately.
- Hold the steering wheel firmly and ease off the accelerator.
- Turn sharply toward the nearest driveway.
- Accelerate to stabilize the damaged tire.
My answer:
15. A motorcycle is using a lane ahead. May you treat the unused part of that lane as your own passing space?
- Yes, if your car fits beside it.
- Yes, whenever the rider stays to one side.
- No; allow the motorcycle the full lane.
- Only while approaching a stop sign.
My answer:
16. What is the minimum age to apply for a regular South Carolina beginner's permit?
- 14.
- 16.
- 18.
- 15.
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17. What minimum beginner's-permit holding period does SCDMV currently list for a first-time applicant age 18 or older?
- 30 days.
- No holding period.
- 180 days regardless of age.
- One full year.
My answer:
18. Your phone is mounted on the dashboard. May you type a text while driving on a public highway?
- Yes; a mount removes every phone restriction.
- No; mounting the phone does not permit typing texts.
- Yes, if you use only one finger.
- Only if the message is under ten words.
My answer:
19. Which call fits the law's public-safety reporting exception?
- Calling a friend to discuss a delayed appointment.
- Ordering food while traffic is light.
- Reporting a road hazard to a public safety official.
- Checking a social-media alert marked urgent.
My answer:
20. At the beginning of the road test, what should you do about your seat belt?
- Use it only after the examiner asks.
- Leave it unfastened during parking maneuvers.
- Wear it only on the freeway portion.
- Fasten it before driving.
My answer:
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Answer key & explanations
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South Carolina · 20-question sample · Mark one correct answer for each question.
1. A — Wait until you can clear the intersection.
A green light does not make a blocked intersection safe to enter. Leave the crossing clear until there is room beyond it.
2. B — You yield to the vehicle on your right.
At an uncontrolled intersection, a driver yields to the vehicle on the right when their arrivals are approximately simultaneous.
3. C — Yield to vehicles already circulating.
Traffic in the roundabout has priority over entering traffic. Enter a suitable gap and follow the counterclockwise traffic flow.
4. D — You are not required to stop, but must watch for children.
South Carolina's opposite-direction exception applies to a road with at least two traffic lanes in each direction. A physical median is not required for that exception.
5. A — Once the bus moves or its red lights stop.
The required waiting period ends when the bus resumes motion or stops operating its red visual signals. Continue to protect children and other road users.
6. B — Continuously for at least the last 100 feet.
South Carolina requires the appropriate signal continuously during at least the last 100 feet before the turn or lateral movement.
7. C — Preparing for or making a left turn.
A two-way left-turn lane serves turning movements. It is not an extra through lane or a passing lane.
8. D — No closer than 20 feet.
Parking is prohibited within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection. Keeping this area clear improves visibility and access.
9. A — Check that opening it will not interfere with moving traffic.
Open a traffic-side door only when it can be done safely without interfering with other traffic. Keep it open no longer than necessary for loading or unloading.
10. B — Keep a steady course and do not speed up.
Do not compete with a passing driver. Maintaining your course without accelerating helps the other vehicle complete the pass safely.
11. C — At least four seconds.
The manual uses a four-second minimum following interval as a study guideline. Add more time when weather, visibility or traffic makes stopping harder.
12. D — Before entering the curve.
Slow before the curve so the tires can use their traction for steering through it. Avoid entering too fast and relying on abrupt braking.
13. A — Perception, reaction and braking distance.
A vehicle travels while you recognize a hazard and react, then travels farther while the brakes slow it. Braking distance alone is not the whole stop.
14. B — Hold the steering wheel firmly and ease off the accelerator.
Keep the vehicle tracking as steadily as possible and slow gradually. Sudden braking or steering can make the loss of control worse.
15. C — No; allow the motorcycle the full lane.
Motorcycles need room to adjust position around hazards. Do not crowd a rider by trying to share the same lane with your car.
16. D — 15.
The Class D beginner's permit minimum age is 15. Applicants must also meet the testing, documentation and consent requirements that apply to them.
17. A — 30 days.
The current permit page lists 30 days for applicants 18 or older. This differs from the all-ages 180-day statement in the older June 2024 manual.
18. B — No; mounting the phone does not permit typing texts.
The text-use prohibition is separate from the restriction on holding or supporting a phone. A mount does not authorize typing a message while driving.
19. C — Reporting a road hazard to a public safety official.
The exception covers reporting an accident, emergency or safety hazard to a public safety official. An ordinary personal call does not become an emergency report just because it feels urgent.
20. D — Fasten it before driving.
The manual makes failure to use the seat belt an automatic road-test failure. Make fastening it part of your pre-drive routine.
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