Sample pickThe color of American school buses was chosen at a conference in which year?
Trivia Questions for a Road Trip, Read From the Passenger Seat: how it works
A question is already on the card. The passenger reads it aloud, the car argues, and a tap on a choice plus Check answer settles it with a line on why. These 158 trivia questions for a road trip cover 6 topics: states and capitals, highways and signs, landmarks, rivers and mountains, license plates, and the history of the car.
Play it from the passenger seat
The reader is never the driver. Pick a Topic, or leave all six on for a mixed round, then read the question and its four choices aloud. Tap the one the car agrees on and press Check answer. The card names the answer, gives the reason and links the Wikipedia article it was checked on, which ends most arguments. Wrong ones wait under Missed for the next rest stop.
Match the round to the road
Crossing a state line? Switch to State nicknames and license plates and ask who the Sooners were, or which state's plates were first to carry a slogan. On an Interstate, Highways and road signs explains why I-95 has an odd number and what exit 120 tells you. For a scored game, Exam mode asks 20 and marks them at the end, topic by topic.
Tips
Give the driver a vote and never the phone. The front passenger reads, taps and keeps score.
Children in the back? States and capitals and the nickname topic hold 16 of the 29 easy questions.
On a trip of several days, open Question of the day at breakfast: one shared question before anyone gets in the car.
Questions and answers
How hard are the questions?
Mixed on purpose, because a car holds mixed ages. Of the 158, 29 are easy enough for a child of about eight, such as which state is the Aloha State. Another 69 are medium, and 60 will stump most adults, such as the city that put up the first yield sign. Every topic has all three levels.
Can we play where there is no phone signal?
Print before you leave. The card loads its questions over the network, so a dead zone stops it. Print question sheet makes a page of 20 questions with lettered choices, and Print answer key repeats each answer with its reason. Pick a Topic first and the sheet stays on it.
Will the answers still be right next year?
They should be. Each answer was checked on September 19, 2026 against the Wikipedia article linked under it. Speed limits, tolls, populations and records still being broken are left out. Plate slogans are asked as words that have appeared on a plate, because states redesign their plates.
Trivia Questions for Kindergarten to Read Aloud100 read-aloud questions for ages 5 and 6, two choices each: colors, shapes, animal sounds, counting to 20, days, letters, the body and weather.
The colony of Georgia was named for which British king?Wikipedia: Georgia (U.S. state)
From 1836 to 1846, which state was its own country with its own president?Wikipedia: Republic of Texas
The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is marked near Lebanon, in which state?Wikipedia: Geographic center of the United States
Helena, the capital of Montana, began in 1864 as what?Wikipedia: Helena, Montana
In which year did the California gold rush begin?Wikipedia: California
Lincoln is the capital of which state?Wikipedia: Lincoln, Nebraska
The name of which state capital is French for "red stick"?Wikipedia: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The name Vermont comes from French words meaning what?Wikipedia: Vermont
Texas is called the Lone Star State. Where does that single star appear?Wikipedia: Texas
The United States bought Alaska in 1867 from which country?Wikipedia: Alaska Purchase
Washington, D.C. stands on the bank of which river?Wikipedia: Washington, D.C.
What is the capital of Kentucky?Wikipedia: Frankfort, Kentucky
What is the capital of Michigan?Wikipedia: Lansing, Michigan
What is the capital of Vermont?Wikipedia: Montpelier, Vermont
What is the capital of Washington State?Wikipedia: Olympia, Washington
What is the capital of Wyoming?Wikipedia: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Which city is the capital of Arizona?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of Idaho?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of Indiana?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of Kansas?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of New Jersey?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of North Dakota?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of Tennessee?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of Utah?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which city is the capital of Wisconsin?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which is the easternmost of the 48 contiguous states?Wikipedia: Maine
Which is the only state named after a president?Wikipedia: Washington (state)
Which is the only state that touches both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean?Wikipedia: Florida
Which military school stands beside Annapolis, the capital of Maryland?Wikipedia: Annapolis, Maryland
Which Spanish explorer landed in Florida in 1513?Wikipedia: Florida
Which state calls itself the First State because it was first to ratify the Constitution?Wikipedia: Delaware
Which state capital cannot be reached by road from the rest of its state?Wikipedia: Juneau, Alaska
Which state has an Upper Peninsula and a Lower Peninsula?Wikipedia: Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Which state is divided into parishes instead of counties?Wikipedia: Louisiana
Which state's name comes from a Spanish word meaning snow-covered?Wikipedia: Nevada
Which was the last state to join the United States?Wikipedia: Hawaii
Highways and road signs 33
A three-digit Interstate that starts with an even digit, such as I-495, is usually what?Wikipedia: Interstate Highway System
The Alaska Highway, built in 1942, begins in Dawson Creek in which Canadian province?Wikipedia: Alaska Highway
Before 1954, stop signs in the United States were usually which color?Wikipedia: Stop sign
The Blue Ridge Parkway links Shenandoah National Park with which other national park?Wikipedia: Blue Ridge Parkway
California State Route 1 hugs the cliffs of which famous stretch of coast?Wikipedia: California State Route 1
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, where drivers dip under the sea, is in which state?Wikipedia: Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel
The Dalton Highway runs north through Alaska and ends at Deadhorse, near which ocean?Wikipedia: Dalton Highway
The Eisenhower Tunnel carries Interstate 70 under the Continental Divide in which state?Wikipedia: Eisenhower Tunnel
The first yield sign in the United States went up in 1950 in which city?Wikipedia: Yield sign
Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass in which national park?Wikipedia: Going-to-the-Sun Road
The Great River Road follows which river?Wikipedia: Great River Road
Historic Route 66 began in which city?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 66
In most states, the number on an Interstate exit sign matches what?Wikipedia: Exit number
Interstate 5 runs along which coast?Wikipedia: Interstate 5
Interstate 95 runs down the East Coast from Maine to which Florida city?Wikipedia: Interstate 95
Interstate H-1 never leaves a single island. Which state is it in?Wikipedia: Interstate H-1
Interstates with odd numbers, such as I-5 and I-95, mostly run in which direction?Wikipedia: Interstate Highway System
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, one of the longest bridges over water anywhere, is in which state?Wikipedia: Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
The Lincoln Highway, one of the first coast-to-coast car routes, started at which New York landmark?Wikipedia: Lincoln Highway
Lombard Street is known as a very crooked street with eight hairpin turns. Which city is it in?Wikipedia: Lombard Street (San Francisco)
The Natchez Trace Parkway runs from Natchez, Mississippi, to the edge of which city?Wikipedia: Natchez Trace Parkway
On a standard traffic light, which color is at the top?Wikipedia: Traffic light
The Overseas Highway carries U.S. Route 1 across which chain of islands?Wikipedia: Overseas Highway
Route 66 ended near the Pacific Ocean in which California city?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 66
Route 66 was officially removed from the U.S. highway system in which year?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 66
The stretch of road called the Tail of the Dragon is famous for having 318 of what in 11 miles?Wikipedia: Deals Gap, North Carolina
U.S. Route 1 runs from Fort Kent, Maine, to which city at its southern end?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 50 across which state is known as the Loneliest Road in America?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 50 in Nevada
What is the official name of the color of the Golden Gate Bridge?Wikipedia: Golden Gate Bridge
What nickname did the writer John Steinbeck give Route 66?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 66
Which coast-to-coast U.S. Route, from Boston to Newport, Oregon, is the longest road in the country?Wikipedia: U.S. Route 20
Which is the longest Interstate highway, running from Seattle to Boston?Wikipedia: Interstate 90
Which road sign is a triangle that points downward?Wikipedia: Yield sign
Landmarks and national parks 24
The Alamo is in which Texas city?Wikipedia: Alamo Mission
At the Wright Brothers National Memorial you can stand where the first airplane flew. Which state is it in?Wikipedia: Wright Brothers National Memorial
The Biltmore Estate, the largest privately owned house in the United States, is in which city?Wikipedia: Biltmore Estate
The bright white dunes of White Sands National Park in New Mexico are made of what?Wikipedia: White Sands National Park
Carhenge, a copy of Stonehenge built from old cars, stands near Alliance in which state?Wikipedia: Carhenge
The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park are in which state?Wikipedia: Mesa Verde National Park
Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, is in which state?Wikipedia: Crater Lake
Delicate Arch is the best-known sight in Arches National Park. Which state is it in?Wikipedia: Arches National Park
El Capitan and Half Dome are granite landmarks in which national park?Wikipedia: Yosemite National Park
General Sherman, the largest known single-stem tree on Earth by volume, is which kind of tree?Wikipedia: General Sherman Tree
Great Smoky Mountains National Park sits on the border of Tennessee and which other state?Wikipedia: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
In 1906, which Wyoming rock tower became the first national monument in the United States?Wikipedia: Devils Tower
In which year did the Golden Gate Bridge open?Wikipedia: Golden Gate Bridge
The longest known cave system in the world is in Mammoth Cave National Park. Which state is it in?Wikipedia: Mammoth Cave National Park
Monument Valley, with its red sandstone buttes, lies inside the land of which nation?Wikipedia: Monument Valley
Niagara Falls lies between New York State and which Canadian province?Wikipedia: Niagara Falls
Seattle's Space Needle was built for which event?Wikipedia: Space Needle
The tallest sand dunes in North America are in a national park in which state?Wikipedia: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats are best known for what?Wikipedia: Bonneville Salt Flats
Which Florida wetland is often called the River of Grass?Wikipedia: Everglades
Which of these presidents is carved on Mount Rushmore?Wikipedia: Mount Rushmore
Which of these states does NOT touch the Four Corners?Wikipedia: Four Corners Monument
Which two documents were both debated and adopted at Independence Hall?Wikipedia: Independence Hall
Work on which giant mountain carving in the Black Hills began in 1948?Wikipedia: Crazy Horse Memorial
Rivers, lakes and mountains 21
Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America, was cut by which river?Wikipedia: Hells Canyon
In 1934 a wind gust of 231 miles an hour was measured on top of which New Hampshire mountain?Wikipedia: Mount Washington
Joshua trees grow mostly in which desert?Wikipedia: Yucca brevifolia
Lake Tahoe lies on the border of California and which other state?Wikipedia: Lake Tahoe
The Missouri River joins the Mississippi just north of which city?Wikipedia: Missouri River
Mount Rainier is the highest mountain in which state?Wikipedia: Mount Rainier
Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. Which state is it in?Wikipedia: Mount St. Helens
The Ohio River flows into the Mississippi at the southern tip of which state?Wikipedia: Ohio River
The Outer Banks are a chain of barrier islands off the coast of which state?Wikipedia: Outer Banks
The Ozarks cover much of southern Missouri and the north of which other state?Wikipedia: Ozarks
Pioneers crossed the Appalachians on the Wilderness Road through which mountain pass?Wikipedia: Cumberland Gap
Rain that falls west of the Continental Divide drains toward which ocean?Wikipedia: Continental Divide of the Americas
The tall saguaro cactus with raised arms grows wild in which desert?Wikipedia: Saguaro
The view from which Colorado mountain inspired the song "America the Beautiful"?Wikipedia: Pikes Peak
What is the largest estuary in the United States?Wikipedia: Chesapeake Bay
What is the tallest mountain in the 48 contiguous states?Wikipedia: Mount Whitney
What is the wide, flat grassland east of the Rocky Mountains called?Wikipedia: Great Plains
Which is the largest of the Great Lakes?Wikipedia: Lake Superior
Which is the only Great Lake that lies entirely inside the United States?Wikipedia: Lake Michigan
Which river forms most of the border between Washington and Oregon?Wikipedia: Columbia River
Which river forms the border between Texas and Mexico?Wikipedia: Rio Grande
State nicknames and license plates 26
Colorado is the "Centennial State" because it became a state in which year?Wikipedia: Colorado
"Live Free or Die" is the official motto of which state, and appears on its license plates?Wikipedia: Live Free or Die
Oklahoma is the "Sooner State". Who were the Sooners?Wikipedia: Sooners
Plates from which place protest "Taxation Without Representation"?Wikipedia: Vehicle registration plates of Washington, D.C.
Which state calls itself the "Sportsman's Paradise"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state has printed "Birthplace of Aviation" on its license plates?Wikipedia: Vehicle registration plates of Ohio
Which state is "America's Dairyland"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is known as "Big Sky Country"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is known as the "Old Dominion"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is nicknamed "Vacationland"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is nicknamed the "Last Frontier"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Aloha State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Beehive State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Bluegrass State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Empire State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Golden State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Grand Canyon State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Hoosier State"?Wikipedia: Indiana
Which state is the "Keystone State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Land of Enchantment"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Land of Lincoln"?Wikipedia: Illinois
Which state is the "Ocean State"?Wikipedia: List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
Which state is the "Volunteer State"?Wikipedia: Tennessee
Which state's license plates have read "Famous Potatoes"?Wikipedia: Vehicle license plates of the United States
Which state's license plates say "First in Flight"?Wikipedia: Vehicle registration plates of North Carolina
Wyoming license plates have shown which picture since 1936?Wikipedia: Vehicle registration plates of Wyoming
Cars and road history 18
The color of American school buses was chosen at a conference in which year?Wikipedia: School bus yellow
The diesel engine is named after what?Wikipedia: Rudolf Diesel
Edward Hines of Wayne County, Michigan, is credited with which road safety idea in 1911?Wikipedia: Edward N. Hines
The first cloverleaf interchange in the United States opened in 1929 in which state?Wikipedia: Cloverleaf interchange
The first drive-in movie theater opened in 1933 in which state?Wikipedia: Drive-in theater
The first electric traffic signal in the United States was installed in 1914 in which city?Wikipedia: Traffic light
Five miles is roughly how many kilometers?Wikipedia: Mile
How many feet are in a mile?Wikipedia: Mile
In 1903 Horatio Nelson Jackson made the first drive across the United States. Who rode along?Wikipedia: Horatio Nelson Jackson
In 1974 the United States set a national speed limit to save fuel. What was it?Wikipedia: National Maximum Speed Law
In the United States, traffic moves around a roundabout in which direction?Wikipedia: Roundabout
The raised bumps that mark lanes on some highways are named after Elbert Botts. What are they called?Wikipedia: Botts' dots
The three-point seat belt found in cars today was developed in 1959 by an engineer from which country?Wikipedia: Nils Bohlin
What are the grooved strips along the edge of a highway designed to do?Wikipedia: Rumble strip
Which instrument on the dashboard measures how far a car has traveled?Wikipedia: Odometer
Who coined the word "horsepower" to compare steam engines with working horses?Wikipedia: Horsepower
William Potts, who built the first four-way, three-color traffic light in 1920, had which job?Wikipedia: Traffic light
The word "motel" is a blend of which two words?Wikipedia: Motel
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question: the article text was fetched on 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-19, and the sentence that states the fact was read before the question was kept. Every extra claim in an explanation was checked the same way. State nicknames and the note on whether a nickname has appeared on license plates follow the table in the article List of U.S. state and territory nicknames, and eight state capitals follow the table in List of capitals in the United States, read row by row. Questions were dropped or reworded when the article did not state the fact plainly: a question on the first license plates of 1901 and one calling Yellowstone a supervolcano were dropped, a question on Interstates that reach no other state was narrowed to Interstate H-1 because Alaska has such roads too, and plate slogans are asked as words that have appeared on a plate, because states change their plates. Left out on purpose: speed limits, tolls, fuel prices and traffic laws in force today, populations, visitor counts, records that are still being broken, living people, and car makers, fuel brands, restaurant and hotel chains. No question repeats one in another trivia set on this site. Levels are an editor's judgment: easy is fair for a child of about eight, hard will stump most adults. Licence: own work