Bad Weather & Night Driving — Texas
Texas motorcycle permit practice test: 287 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: 16 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 | Texas Motorcycle permit test |
| Topic questions | 16 (6% of 287 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 (16)
1. 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.
2. When riding on a slippery surface, you should not:
- Reduce your speed.
- Avoid sudden moves.
- Use both brakes.
- Brake quickly. ✓
Answer: D. Brake quickly.
When riding on a slippery surface, you should not brake quickly; use smooth, gentle brake pressure instead. The manual's slippery-surface advice is to slow down before you reach the slick spot, avoid any sudden change in speed or direction, and use both brakes with gentle pressure. It says to squeeze the brake lever gradually rather than grab it, and it warns that too much brake can cause a skid. A quick, hard stop asks for exactly the kind of abrupt brake force the manual tells you to avoid on a slippery surface.
3. A skidding rear tire:
- Is not serious.
- Eliminates your ability to change direction. ✓
- Will usually correct itself.
- Is only a concern if the front tire is also skidding.
Answer: B. Eliminates your ability to change direction.
A skidding rear tire eliminates your ability to change direction. The manual explains that too much rear brake pressure locks the rear wheel, and as soon as that wheel locks, you lose the ability to steer the bike. You only get control back by releasing the brake. It also warns that if the rear wheel is out of line with the front when you let go, the bike can snap upright and throw you off, so a rear-wheel skid is a serious situation that has to be handled, not ignored.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. It is difficult for other motorists to see motorcycles at night. To make up for that, a motorcycle rider should:
- Reduce their speed when riding at night. ✓
- Sound their horn repeatedly when riding at night.
- Not ride at night.
- 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. Slippery surfaces can make it difficult to control a motorcycle. Which of the following would be considered a slippery surface?
- Wet pavement ✓
- A driveway
- Dry pavement
- A parking lot
Answer: A. Wet pavement
Wet pavement is the slippery surface among these choices. The manual lists wet pavement as a surface that gives poor traction, especially just after rain begins and before oil washes away. It says motorcycles handle better on surfaces with good traction, so a wet road is the kind of slippery surface where control can be harder. The other choices are not named as slippery surfaces in the passage. That direct listing supports choosing wet pavement.
8. When riding on a slippery surface, you should:
- Increase your speed.
- Make sudden moves.
- Move to the edge of the road.
- Ride in the tire tracks left by cars. ✓
Answer: D. Ride in the tire tracks left by cars.
Ride in the tire tracks left by cars, since the center of a wet lane can be hazardous and the tire tracks give you a better surface. The manual says the center of a lane can be dangerous when it is wet, so once rain starts you should ride where vehicles have already cleared a path — in their tire tracks. It adds that the left tire track is often the best spot, depending on traffic and road conditions. The same section tells you to slow down before a slippery surface and to stay smooth, so the tire-track position fits with a lower, steadier approach rather than a faster one.
9. 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.
10. When riding at night, you should do all of the following, except:
- Use your high beam.
- Use the headlights of vehicles ahead to help you see.
- Be visible.
- Ride only in the left portion of your lane. ✓
Answer: D. Ride only in the left portion of your lane.
The exception is riding only in the left portion of your lane — at night you should change lane position as conditions warrant, not lock yourself into one spot. The manual tells night riders to be flexible about lane position and to move to whichever portion of the lane helps them see, be seen, and keep a space cushion. It also says no part of the lane needs to be avoided, including the center, and that you should vary your position as traffic changes. Using your high beam when you are not following or meeting a car, steering by the taillights of vehicles ahead, and wearing reflective material are all recommended for night riding. Staying put in the left portion is the one item that goes against the manual's advice.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook