Free Singapore Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL) Theory Test Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Singapore Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL) Theory Test practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A private-hire car crosses standing water at speed. Water builds up beneath its tyres, and the car begins gliding over the road surface. What is this condition called?

   1. A.Understeer
   2. B.AquaplaningCorrect answer: B
   3. C.Oversteer
   4. D.Wheelspin

   Explanation: The handbook states that the vehicle will "glide on the surface of the road" and calls this aquaplaning. The described water layer distinguishes it from a loss of grip caused by excessive power or a cornering imbalance.

   Reference: Singapore Traffic Police — Final Theory of Driving — Paragraph 179; printed p. 77

2. 2A passenger with a disability boards with a caregiver. The driver needs the passenger's preference about the journey. To whom should the driver address the question?

   1. A.The caregiver accompanying the passenger
   2. B.The person who placed the booking
   3. C.The passenger who is taking the journeyCorrect answer: C
   4. D.The person who will pay the fare

   Explanation: The NCSS booklet says, "Speakdirectlytotheperson,nottohis". Address the passenger directly rather than substituting the companion as the decision-maker.

   Reference: NCSS — Understanding Persons with Disabilities: Removing Barriers — When speaking to persons with disabilities; Speak directly to him or her

3. 3A working PHC driver has a valid PDVL but is not carrying its physical card. Which document can satisfy the licence-production option in rule 21(1)(e)(i)?

   1. A.An electronic version of the ordinary driving licence
   2. B.An electronic version of the vocational licenceCorrect answer: B
   3. C.A certificate for completion of the PDVL training course
   4. D.An approval letter for attending the PDVL training course

   Explanation: Rule 21(1)(e)(i) permits the driver to "produce his licence (whether in an electronic form or otherwise)". An ordinary driving licence, course certificate or attendance-approval letter is not the requested vocational licence. The separate statutory particulars alternative also remains available.

   Reference: Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Vocational Licences and Conduct of Drivers, Conductors and Passengers) Rules — Rule 21(1)(e)(i)

4. 4A PHC driver finds an unfamiliar symbol beside a destination in a printed street map. Which map feature should explain that symbol?

   1. A.The street-name index
   2. B.The scale bar
   3. C.The north arrow
   4. D.The map keyCorrect answer: D

   Explanation: Ordnance Survey explains, "Maps usually have a key that explains the symbols and their meanings." The key decodes symbols; the other features serve distance, orientation and lookup purposes.

   Reference: Ordnance Survey — Map Reading Made Easy — Printed p. 3; What are all the different symbols?

5. 5A PHC driver spots a fallen object ahead and then presses the brake pedal. Which part of the stopping process is the distance travelled between those two events?

   1. A.The braking distance
   2. B.The following distance
   3. C.The clearance distance
   4. D.The reaction distanceCorrect answer: D

   Explanation: Paragraph 158 defines reaction distance as the distance from identifying a hazard "to the point at which the brake is applied." The stem ends when braking starts, so it describes reaction distance rather than the subsequent braking distance.

   Reference: Singapore Traffic Police — Final Theory of Driving — Paragraph 158; printed p. 70

6. 6An adult wheelchair user can express their own decisions. Whose permission should a PHC driver obtain before touching or pushing the chair to assist boarding?

   1. A.The transport operator's permission
   2. B.The vehicle owner's permission
   3. C.The booking account holder's permission
   4. D.The wheelchair user's permissionCorrect answer: D

   Explanation: NCSS directs, "Askbeforegivingassistance". A wheelchair is personal space; permission must precede touching or pushing it.

   Reference: NCSS — Understanding Persons with Disabilities: Removing Barriers — When interacting with wheelchair users

7. 7A PHC is safely stopped on a public road with paying passengers still aboard. There is no reasonable cause for the driver to leave the required position. Where does rule 22(1)(a) require the driver to remain?

   1. A.In any seat within the vehicle
   2. B.Beside the passenger's door
   3. C.In the driver's seatCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Within sight of the vehicle

   Explanation: Rule 22(1)(a) requires the driver to "remain in the driver’s seat" while carrying paying passengers on a public road, unless reasonable cause justifies leaving it.

   Reference: Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Vocational Licences and Conduct of Drivers, Conductors and Passengers) Rules — Rule 22(1)(a)

8. 8Before a PHC journey, a driver measures a route as 6 cm on a map whose scale is 1:25,000. What ground distance does that measurement represent?

   1. A.1.5 kmCorrect answer: A
   2. B.0.15 km
   3. C.6.0 km
   4. D.15 km

   Explanation: The publisher states "every 1cm on the map represents 25 000 of those same units of measurement on the ground". Therefore 6×25,000=150,000 cm=1,500 m=1.5 km. The 0.15 km result divides by an extra ten; 6.0 km treats each centimetre as a kilometre; 15 km loses a factor of ten in conversion.

   Reference: Ordnance Survey — Map Reading Made Easy — Printed p. 9; What is scale?

9. 9At low speed, a PHC turns forward through a narrow corner and its rear wheels follow a path inside the front-wheel path. What is this difference in wheel tracks called?

   1. A.OfftrackingCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Understeer
   3. C.Oversteer
   4. D.Wheelspin

   Explanation: The Singapore handbook states that the rear wheel takes "a path closer to the kerb than the front left-wheel." FHWA names the general geometry: "Offtracking is said to occur when a vehicle makes a turn and it rear wheels do not follow the same path as its front wheels." The question applies that geometric term to a slow forward turn, not foreign heavy-vehicle operating rules.

   Reference: Singapore Traffic Police — Final Theory of Driving — Paragraph 161; printed p. 71

10. 10A passenger with visual impairment accepts the driver's offer of sighted guiding from the pickup point. Which contact does the NCSS guidance recommend?

    1. A.The passenger holds the driver's wrist.
    2. B.The passenger holds the driver's elbow.Correct answer: B
    3. C.The driver holds the passenger's elbow.
    4. D.The driver holds the passenger's shoulder.

    Explanation: NCSS says, "Allowhimtoholdyourelbow". The passenger may need their own arms for balance, so grabbing and pulling those arms is inappropriate.

    Reference: NCSS — Understanding Persons with Disabilities: Removing Barriers — Visual impairment; sighted guiding