Penny test tread — Nebraska Permit Test

Penny test tread on the Nebraska permit test — 2 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

In the penny test, if any part of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread, you're driving with a safe amount of tread.

Worn tread cannot grip wet or icy roads, so the car keeps sliding when you brake.

If any part of Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread, you’re driving with the safe amount of tread.

Nebraska Driver’s Manual, p.30

For the penny test, place Lincoln's head into a groove at the point where the tread appears to be the lowest.

Tires wear unevenly, and testing the best spot can hide a bald patch that slides in the rain.

Select a point on your tire where the tread appears to be the lowest and place Lincoln’s head into one of the grooves.

Nebraska Driver’s Manual, p.30

On the test

In the penny test, what shows you have a safe amount of tread?

Part of Lincoln's head is hidden by tread. Worn tread cannot grip wet or icy roads, so the car keeps sliding when you brake. Nebraska Driver’s Manual, p.30: “If any part of Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread, you’re driving with the safe amount of tread.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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  • Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
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  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Nebraska Driver’s Manual, published by the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.