Driver's License Test Prep
Pennsylvania Practice Vehicle Equipment

You use the penny test to check tire tread. According to the manual, what result shows you have a safe amount of tread?

  1. A.
    Any part of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread Correct
  2. B.
    Lincoln's chin lines up with the top edge of the tread
  3. C.
    The penny stands upright in the groove without falling
  4. D.
    You insert the penny head-up and only the coin's edge shows above the tread
The Why

The answer is "Any part of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread"

Place Lincoln's head into a groove head-down. If any part of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread, the tread is still deep enough to grip the road. If none of the head is covered, the tread has worn below that safe level. The upright coin in C swaps the manual's head-down insertion for an unrelated coin-balance trick heard secondhand as a shortcut for checking tread.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Lincoln's chin lines up with the top edge of the tread

The manual's check is whether any part of the head is covered, not whether a feature of the coin lines up with the tread edge. Borrows from the quarter test, where a specific coin landmark is the reference point, and grafts a chin-alignment rule onto the penny.

C. The penny stands upright in the groove without falling

The manual has you insert the penny head-down into a groove, not balance it on its edge. Mixes the penny test with an unrelated coin-balance trick heard secondhand as a shortcut for checking tread.

D. You insert the penny head-up and only the coin's edge shows above the tread

The manual has you insert the penny head-down and check for coverage of Lincoln's head, not head-up with the coin's edge as the reference. Half-remembers the penny test as balancing a coin edge at the tread line, dropping the head-down orientation and the head-coverage rule the manual sets.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Vehicle Equipment in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "Vehicle Checks: Preparing to Drive - Tire Safety," p.31..

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