Maine Traffic Signals practice test

Practice lights, arrows and pedestrian signals: 31 questions based on the Maine Driver's License Manual, 12 of them on Maine's own rules.

Key Maine facts: Traffic Signals

Sample Traffic Signals questions

What does a steady yellow light mean?

  • Cross traffic must yield to you right now
  • Stop at once, even if in the intersection
  • The light is about to turn green, so speed up
  • The red light is about to appear; prepare to stop
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The red light is about to appear; prepare to stop

It warns that the green is ending.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2057, sub-§1, ¶B

A red X shows over a lane. What does it mean?

  • Use the lane for left turns only
  • Do not drive in that lane
  • Merge into the lane to the left
  • The lane may be used for any travel
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Do not drive in that lane

A green arrow means you may use the lane.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2057, sub-§3

A school bus has stopped ahead with red lights flashing. What must a driver do?

  • Pass at once if you see no children outside
  • Stop only if you are on the bus's own side
  • Pass slowly on the left if no child is near
  • Stop before the bus and wait until it moves
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Stop before the bus and wait until it moves

This applies whether you are meeting the bus or overtaking it.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2308, sub-§2

When may a Maine driver turn right on a red light?

  • After a full stop, if no sign bars it and you yield
  • Only on school days when children are near
  • Never, since red always means wait for green
  • Only after dark, when there is no traffic about
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After a full stop, if no sign bars it and you yield

The driver must still yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2057, sub-§1, ¶C

When may a driver on a divided road continue past a stopped school bus?

  • Never, whatever the road type may be
  • Only at night or in poor visibility
  • Always, on every kind of divided road
  • When a barrier separates the lanes
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When a barrier separates the lanes

A bus on a limited access highway where pedestrians are not allowed to cross is also exempt.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2308, sub-§3

At a railroad crossing with a flashing signal, how far from the nearest rail must a driver stop?

  • 75 to 100 feet
  • Directly on the tracks
  • 15 to 50 feet
  • 1 to 5 feet
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15 to 50 feet

Do not proceed until the signal stops and the gates are raised.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2076, sub-§2

Where must a driver stop at a stop sign with no stop line or crosswalk?

  • After entering the intersection a short way
  • One car length back from the nearest corner
  • At the point nearest the intersection with a view
  • Anywhere before the intersection that is safe
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At the point nearest the intersection with a view

With a crosswalk the stop is made before the crosswalk.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2057, sub-§8

What does a steady circular green light mean in Maine?

  • Stop first and then go when no one is near
  • Go, but yield to those still in the intersection
  • Go, since green means all other traffic stops
  • Go only straight ahead and never turn
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Go, but yield to those still in the intersection

A green light does not remove the duty to yield to vehicles and pedestrians still in the intersection.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2057, sub-§1, ¶A

A police officer directs traffic at an intersection with a working signal. What should drivers obey?

  • The officer's directions
  • Whichever is easier to follow
  • The signal light, always
  • Neither, if traffic is light
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The officer's directions

An officer's directions come first, even over a working signal or sign.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, Title 29-A, §2057 (introductory paragraph)

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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.