Alaska Car / Permit practice
Alaska Car / Permit: Safe Driving Practices practice test
Following distance, scanning, blind spots, using your lights, and the habits that prevent crashes and keep you in control.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
14 questions · pass with 11 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
Study questions with answers
12 sample Safe Driving Practices questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.
Show all 12 questions with answers
1. How much tread must an Alaska driver's tires have, and how can it be checked with a penny?
Correct answer: 2/32 inch; if the top of Lincoln's head shows, the tire is worn out
At least 2/32 of an inch of tread is required. That is roughly the gap between a penny's rim and the top of Lincoln's head, so if his head shows when the coin sits in a groove the tire is finished.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Maintenance Practices to Follow
2. What is glare recovery time, as the Alaska manual explains it?
Correct answer: The stretch after passing headlights during which your eyes readjust and you see almost nothing
Oncoming headlights make the pupil shrink, and after the other vehicle has gone by the eye needs a stretch of time to readjust to dimmer light. Through that interval you are essentially driving blind.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Glare and Glare Recovery
3. Which lights does the Alaska manual recommend in rain, fog, snow or dust?
Correct answer: Low beams
Use the low beam in those conditions. It also advises turning your headlights on at dusk and in poor daytime visibility so other drivers can see you.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Safety Suggestions for the Use of Lighting Equipment
4. How often does the Alaska manual suggest a driver take a break to fight drowsiness on a long trip?
Correct answer: Every 100 miles
Drowsiness is the opening stage of falling asleep. Get out of the vehicle every 100 miles, keep the interior cool, and move your eyes around instead of staring.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Quit Driving When Drowsy
5. When does the Alaska manual say you should stretch the four-second gap to six seconds or more?
Correct answer: When towing a trailer or when the road is wet or slippery
Add time whenever you are pulling a trailer or the surface underneath you is wet or slick. The same count also keeps you from outrunning your headlights after dark.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — How to Avoid Rear End Collisions
6. What are the warning symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure in a vehicle, according to the Alaska manual?
Correct answer: Headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting
This colorless, odorless exhaust gas brings on headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and it can disable a driver before it kills. A tight exhaust system and plenty of fresh air keep it out.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Carbon Monoxide
7. Your vehicle begins to skid on an icy Alaska road. What does the manual tell you to do?
Correct answer: Steer the front wheels toward the direction the skid is taking you and avoid braking suddenly
Stay calm, steer the front wheels the way the skid is taking you, avoid sudden braking and resist the urge to oversteer. As control returns, ease the vehicle down with very gentle pressure on and off the brake.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Recovery from Skid
8. How does the Alaska manual describe the easiest way to judge a safe following gap?
Correct answer: Count four seconds from the moment the vehicle ahead passes a fixed point
Pick a fixed object, watch the rear of the vehicle ahead pass it, and count off four seconds. If you reach that object before the count is finished, you are too close.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — How to Avoid Rear End Collisions
9. What does the Alaska manual say a stopped or stopping driver can do to avoid being struck from behind?
Correct answer: Flash the brake lights before stopping and slow gradually over a long distance
Keep the brake lamps clean and working and flash them as you get ready to stop, know what is behind you, signal early for turns, stops and lane changes, and shed speed gradually over a long distance.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — How to Keep from Being Struck
10. Why does the Alaska manual call the first half hour of rain especially treacherous?
Correct answer: Oil, dirt and tire dust mix with the water into a slippery film
Dust and road film have not washed away yet, so oil, dirt and rubber particles mix with the water into a slick film on hard-surfaced roads.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Weather Conditions
11. When must headlights be turned on in Alaska?
Correct answer: From half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and by day when visibility drops to 1,000 feet or less
Lights are required from a half hour after the sun sets until a half hour before it rises, and in daylight whenever fog, rain, snow, smoke or dust cuts visibility to 1,000 feet or less.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Lighting Law
12. What sequence does the Alaska manual give for changing lanes?
Correct answer: Check mirrors and blind spots, signal, check mirrors and blind spots again, then move over gradually
Check the mirrors, look into the blind spots, signal what you intend to do, check mirrors and blind spots once more, then move over gradually and carefully.
Source: Alaska Driver Manual — Changing Lanes
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Every Alaska question is written from the official Alaska driver handbook and checked against its current edition. DMV Test Free is a free, independent study resource — not affiliated with any DMV or government agency. About DMV Test Free