Is the Maine Driving Test Hard? (2026 Statistics)

The test

The BMV asks 30 questions and requires 80% correct - at least 24 right answers. That leaves a margin of 6 wrong. Among the 51 jurisdictions, 5 are harder, and 45 are easier.

Maine lifts driving restrictions before most states

In Maine, a new driver picks up a learner's permit at 15, holds it for 6 months, qualifies for an intermediate license at 16, and earns a full unrestricted license at 17 + 3 months.

On Maine's roads.

For every 100,000 licensed drivers aged 19 and under in Maine, 8.3 die in a crash each year. The U.S. average is 16.8; Maine ranks 9th lowest of 51.

Across all drivers, Maine's road network sees 0.89 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The U.S. average is 1.25.

The country's strictest law on driving with a phone in your hand.

Maine scores a full 6.0 of 6 on our distracted-driving rubric - the only state to do so. The law bans handheld phones for all drivers, prohibits texting and manual data entry for all drivers, and applies a total cellphone ban to teen and novice drivers. Maine's seat-belt law is primary enforcement - an officer may stop a vehicle for an unbuckled driver alone. Self-reported belt use is 93%.

What it costs to insure a car here.

Once you have the license, insurance is the real running cost. In Maine, the average driver pays about $856 a year, less than the $1,282 a typical American pays. Here is where that sits next to the national average and the cheapest and priciest states.

About 5.7% of Maine drivers carry no insurance at all (the national figure is 15.4%), and the least coverage the state lets a driver carry is $50,000 for injuries to one person, $100,000 total for injuries per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. Roll spend, uninsured drivers, affordability and required coverage together and Maine lands 51st of 51 on our insurance-burden score, where 1st is the heaviest.

One way to trim the bill: Maine law makes insurers give a discount for finishing an approved defensive-driving course (for drivers 55+), good for 3 years. The same course can also knock points off your record or help dismiss a ticket.

On two wheels.

Maine's motorcyclist fatality rate is 3.36 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles - well below the 6.87 U.S. average. Maine's helmet law is partial - typically required only for younger riders.

BMV's motorcycle knowledge test is 25 questions, with a 80% pass mark. Whether a safety course waives the BMV road test is not something we have verified for Maine, so check with BMV before you count on it. Required for riders under 18, permit holders, and first-year endorsement holders.

On bigger rigs.

The Maine CDL knowledge test is federally standardised - 50 questions, 80 percent to pass, the same content in every state. The CDL knowledge-test fee in Maine is $70. Other fees and endorsement processing run through the BMV.