New York Car / Permit practice
New York Car / Permit: Sharing the Road practice test
Driving safely around motorcycles, bicycles, large trucks, pedestrians, and school buses — and knowing who has the right of way.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
12 questions · pass with 10 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
Study questions with answers
12 sample Sharing the Road 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. On a street with no bicycle lane, where does the law tell a bicyclist to ride?
Correct answer: Near the right curb, the road edge, or the right shoulder
Riders must keep near the right-hand curb, the road edge or the right shoulder so they do not hold up other traffic. They may move left to set up a left turn or to get around a hazard, and they always travel with the flow of traffic, never against it.
2. How should you pass a bicyclist who is riding in your lane on a city street?
Correct answer: Slow down and pass leaving a safe distance, waiting if necessary
Bicyclists have the right to use the road and may need the full lane to avoid hazards like potholes or opening car doors. Slow down, wait for a safe gap, and pass leaving plenty of room.
3. When driving near a large truck, why should you avoid staying alongside it or close behind it?
Correct answer: Large trucks have big blind spots and need much more room to stop
Trucks have large blind spots (No-Zones) on all sides where the driver cannot see you, and they need a much longer distance to stop. Pass promptly and avoid lingering beside or right behind them.
4. How should you pass a bicyclist riding on the road?
Correct answer: Slow down and pass only when you can leave a safe distance
Bicyclists have the right to use the road. Slow down and wait until you can pass leaving plenty of space, because a rider can wobble or swerve to avoid a hazard.
5. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and people on scooters are sometimes called 'vulnerable road users.' Why do they need extra caution from drivers?
Correct answer: They have little protection in a crash and can be seriously hurt
Vulnerable road users have little or no protection around them, so even a low-speed crash can badly injure them. Slow down, look carefully near crosswalks and bike lanes, and give them plenty of room.
6. You are behind a vehicle displaying a reflective orange triangle on its rear. What does this emblem tell you?
Correct answer: It is a slow-moving vehicle, such as a farm vehicle or construction equipment
The reflective orange triangle is the slow-moving vehicle symbol. It must be shown on the back of animal-drawn vehicles, most farm vehicles and construction equipment, and the Postal Service requires it on rural mail delivery vehicles. Use caution as you approach, and pass only when it is safe.
7. How should you treat a motorcycle traveling in the lane ahead of you?
Correct answer: Give it the full width of the lane and do not tailgate it
A motorcycle is entitled to the same full lane width as any other vehicle, so never move into its lane space, even if it rides to one side. Don't tailgate: under the right conditions a motorcycle can stop in a shorter distance than a car, and it can be hard to tell when it is slowing.
8. What does a green-painted bike lane or a marked bike box at an intersection mean for a driver?
Correct answer: It is space dedicated to cyclists that motor vehicles may not occupy
Green paint, bike boxes and two-way cycle tracks mark space built for people on bicycles. Drivers are barred from operating in them and should learn how riders move through them so a cyclist's path is never a surprise.
9. You are coming up behind a horse and rider on a country road. Which action is illegal?
Correct answer: Blowing your horn at the horse
Sounding your horn near a horse being ridden or led along the road is against the law in New York, because the noise can panic the animal. Riders have the same protection as other road users, so cut your speed and leave plenty of room as you go by.
10. How many motorcycles may legally travel side by side within a single lane in New York?
Correct answer: Two
A pair of riders may share one lane abreast. A motorcyclist may not, however, share a lane with a car, a truck or anything else that is not a motorcycle, and drivers should never crowd into the space a rider is using.
11. A large truck ahead of you signals a right turn and swings wide to the left first. What should you do?
Correct answer: Wait behind the truck and do not try to squeeze past on the right
Trucks often swing wide, sometimes to the left, to make a tight right turn. If you pull up on their right, you can be trapped and crushed against the curb. Stay behind the truck until it completes the turn.
12. Why should you leave extra room when you stop behind a bus or truck facing up a hill?
Correct answer: Big vehicles can roll back slightly as they start moving again
A heavy vehicle often drifts backward a little as its driver pulls away on a grade. A generous gap also leaves you space to swing out and go around if the big vehicle cannot get moving.
More Car / Permit topics
Practice Sharing the Road in another state
Every New York question is written from the official New York 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