NSW DKT practice questions explained

The questions below were written for this page to work through NSW road rule concepts. They are not Driver Knowledge Test questions, and they are not drawn from any official question set. Each one is followed by the answer, the reasoning, and the name of the rule or principle it rests on, because the explanation is the part that transfers to a question phrased differently. They are grouped by topic rather than shuffled, so a weak area can be worked on directly.

How to use these questions

Read the question, decide on an answer and the reason for it, then open the explanation. Deciding on the reason before looking is the whole exercise: an answer recognised without a reason is not yet knowledge.

Every answer opens without JavaScript, so nothing here is hidden behind a script. If you would rather work from the official material, the published question set for the in-person DKT and the NSW practice test are the places to go, and the Road User Handbook is the authority for every rule named below.

Road signs and markings

1. You are approaching an intersection with a give way sign facing you, and no vehicle is anywhere in sight on the intersecting road. What must you do?

   • Come to a complete stop behind the line before proceeding
   • Slow down enough to be sure the way is clear, then proceed without stopping
   • Maintain your speed, since a give way sign only applies when traffic is present
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. A give way sign requires you to give way, which means slowing enough to be certain the way is clear and stopping if necessary. If the way is genuinely clear, a full stop is not required.

   Option A describes a stop sign, which requires a complete stop whether or not traffic is present. That is the distinction the question is testing, and it is one of the most heavily assessed pairs in the whole subject. Option C is wrong because giving way includes an obligation to approach at a speed that lets you stop, and you cannot be sure the way is clear while maintaining speed.

   Underlying rule: the difference between a stop sign and a give way sign. Road User Handbook, regulatory signs and giving way.

2. A sign warns that the bridge ahead is narrow and carries only one lane of traffic. What is the appropriate response?

   • Accelerate to reach the bridge before any oncoming vehicle
   • Slow down and be prepared to give way to vehicles coming the other way
   • Sound the horn continuously while crossing
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. A warning sign tells you the road is about to change in a way that affects your decisions. A narrow bridge will not hold two vehicles side by side, so the response is to reduce speed and be ready to give way.

   Option A is the reasoning that causes head-on collisions at exactly this kind of feature, and reaching a hazard sooner does not resolve it. Option C misunderstands what a horn is for: it warns of your presence where that is genuinely necessary, and it does not create priority.

   Underlying rule: warning signs advise of a hazard and require a driver to prepare, not merely to notice. Road User Handbook, warning signs.

3. The centre of the road is marked with a continuous line on your side and a broken line on the far side. What does this allow?

   • Neither direction may cross the lines
   • You may cross when safe; traffic in the other direction may not
   • Traffic in the other direction may cross when safe; you may not
   Show the answer and reasoning

   C. With a continuous and a broken line together, crossing is permitted from the broken side only. The continuous line is on your side, so the restriction applies to you and the permission applies to the traffic facing the broken line.

   The practical logic is worth holding onto, because it makes the rule memorable: the lines are marked that way where sight distance is adequate in one direction and not in the other. The continuous line is on the side that cannot see far enough.

   Underlying rule: line markings carry legal force, and combined continuous and broken lines permit crossing from the broken side only. Road User Handbook, road markings.

Intersections, roundabouts and giving way

1. You are turning right from a road into a side street. A pedestrian is crossing the side street you are turning into. What must you do?

   • Give way to the pedestrian
   • Proceed, because the pedestrian is not on a marked crossing
   • Sound the horn to indicate that you are turning
   Show the answer and reasoning

   A. A driver turning gives way to pedestrians crossing the road being entered. This applies whether or not the crossing is marked.

   Option B is the misconception the question exists to address: pedestrian priority at a turn does not depend on a marked crossing being present. Option C confuses warning with priority — a horn does not transfer a give-way obligation to somebody else.

   Underlying rule: giving way when turning into a road, including to pedestrians already crossing it. Road User Handbook, giving way and pedestrians.

2. You are entering a roundabout and intend to take the first exit to your left. What should you do on approach?

   • Signal left, stay in the left lane, and give way to vehicles already in the roundabout
   • Signal right on approach, then left after entering
   • Give no signal, since the roundabout indicates your direction for you
   Show the answer and reasoning

   A. For a left turn at a roundabout, signal left on approach, approach in the left lane, and give way to vehicles already in the roundabout.

   The general principle covers every roundabout movement: signal the direction you are leaving in, choose the lane that matches the exit, and give way to what is already circulating. Option B describes a right turn. Option C is wrong because signalling tells other drivers what you intend, which the roundabout itself cannot do.

   Underlying rule: roundabout entry, lane choice and signalling, plus the obligation to give way to vehicles already in the roundabout. Road User Handbook, roundabouts.

3. You approach an intersection where the traffic signals have stopped working entirely. What applies?

   • The intersection is closed and must not be entered
   • The vehicle on the right always has priority regardless of the road layout
   • The rules that would apply if there were no signals apply, so proceed with care and give way accordingly
   Show the answer and reasoning

   C. Signals that are not operating do not remove the intersection or suspend the road rules. Priority falls back on the signs and general give-way rules that apply there, and every driver approaches with additional care because others may be uncertain.

   Option A invents a rule that does not exist. Option B takes a rule that applies in some uncontrolled situations and applies it universally, which is the error to avoid: identify what actually controls the intersection before deciding who goes first.

   Underlying rule: identify the control at an intersection first, then apply the priority rule for that control. Road User Handbook, intersections and traffic signals.

Speed and following distance

1. You are driving on a road with a posted speed limit, in heavy rain that is making it hard to see. What speed is appropriate?

   • The posted limit, since that is what the law permits
   • A speed low enough to stop within the distance you can clearly see
   • Whatever speed the vehicle in front of you has chosen
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. A speed limit is a maximum, not an instruction. The appropriate speed is the one that lets you stop within the distance you can see to be clear, which in heavy rain is well below the posted figure.

   Option A treats a legal ceiling as a target, and driving at the limit in conditions that do not support it can be an offence in its own right as well as being unsafe. Option C outsources your judgement to a driver whose vehicle, visibility and reaction time are not yours.

   Underlying rule: a speed limit is a maximum, and speed must suit the conditions. Road User Handbook, speed limits and driving to the conditions.

2. You pass a school zone sign showing a reduced speed limit with times displayed beneath it. When does the reduced limit apply?

   • At all times, every day of the year
   • During the times shown on the sign
   • Only when children can actually be seen nearby
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. The times displayed are part of the rule. The reduced limit applies during those times.

   Both wrong options are common in practice rather than merely in tests. Option A over-applies the rule, and option C invents a condition that is not in it — the limit does not depend on whether a driver has spotted a child. Separately, and as a matter of judgement rather than law, the area around a school is one to treat with care whatever the clock says.

   Underlying rule: school zone limits operate during the times shown on the sign. Road User Handbook, school zones.

3. The vehicle ahead of you is travelling faster than you expected on a dry road. What happens to the gap you should leave?

   • It should be larger, because higher speed means a greater distance is covered before you react and stop
   • It should be smaller, because a faster vehicle will move away from you
   • It makes no difference, as following distance is a fixed number of car lengths
   Show the answer and reasoning

   A. Following distance is a function of speed. The faster you travel, the further you go during the time it takes to perceive a problem and to brake, so the gap must grow with speed.

   This is why following distance is sensibly thought about as a time gap rather than a number of car lengths: a time-based gap scales with speed automatically, which is exactly the behaviour you want. Option C is the error that makes option B feel plausible. The handbook sets out the gap to aim for and how to judge it.

   Underlying rule: following distance scales with speed; reaction distance plus braking distance both grow. Road User Handbook, following distance and defensive driving.

Parking and stopping

1. You want to stop briefly beside a vehicle that is already parked parallel to the kerb, in a street where kerbside parking is marked. Is double-parking beside it acceptable?

   • Yes, if you are only stopping briefly
   • Yes, if you are delivering something
   • No
   Show the answer and reasoning

   C. Double-parking alongside a parked vehicle is not permitted, and neither a short duration nor a delivery creates an exception.

   The reason is about the road rather than the driver: a double-parked vehicle narrows the available carriageway, obscures the view of anybody trying to emerge, and forces other traffic to move around it into a space it cannot properly see. The wrong options are the two justifications people actually use.

   Underlying rule: prohibition on double-parking. Road User Handbook, stopping and parking.

2. A parking sign displays a restriction with an arrow pointing in one direction only. What does the arrow tell you?

   • Which direction you must face when parking
   • Which stretch of kerb, relative to the sign, the restriction governs
   • Which direction to leave in when you depart the space
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. Arrows on a parking sign define the length of kerb the restriction applies to, measured from the sign in the direction the arrow points.

   Reading a parking sign as a system of four elements answers most questions about it: the restriction itself, any time limit, the times it operates, and the arrows that set its extent. Missing the arrows is how drivers end up complying with a sign that governs a different piece of kerb from the one they parked on.

   Underlying rule: parking control signs and the function of their arrows. Road User Handbook, parking signs.

3. You are about to open your door to get out, on the side of the vehicle facing the traffic lane. What does the rule require?

   • Nothing specific, as following traffic must give way to an opening door
   • You must not open the door if doing so is likely to endanger or obstruct other road users
   • You may open it freely provided your vehicle is legally parked
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. A driver must not cause a hazard or an obstruction by opening a door, and the duty sits with the person opening it.

   This rule is worth knowing beyond the test, because the road user most often hurt by it is a cyclist passing a line of parked cars. Options A and C both assume the responsibility lies elsewhere — with following traffic, or with the legality of the parking — and it does not.

   Underlying rule: the duty not to endanger or obstruct when opening a vehicle door. Road User Handbook, stopping, parking and leaving a vehicle.

Pedestrians, distraction and impairment

1. You are driving past a line of parked cars on a suburban street. What should you be anticipating?

   • Nothing in particular, provided you stay within the limit
   • That a pedestrian may step out from between the vehicles where you cannot see them
   • That parked vehicles reduce risk by narrowing the road
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. Parked vehicles hide pedestrians, and children in particular, until the moment they emerge. The response is to reduce speed and to move away from the line of vehicles where the road allows.

   This is a defensive driving question rather than a rule question, and the test includes both. The reasoning pattern generalises: identify what you cannot see, assume something could come from it, and adjust speed and position so you still have somewhere to go.

   Underlying concept: anticipating concealed hazards and adjusting speed and road position. Road User Handbook, defensive driving and pedestrians.

2. You hold a NSW learner licence. Under what circumstances may you use a mobile phone while driving?

   • Hands-free only
   • For navigation only, if the phone is in a cradle
   • Not at all while driving; check the current rules for the precise scope
   Show the answer and reasoning

   C. The restrictions on learner and provisional drivers are tighter than those on full licence holders, and the exemptions a full licence holder relies on — including hands-free use and cradle-mounted navigation — do not carry across.

   The scope of what counts as "use" is broader than most people assume and it is a rule that has been amended more than once, which is why the answer here points to the authority rather than asserting the detail. The current position is set out on the NSW Government mobiles, screens and GPS page.

   Underlying rule: mobile phone and screen restrictions, which differ by licence stage. NSW Government, mobiles, screens and GPS.

3. You begin to feel sleepy on a long drive. What is the effective response?

   • Open a window and turn the music up
   • Stop somewhere safe and rest; nothing else addresses fatigue
   • Drive faster to reach your destination sooner
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. Fatigue is an impairment, and the only thing that reverses it is rest. Everything else changes how awake a driver feels without changing how impaired they are.

   That gap between feeling and being is the point, and it is the same gap the alcohol questions probe. Option C compounds the problem by adding speed to reduced reaction time and shortening the rest a driver would otherwise take.

   Underlying concept: fatigue as impairment, and rest as the only effective countermeasure. Road User Handbook, fatigue and defensive driving.

4. You have had several drinks and feel completely unaffected. What follows?

   • Feeling unaffected is reliable evidence that you are safe to drive
   • Your driving may be impaired regardless of how you feel, and your blood alcohol concentration may exceed the limit that applies to your licence
   • Food and coffee will return you to an unimpaired state
   Show the answer and reasoning

   B. Alcohol is a depressant and it degrades judgement, including the judgement a driver uses to assess their own state. Feeling fine is not evidence of being fine.

   Limits differ by licence type, and learner and provisional drivers are held to a stricter standard than full licence holders. The figure that applies to a particular licence is one to confirm from the current official source rather than to recall. Option C describes a belief that is common and wrong: time is what reduces blood alcohol concentration.

   Underlying concept: alcohol impairs judgement before it feels impairing, and limits differ by licence stage. Road User Handbook, alcohol and drugs.

What to do with a question you got wrong

Name the rule, then name the reason the chosen option fails. Both halves matter: the first tells you what to revise, and the second is usually where the actual misunderstanding sits. A candidate who can articulate why an attractive wrong answer is wrong has learned something that survives rephrasing.

Then go back to the Road User Handbook section for that topic rather than to another question. The study strategy page sets out how to sequence that, and the road rules page groups the material into the blocks worth working through one at a time.

Sources

1. NSW Government, Road User Handbook
2. NSW Government, Driver knowledge test questions — car (PDF)
3. Service NSW, Road User Handbook and DKT practice tests
4. NSW Government, Mobiles, screens and GPS