Bad Weather & Night Driving — Colorado
Colorado motorcycle permit practice test: 345 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: 23 questions.
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 / Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Topic | Bad Weather & Night Driving |
| License test | Colorado Motorcycle permit test |
| Topic questions | 23 (7% of 345 total) |
| Review status | This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines. |
Official handbook
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Questions (23)
1. Which of the following is not an example of a slippery surface?
- A dirt or gravel road
- A strip of oil in the center of a lane
- Mud on pavement
- Dry pavement ✓
Answer: D. Dry pavement
Dry pavement is the choice that is not an example of a slippery surface. The manual says a motorcycle handles better on surfaces that allow good traction, then lists poor-traction surfaces such as wet pavement and gravel roads where sand and gravel collect. Dry pavement is the surface that allows good traction, so it does not belong with the slippery-surface examples. The other choices describe conditions that reduce traction or are tied to the manual's warning about surface oil.
2. To increase your visibility, you should:
- Turn off your headlight during the day.
- Wear dark clothes.
- Keep your headlight on at all times. ✓
- Ride in the right portion of the lane.
Answer: C. Keep your headlight on at all times.
Keep your headlight on at all times, because a lit headlight helps other drivers notice your motorcycle. The manual says a headlight that stays on is a good way to make your motorcycle easier for other drivers to see. It also explains that bright, reflective clothing and helmets help, and that at intersections you should pick a lane position that gives others a clear view of you. Leaving the headlight on fits that same visibility goal, so the handbook supports keeping it on at all times.
3. During the day, your headlight should:
- Not be used.
- Be used on its high beam setting. ✓
- Be used on its low beam setting.
- Alternate between high beam and low beam settings.
Answer: B. Be used on its high beam setting.
During the day, ride with your headlight on the high beam setting. The manual treats daylight riding as a visibility problem, noting that a motorcycle running with its light on during the day is twice as likely to be noticed. It also tells you to get all the light you can and to keep the high beam on whenever you are not following or meeting a car. Since nothing is in front of you in that situation, the setting that gives the most light and the most attention is the high beam. The manual reserves low beam for night riding and fog.
4. Which of the following is not an example of a slippery surface?
- A gravel road
- A patch of leaves
- An ice patch
- Dry concrete ✓
Answer: D. Dry concrete
5. When riding in fog, you should:
- Use your high beam headlight.
- Use your low beam headlight. ✓
- Use no lights.
- Alternate between the low and high beams.
Answer: B. Use your low beam headlight.
In fog, you should ride with your low beam headlight on. The manual's lighting guidance says to use low beam at night and in fog, and it notes that a motorcycle with its light on during the day is twice as likely to be noticed. So the low beam is the setting the manual names for foggy conditions, which is what the answer key calls for.
6. What should a motorcyclist do to prevent possible injury when riding on a slippery surface?
- Increase their speed.
- Reduce their speed. ✓
- Make sudden moves.
- Ride on the shoulder.
Answer: B. Reduce their speed.
To prevent possible injury on a slippery surface, the motorcyclist should reduce their speed. The handbook says to slow down before reaching a slippery surface to lessen the chance of skidding. It also notes that a motorcycle needs more distance to stop and that slowing down is especially important before entering wet curves. The same passage warns that sudden changes in speed or direction can cause a skid, so the rider should stay smooth. Reducing speed fits the manual's direct guidance for slippery surfaces.
7. Which of the following surfaces does not provide poor traction?
- Wet pavement
- Dry pavement ✓
- Lane markings
- Snow
Answer: B. Dry pavement
Dry pavement is the surface that does not provide poor traction. The manual says a motorcycle handles better on surfaces that allow good traction. It then names surfaces with poor traction: wet pavement, especially just after rain starts and before oil washes to the side, plus gravel roads and places where sand and gravel collect. Dry pavement is not among those poor-traction surfaces. That makes it the choice that does not provide poor traction, since the passage treats wet and loose-material surfaces as the problem and dry pavement as the contrast.
8. If the road is wet, you should avoid:
- The left portion of a lane.
- The center portion of the lane. ✓
- The right portion of the lane.
- All areas of the lane.
Answer: B. The center portion of the lane.
When the road is wet, you should avoid the center portion of the lane. The manual says the center of a lane can be hazardous when wet. It also explains that the center third is where debris and oil drippings collect, and that the typical center strip gives adequate traction only when the road is not wet. When rain starts, the manual says to ride in the tire tracks left by vehicles, often the left tire track, depending on traffic and road conditions. That guidance points you away from the center portion in wet conditions.
9. When riding at night, you should:
- Be flexible about your lane position and adjust to changing conditions. ✓
- Travel at a faster speed than usual to get to your destination more quickly.
- Always use your low beam headlight to see better.
- Decrease your following distance so you can be as close as possible to the vehicle ahead.
Answer: A. Be flexible about your lane position and adjust to changing conditions.
At night you should be flexible about your lane position, changing to the part of the lane that helps you see, be seen, and keep a space cushion. The manual's night riding guidance says to change to whichever portion of the lane is best for seeing, being seen, and keeping an adequate space cushion. That matches being flexible about lane position and adjusting to conditions. The same section also tells you to slow down so your stopping distance stays within the distance your light shows you, and to use your high beam whenever you are not following or meeting a car. So the flexible lane position idea is the one drawn straight from the night riding rules.
10. If you are riding over rain grooves or bridge gratings and your motorcycle begins to weave, you should:
- Brake suddenly.
- Steer in a weaving pattern.
- Relax, maintain a steady speed, and ride straight across the grooves. ✓
- 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.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook