Mississippi Motorcycle practice
Mississippi Motorcycle: Hazards & Road Surfaces practice test
Gravel, wet pavement, grooved roads, and railroad tracks — reading and handling surfaces that matter far more on two wheels.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
14 questions · pass with 11 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
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12 sample Hazards & Road Surfaces questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.
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1. What should your body be doing as the tires meet a bump you have to ride over?
Correct answer: Rise slightly off the seat with your weight on the footrests
Slow as much as you can beforehand, square the machine up, then lift slightly off the seat with your weight on the pegs so your knees and elbows soak up the jolt, and roll the throttle on a touch just before contact to lighten the front.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Uneven Surfaces and Obstacles
2. Where does the manual say patches of ice are most likely to form?
Correct answer: In low ground and shaded stretches, and on bridges and overpasses
Ice lingers in low ground and shaded stretches, and on bridges and overpasses; wet leaves are every bit as slick.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
3. You cannot avoid a stretch of pavement so slick you must crawl across it. What does the manual advise?
Correct answer: Keep it upright, crawl across, stay off the brakes, and squeeze the clutch to coast
Hold the machine straight up and go as slowly as you can; you may let your feet skim the surface so you can catch a fall, keep off the brakes, and squeeze the clutch and coast if you can.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
4. Tracks or a pavement seam run in the same direction you are traveling. How do you get across?
Correct answer: Move away, then cross with one deliberate turn at forty-five degrees or more
Move far enough away from the rail, rut or seam to cross it at an angle of at least forty-five degrees, then make one deliberate turn; edging across can trap a tire and upset your balance.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Railroad Tracks, Trolley Tracks and Pavement Seams
5. An animal darts into your path while you are surrounded by traffic. What does the manual advise?
Correct answer: Remain in your lane
Stay in your lane. Hitting something small hurts you less than hitting something big, such as another vehicle. Deer, elk or cattle are a different matter — brake and be ready to stop.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Animals
6. A dog gives chase. What does the manual tell you to do?
Correct answer: Downshift and approach slowly, then accelerate away
Downshift and come up on the animal slowly; as you reach it, accelerate and leave it behind. Do not kick at it — keep control and keep your eyes where you want to go.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Animals
7. Which four kinds of road surface does the manual single out as raising your chance of a fall?
Correct answer: Uneven surfaces and obstacles, slippery surfaces, railroad tracks, and grooves and gratings
The list is uneven surfaces and obstacles, slippery surfaces, railroad tracks, and grooves and gratings.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces
8. Where is the best place to ride once rain begins to fall?
Correct answer: In the tire tracks left by cars
Move into the tire tracks the cars have left; the left track is often the better of the two, depending on traffic and the rest of the road.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
9. Your motorcycle weaves as you ride over a bridge grating. What should you do?
Correct answer: Relax, hold a steady speed and ride straight across
That wandering feeling is unsettling but generally harmless — relax, hold a steady speed and ride straight across. Angling over forces you to zigzag to hold your lane, which is the greater danger.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Grooves and Gratings
10. An insect or a pebble thrown up by the vehicle ahead strikes you. What does the manual tell you to do?
Correct answer: Hold your line with eyes ahead and both hands on the grips, then pull over when it is safe
Stay looking well ahead and leave both hands where they are. A smeared or cracked face shield is dealt with after you have found a safe place to stop, not while you are still rolling.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Flying Objects
11. At what angle should you meet an obstacle you cannot go around?
Correct answer: As close to ninety degrees as possible
Take it as close to a square, ninety-degree approach as you can manage, and look where you want to end up so your path stays under control.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Uneven Surfaces and Obstacles
12. Why is wet pavement most treacherous in the first minutes of a rain shower?
Correct answer: Surface oil has not yet been washed toward the side of the road
Until the water has washed the surface oil toward the edge of the road, that oil is still spread across the pavement.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
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Every Mississippi question is written from the official Mississippi 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