Bad Weather & Night Driving — Arizona

Arizona motorcycle permit practice test: 377 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. Bad Weather & Night Driving: 21 questions. Updated

Rain, snow, ice, fog and night driving: visibility, traction and headlight use.

This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.

Topic / MetricValue
TopicBad Weather & Night Driving
License testArizona Motorcycle permit test
Topic questions21 (6% of 377 total)
Review statusThis topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.

Official handbook

Not yet verified Motorcycle manual link not yet collected

Advertisement

Questions (21)

1. If you are riding over rain grooves or bridge gratings and your motorcycle begins to weave, you should:
  1. Brake suddenly.
  2. Steer in a weaving pattern.
  3. Relax, maintain a steady speed, and ride straight across the grooves. ✓
  4. Move to the leftmost portion of the lane.

Answer: C. Relax, maintain a steady speed, and ride straight across the grooves.

Relax, keep a steady speed, and ride straight across the grooves or grating. The manual says the wandering, uneasy feeling you get on rain grooves or bridge gratings is usually not dangerous by itself. What you should do is relax, hold a steady speed, and ride straight across. It also warns that crossing at an angle makes riders zigzag to stay inside the lane, and that zigzagging is much more hazardous than the wandering feeling the grooves give you. So the calm, straight-line approach keeps the bike predictable instead of adding extra steering movement.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 8
2. When it is raining, it is usually best to:
  1. Ride in the center of the lane.
  2. Pull off to the side of the road until the rain stops.
  3. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars. ✓
  4. Increase your speed.

Answer: C. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars.

When it is raining, the best choice is to ride in the tire tracks left by cars. The manual explains that the middle of a lane can be a bad place to be once rain starts, so you should put your wheels where other vehicles have already driven. Those tracks give you a better surface than the slick center. It adds that the left track is often the best spot, depending on traffic and road conditions, and reminds you to slow down and stay smooth on any wet surface. So following car tracks is the riding position the manual recommends, not stopping or speeding up.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 29
3. When it starts to rain, it is usually best to:
  1. Increase your speed.
  2. Exit the road.
  3. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars. ✓
  4. Ride in the center of the lane.

Answer: C. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars.

When it starts to rain, the best move is to ride in the tire tracks left by cars. The manual lists the center of a lane as a spot that can be hazardous when wet, and it says plainly that when rain begins you should ride in the tire tracks left by vehicles. It adds that the left tire track is often the best position, depending on traffic and road conditions. The same section tells you to slow down before slippery surfaces and to avoid sudden moves, so your job in rain is to pick the less slippery part of the lane and keep your inputs smooth.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 29
4. Riding at night is usually:
  1. Easier than riding during the day because you can more easily see the lights of other vehicles.
  2. More difficult than riding during the day because it is harder to see. ✓
  3. Not allowed on highways.
  4. Less distracting than riding during the day.

Answer: B. More difficult than riding during the day because it is harder to see.

Riding at night is more difficult than riding during the day because it is harder to see. The manual says plainly that at night it is harder for you to see and be seen, and that other drivers find it hard to pick your headlight or taillight out of the surrounding car lights. It also notes that distances are harder to judge in the dark because your eyes depend on shadows and light contrast. That is why it tells riders to slow down, keep a bigger following gap, and use the headlights of the car ahead to help read the road.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 7
5. When riding at night, you should travel:
  1. More slowly than you would during the day under similar conditions. ✓
  2. At the speed you would travel during the day under similar conditions.
  3. Faster than you would during the day under similar conditions.
  4. On the shoulder of the road so other vehicles can see you.

Answer: A. More slowly than you would during the day under similar conditions.

At night you should ride slower than you would during the day under similar conditions. The manual explains that at night it is harder for you to see and be seen, and picking your headlight or taillight out of surrounding car lights is not easy for other drivers. To make up for that, it tells riders to reduce speed and ride slower than they would during the day, especially on roads they don't know well, which increases the chance of avoiding a hazard. It also says to open up a three-second following distance or more because distances are harder to judge at night.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 7
6. When traveling at night, you can increase your ability to see by:
  1. Using the headlights of the car in front of you. ✓
  2. Using your brake light.
  3. Traveling at a faster speed.
  4. Decreasing your following distance.

Answer: A. Using the headlights of the car in front of you.

You can increase your ability to see at night by using the headlights of the car in front of you. The manual lists using the car ahead as a night-riding technique. It says that car's headlights can show you the road better than your own high beam, and its taillights moving up and down can warn you about bumps or rough pavement. That is why the headlights of the car in front are the way to improve what you can see. The same section also tells riders to slow down and open up following distance at night, so the other choices run against its advice.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 7
7. If you are riding when it starts to rain, it is a good idea to:
  1. Ride down the center of the lane.
  2. Increase your speed.
  3. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars. ✓
  4. Pull onto the shoulder of the road.

Answer: C. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars.

When rain starts while you are riding, move to the tire tracks left by cars and ride there. The manual explains that the center of a lane can be hazardous when it is wet, and it gives a direct instruction for the moment rain begins: ride in the tire tracks left by vehicles. It adds that the left tire track is often the best position, depending on traffic and road conditions. The same section tells you to slow down on slippery surfaces, avoid sudden moves, and use both brakes gently, so the tire-track position is meant to be combined with a lower speed and smooth inputs.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 29
8. Motorcycle headlights are:
  1. Usually more powerful than a car’s headlights.
  2. Usually just as powerful as a car’s headlights.
  3. Usually not as powerful as a car’s headlights. ✓
  4. Usually larger than a car’s headlights.

Answer: C. Usually not as powerful as a car’s headlights.

Official handbook: Official handbook
9. It is difficult for other motorists to see motorcycles at night. To make up for that, a motorcycle rider should:
  1. Reduce their speed when riding at night. ✓
  2. Sound their horn repeatedly when riding at night.
  3. Not ride at night.
  4. Stay directly in front of another vehicle to be seen in their headlights when riding at night.

Answer: A. Reduce their speed when riding at night.

Slow down at night — ride slower than you would in daylight, especially on roads you don't know well. The manual lists reducing speed first among the ways to make up for how hard night riding is. Because other drivers struggle to pick your headlight or taillight out of the surrounding car lights, and because you see less yourself, riding slower gives you more time to spot a hazard and avoid it. The manual ties this advice specifically to unfamiliar roads, where you have less idea what is coming. Sounding the horn or staying home is not part of the guidance.
Official handbook: MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual (18th ed.), p. 7
10. Which of the following will best protect your eyes from wind?
  1. Eyeglasses
  2. Sunglasses
  3. A windshield
  4. Goggles ✓

Answer: D. Goggles

Official handbook: Official handbook
Practice this topic
Advertisement

Source

Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source

Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook