General Driving Knowledge — Illinois
Illinois permit practice test: 368 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). Official test format: 35 Q (15 signs + 20), 80%. General Driving Knowledge: 25 questions.
Questions that do not fit a single topic: lane use, turning, signalling and other rules of the road.
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 | General Driving Knowledge |
| License test | Illinois Car learner's permit test |
| Topic questions | 25 (7% of 368 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
ilsos.gov ✓ Verified from official source
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Questions (25)
1. If you encounter an aggressive driver, you should:
- Challenge them.
- Get out of their way. ✓
- Speed up.
Answer: B. Get out of their way.
When you meet an aggressive driver, get out of their way and let them go. The Illinois handbook lists what to do when you meet an angry or aggressive motorist: don't retaliate or engage the other driver, don't make eye contact, keep your doors locked and windows up, and leave enough room ahead of you to pull out from behind the vehicle in front. That last point is the practical side of getting out of the way — you keep an escape route open so you can move off and let the aggressive driver pass instead of staying in the conflict.
2. Slowing down just to look at collisions or anything else out-of-the-ordinary:
- Causes traffic congestion. ✓
- Prevents rear-end collisions.
- Improves traffic flow by preventing collisions.
Answer: A. Causes traffic congestion.
3. When being passed by another vehicle:
- Brake hard.
- Maintain a constant speed. ✓
- Speed up.
Answer: B. Maintain a constant speed.
When another vehicle is passing you, keep a steady speed and hold your position in the lane. The handbook's passing guidance says that when a motorcycle passes you, you should keep your lane position and your speed, letting the rider finish the pass and settle into the lane. Keeping a steady speed gives the passing driver a predictable picture of where you will be while they are alongside you. The same idea of not changing your speed applies here: the handbook tells you to hold your speed rather than change it while someone is going around you.
4. It is legal for anyone to talk on the phone if using a hands-free device while driving, unless they are under age 19.
- True ✓
- False
Answer: A. True
5. Stopping distances and the severity of collisions:
- Decrease as a vehicle's speed increases.
- Are not affected by a vehicle's speed.
- Increase as a vehicle's speed increases. ✓
Answer: C. Increase as a vehicle's speed increases.
6. Drivers may open car doors on the side on which traffic is moving only when it can be done safely and without interfering with traffic.
- True ✓
- False
Answer: A. True
True. A driver may open a car door on the side where traffic is moving only when it can be done safely and without interfering with traffic. The Illinois handbook says you or a passenger may not open a door on the side where traffic is moving unless it is safe and does not interfere with vehicle or bicycle traffic. It also says the door should stay open only long enough to load or unload passengers. The statement in the question uses that same condition: opening the door is allowed only when it is safe and does not interfere with traffic. That matches the handbook rule, so the statement is true.
7. After being pulled over by law enforcement, a driver should immediately exit the vehicle and quickly approach the officer’s squad car.
- True
- False ✓
Answer: B. False
False. After being pulled over, a driver should stay in the vehicle with both hands clearly in sight on the steering wheel and not get out unless the officer asks. The handbook's section on what to do when stopped by law enforcement says to slow down, signal, and pull over safely, then remain in the vehicle with your hands visible on the steering wheel. It specifically warns against exiting unless asked, because getting out can look aggressive and be taken as a threat to the officer's safety. Approaching the squad car is the opposite of that instruction, so the statement is false.
8. It is permissible for anyone to wear a dual ear headset while driving.
- True
- False ✓
Answer: B. False
False — Illinois law does not allow anyone to drive while wearing a dual ear headset. The handbook passage on distracted driving says Illinois law prohibits the use of headsets while driving, and it defines a headset as any device other than a hearing aid that lets a person hear or receive electronic communications. The same passage carves out only a narrow exception: a single-sided headset or earpiece used with a wireless or cellphone device is allowed. Because a dual ear headset covers both ears, it falls under the general ban rather than the single-sided exception, so the statement is false for any driver.
9. To help others see you when daylight begins to fade, you should use your:
- Parking lights.
- Low beam headlights. ✓
- Emergency flashers.
Answer: B. Low beam headlights.
10. A teen driver is allowed only two passengers under age 20 in the vehicle during the first 12 months of licensing.
- True
- False ✓
Answer: B. False
False — during the first 12 months of licensing, an Illinois teen driver is limited to one passenger under age 20, not two. The handbook's Initial Licensing Phase rules say that for the first 12 months, or until the driver turns 18, whichever comes first, the passenger limit is one person under age 20. The only exception listed is when the passenger is a sibling, stepsibling, child, or stepchild of the driver. Because the statement sets the limit at two passengers under 20 for those first 12 months, it does not match the rule described in the chapter, so it is false.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook