Alaska MOTORCYCLE DMV Practice Test 12

You should always have your headlight on when riding, even during the day. This can make you twice as likely to be noticed by other drivers.

Gloves made of leather, or another durable material, should be worn when riding. They will provide you with an improved grip on the handgrips, as well as help protect your hands in the event of a crash.

If your front wheel locks while braking, you should release the front brake immediately and completely before re-applying it smoothly.

Roll on the throttle through a turn to stabilize your suspension. Maintain a steady speed or accelerate gradually through the turn.

If you must swerve to avoid a hazard, apply a small amount of pressure to the appropriate handle grip. To swerve to the left, press the left handle grip, then press the right to recover. To swerve to the right, press the right handle grip, then the left.

Gloves should be made of leather or another durable material to provide proper protection for the wearer.

Motorcycles often seem to attract dogs. If you are being chased by a dog, downshift and approach it slowly. Then, as you approach the dog, accelerate and leave it behind.

When parking a motorcycle next to a curb, you should create at a 90-degree angle with the curb by touching your rear wheel to the curb.

Reflective material on a vest or on the sides of your helmet can make you more visible to other drivers and should be used both day and night.

You should never take eye contact with another driver as a guarantee that they will properly yield the right-of-way to you.

It is a good idea to sound your horn before riding past a vehicle or pedestrian that may move into your lane. If you see a driver in an adjacent lane driving too closely to the vehicle ahead of them, you may assume that they want to pass and may cut in front of you to do so. If you see a person in the driver's seat of a parked car, or if you see a pedestrian or bicyclist in the street, it is a good idea to sound your horn as you pass.

Replace any helmet that has been worn during a crash.

When riding, you should be seated in a posture that allows you to use your arms to steer rather than to hold yourself up. You should not have to stretch to reach the handgrips and your arms should be slightly bent when holding them. You should keep your knees against the gas tank to maintain your balance.

A properly chosen lane position should provide a number of benefits, including an increased ability to see others and to be seen. It should help you avoid wind blasts, other drivers' blind spots, and surface hazards. Your lane position should discourage other drivers from trying to share your lane and provide you with an escape route, should a hazard arise.

Always simultaneously use both brakes to stop. The brakes are most effective when used at the same time.

Your motorcycle will sit lower than normal under the additional weight of a passenger. To accommodate, you should ride a bit more slowly than usual, particularly when riding through curves, through corners, or over bumps. The extra weight also means that your motorcycle will take longer than usual to speed up, slow down, or stop, so you should maintain a larger space cushion when carrying a passenger.

Hand signals are an important part of communication when riding in groups. This hand signal means "follow me."

Wearing reflective and brightly-colored clothing is always a good idea when riding a motorcycle. Crashes occur in broad daylight and at night, so it is best to wear highly visible clothing at any time of day.

For your protection, you should wear a long-sleeved jacket, ideally made of leather, when riding. In warm weather, a leather jacket can help protect you against dehydration. Many motorcycle jackets are designed to help keep you cool even when the weather is hot.

The faster you drink, the more alcohol will accumulate in your body. It is never safe to operate a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol in any amount.

As little as one alcoholic drink can significantly affect the skills that are needed for safe riding. The only way to remove the alcohol content of a drink from your body is to allow your body time to eliminate it.

After getting on your motorcycle, you should make sure the brakes, clutch, throttle, turn signals, lights, horn, and mirrors all work properly as a part of your pre-ride check.

Instead of mechanical turn signals, operators may use hand signals to indicate turns or stops. If an operator's left arm is extended straight out to the left, it means the operator plans to turn left or change lanes to the left.

While a staggered formation is usually best under normal riding conditions, a group of riders should switch to a single-file formation when taking curves, turning, or entering or exiting a highway.

The front brake is safe to use as long as it is used properly. The front brake of a motorcycle is more powerful than the rear brake, providing at least three-fourths of the total stopping power.