Maine Safe Driving practice test

Practice following distance, weather, night driving and sharing the road: 75 questions based on the Maine Driver's License Manual, 25 of them on Maine's own rules.

Key Maine facts: Safe Driving

Sample Safe Driving questions

How must a Maine child younger than 2 ride?

  • In the lap belt in the back seat
  • In a forward-facing booster seat
  • In a rear-facing child restraint
  • In an adult's arms in the front seat
Show the answer

In a rear-facing child restraint

A convertible seat may face forward only after the child exceeds its rear-facing limit.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2081, sub-§2-A

Which rule does Maine law set for following another vehicle?

  • Stay at least 20 feet back in a town
  • Keep exactly 200 feet behind at all times
  • Keep one car length for each 10 mph
  • Do not follow more closely than is reasonable
Show the answer

Do not follow more closely than is reasonable

The law considers speed, traffic and the condition of the road.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2066, sub-§1

In Maine, a child under 8 who weighs under 80 pounds and is under 57 inches tall must ride in what?

  • A belt-positioning seat or other child restraint
  • A lap belt only, in the back seat
  • The front seat with the airbag turned on
  • The adult seat belt with no extra seat or pad
Show the answer

A belt-positioning seat or other child restraint

Older and taller children can use the adult seat belt.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2081, sub-§3, ¶A

Outside a business or residential district, how close may a truck driver follow another truck in Maine?

  • No closer than 50 feet
  • No restriction
  • No closer than 300 feet
  • No closer than 150 feet
Show the answer

No closer than 150 feet

A truck may still overtake and pass another truck.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2066, sub-§4

A dog rides in the open bed of a pickup. What does Maine law require?

  • Nothing, as long as the dog is well trained
  • The dog must be kept in a closed metal cage
  • The dog must wear a collar with a name tag
  • The dog must be secured so it cannot fall out
Show the answer

The dog must be secured so it cannot fall out

Farm dogs and hunting dogs have exceptions.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2087

What hand signal indicates a right turn in Maine?

  • The left arm extended straight out
  • The left arm extended downward
  • The left arm extended upward
  • The right arm extended downward
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The left arm extended upward

A left turn is shown with the left arm straight out, and a stop with the arm down.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2071, sub-§5

A driver wants to change lanes. What should the driver do besides checking the mirrors?

  • Brake quickly before moving over
  • Look over the shoulder at the blind spot
  • Rely on the mirrors alone to decide
  • Sound the horn once to warn others
Show the answer

Look over the shoulder at the blind spot

Blind spots are areas the mirrors do not cover.

Source: Maine Driver's License Manual (Rev 4/24), Section 7, Changing Lanes, PDF p. 63

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About these questions

We wrote these practice questions from the facts in the Maine Driver's License Manual (Maine Driver's License Manual, 'Rev 4/24' on every page (126 PDF pages; file 'Maine Driver License Manual_2.pdf', 7.4 MB), the English manual linked from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles page 'Driver License Manual and Maine Motorist Handbook and Study Guide'; read 2026-11-10. www.maine.gov returns HTTP 403 to non-browser clients, so the same published file was fetched from www1.maine.gov with the project's honest user agent; the citations use the www.maine.gov address linked from the agency page. Page numbers cited are PDF pages (printed numbers run Section-page, for example PDF p. 8 is printed 1-3). The agency page also lists language editions whose file names say 'rev 05_2025'; the English edition found is Rev 4/24, so the owner may want to ask the BMV whether a newer English edition exists. The knowledge-test format comes from the BMV page 'Drivers License Exam' (fetched 2026-11-10). Every legal rule used in questions was checked against the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, on legislature.maine.gov (pages dated 10/05/2026 by the Revisor) and the BMV license pages. Out-of-date or inconsistent handbook statements and how they were handled: (1) child restraints (PDF pp. 42-43: safety seat under 55 pounds; 55 to 80 pounds and under 8 in a restraint; rear seat for age 12 and under) differ from 29-A M.R.S. 2081: a child under 2 must be in a rear-facing restraint, a child 2 or older under 55 pounds in a harness restraint, a child under 8, under 80 pounds and under 57 inches in a belt-positioning seat, and a child under 12 in the rear seat if possible; questions follow the statute; (2) phones (PDF pp. 7, 25, 27 say phones and handheld devices are prohibited and not to talk on the phone) are simplified: 29-A M.R.S. 2121 bans handheld use for everyone but allows hands-free mode for drivers 18 or older who hold neither a learner's permit nor an intermediate license, with $50 and $250 fines, and 2119 bans texting ($250 minimum); questions follow the statutes; (3) the refusal suspension is described only as 'up to six years' (PDF p. 31), which is the warning text of 2521(3); the periods are 275 days, 18 months, 4 years and 6 years for the first to fourth refusal (2521(6)) and one year for a first refusal with probable cause of a death; questions use the statute; (4) PDF p. 9 counts the 270-day intermediate restrictions from the road test, while 29-A M.R.S. 1311(2) counts them from license issuance; questions use the statute; (5) following distance is 4 seconds on PDF p. 85 but the statute (2066) only says reasonable and prudent, so the 4 seconds is asked only as the manual's advice; (6) PDF p. 81 gives about 158 feet of braking distance at 50 mph while the chart on PDF p. 82 gives 133 feet, and flares are placed 100 feet behind on PDF p. 92 but 200 to 300 feet on PDF p. 99; no question asks these distances; (7) parking distances from hydrants, crosswalks and fire station driveways and the 85-decibel sound-system rule (PDF p. 22) are described as municipal or manual rules and were not found in the 29-A sections read, so they are asked only as what the manual says and the hydrant variable is left open; the $100 disability-space fine on PDF p. 70 is out of date: 29-A M.R.S. 521(9-A) sets $200 to $500 for parking in a disability space without a plate or placard or in an access aisle, and the question follows the statute (independent check 2026-11-10); (8) the points system and the three-point course credit (PDF pp. 13-14) match the Secretary of State rule 29-250 C.M.R. ch. 1 linked from the BMV License Suspensions & Revocations page (warning at half of 12 points, suspension possible at 12 points within a year, points erased after one year, one three-point course credit per twelve months; checked 2026-11-10); violation-free credits were not checked and are not asked; the license validity of six years (four if 65 or older, PDF p. 11) was not checked against statute and is not asked. Material for commercial licenses and the CDL addendum on the same agency page was not used. edition) and from official sources on road signs. Every answer links to its source, so you can check it and read more.

DMV Decoded is an independent guide, not a government agency. This practice test is not connected to the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Secretary of State), and your actual test will have different questions. Study the handbook, and check the agency's website for current rules.