Bad Weather & Night Driving — Maryland
Maryland motorcycle permit practice test: 341 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: 20 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 | Maryland Motorcycle permit test |
| Topic questions | 20 (6% of 341 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
Not yet verified
Advertisement
Questions (20)
1. When it is raining, it is usually best to:
- Ride in the center of the lane.
- Pull off to the side of the road until the rain stops.
- Ride in the tire tracks left by cars. ✓
- 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.
2. 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.
3. When it starts raining, it is usually best to:
- Ride in the center of the lane.
- Pull off to the side of the road until the rain stops.
- Ride in the tire tracks left by cars. ✓
- Increase your speed.
Answer: C. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars.
When it starts raining, it is usually best to ride in the tire tracks left by cars. The manual explains that the center of a lane can be hazardous when wet, so when rain begins you should ride in the tire tracks left by vehicles, and it notes the left tire track is often the best spot depending on traffic and road conditions. Those tracks are where car tires have pushed water aside, so the surface is less slippery than the lane center. The manual also says to slow down on wet surfaces and to ride on the least slippery part of the lane.
4. When being passed, all of the following are potential hazards, except:
- Extended mirrors.
- Objects being thrown from other vehicles.
- Blasts of wind.
- Headlights. ✓
Answer: D. Headlights.
5. Compared to riding during the day, a motorcycle operator who is riding at night should do all of the following, except:
- Ride more slowly.
- Allow more space between their motorcycle and other vehicles.
- Use their high beam whenever possible.
- Tailgate other vehicles. ✓
Answer: D. Tailgate other vehicles.
6. 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.
7. When riding at night:
- Distances are easier to judge than they are during the day.
- Using a high beam headlight always makes it difficult to see.
- Use only one lane position.
- Reduce your speed. ✓
Answer: D. Reduce your speed.
When riding at night, you should reduce your speed. The manual's night-riding section says it is harder to see and be seen after dark, and it lists slowing down as a way to compensate. It tells you to ride slower than you would in daytime, especially on roads you do not know well, so you have a better chance to avoid a hazard. That matches the choice to reduce your speed. Other night-riding advice in the same passage, such as increasing following distance, also supports riding more cautiously after dark.
8. 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.
9. Riding at night is usually:
- Easier than riding during the day because you can more easily see the lights of other vehicles.
- More difficult than riding during the day because it is harder to see. ✓
- Not allowed on highways.
- 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.
10. If your motorcycle begins to weave while you are riding over rain grooves or bridge gratings, you should:
- Relax, maintain a steady speed, and ride straight across the surface. ✓
- Tighten your hold on the handle grips and increase your speed to get past the hazard.
- Travel in a zigzag motion.
- Ride on the shoulder instead of on the grooves.
Answer: A. Relax, maintain a steady speed, and ride straight across the surface.
Relax, keep a steady speed, and ride straight across the rain grooves or bridge grating. The manual says rain grooves and bridge gratings can make a motorcycle weave, and the wandering feeling is usually not hazardous. It tells riders to relax, maintain a steady speed, and ride straight across. It also warns that crossing at an angle forces riders to zigzag, and that zigzagging is more hazardous than the wandering feeling. So the right response is to stay calm and cross without speeding up or steering back and forth.
Advertisement
Source
Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook