Bad Weather & Night Driving — Missouri

Missouri motorcycle permit practice test: 340 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. 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 testMissouri Motorcycle permit test
Topic questions23 (7% of 340 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 (23)

1. Compared to riding during the day, a motorcycle operator who is riding at night should do all of the following, except:
  1. Ride more slowly.
  2. Allow more space between their motorcycle and other vehicles.
  3. Use their high beam whenever possible.
  4. Tailgate other vehicles. ✓

Answer: D. Tailgate other vehicles.

Official handbook: Official handbook
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Which of the following will protect your eyes from the wind?
  1. Goggles ✓
  2. Windshield
  3. Sunglasses
  4. Eyeglasses

Answer: A. Goggles

Goggles are the choice that protects your eyes from the wind. The manual lists what eye protection must do and then tests each item against it. It says a windshield bolted to the motorcycle is not a substitute for a faceshield or goggles, and that most windshields will not keep wind out of your eyes. It also says eyeglasses and sunglasses won't stop your eyes from watering, and they can blow off when you turn your head or when it's windy. Goggles, by contrast, are described as protecting your eyes. That is why they are the right pick for wind protection.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. When it starts 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 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.
8. Of the following, which should you not do to improve your safety when riding at night?
  1. Increase your speed. ✓
  2. Reduce your speed.
  3. Use your high beam headlight whenever possible.
  4. Increase your following distance.

Answer: A. Increase your speed.

When riding at night, you should not increase your speed — slowing down is what the manual tells you to do. The manual's night-riding section starts from the fact that seeing and being seen are both harder after dark. Its advice is to ride slower than you would in daylight, especially on roads you don't know well, because that gives you a better chance of avoiding a hazard. Opening up a following distance of three seconds or more is listed alongside that. Speeding up works against all of this, so it is the one action on the list that doesn't belong.
9. When riding at night, you should do all of the following, except:
  1. Reduce your speed.
  2. Increase your following distance.
  3. Decrease your following distance. ✓
  4. Use your high beam light, if possible.

Answer: C. Decrease your following distance.

The one thing you should not do at night is decrease your following distance — you want more room, not less. The manual says following too closely is a common factor in motorcycle crashes, and that a rider normally needs at least a two-second gap behind a vehicle. At night it also tells you to slow down enough to stop within the distance your headlight shows you, and to use your high beam whenever you are not following or meeting a car. All of that points to keeping a bigger cushion after dark, so cutting your following distance goes against the manual's advice rather than being part of it.
10. 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.
Advertisement

Source

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

Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook