New Mexico MVD Permit Practice Test 1
Test 1 of 10. Pick an answer for each question to see if it is right and why; your score appears at the end. You need 18 correct answers to pass, the same ratio as the real New Mexico test.
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age15 years
-
1. You are backing straight down a driveway while looking over your right shoulder. Where should your left hand be?
Show answer
Answer C: At the top of the steering wheel, holding it with a firm grip
With one hand at the top of the wheel you can hold a straight course and make small corrections while your body is turned to look behind.
-
2. Why are pedestrians and cyclists a special risk on unlit streets at night?
Show answer
Answer A: Dark clothing can make them invisible until they are very close
A person in dark clothing reflects almost no light and may not appear until they are inside your stopping distance, so cut your speed where people may be about.
-
3. What does a white-painted curb mean in New Mexico?
Show answer
Answer D: Only short stops are permitted
New Mexico's manual lists a white-painted curb as indicating that only short stops are permitted there.
-
4. A yellow sign ahead of an underpass reads LOW CLEARANCE 12 FT 6 IN. What does the figure tell you?
Show answer
Answer B: The greatest height that can pass beneath the structure
The figure is the actual clearance available, so a vehicle taller than that must leave the road and take a marked alternative route.
-
5. How can a New Mexico driver under a lifetime DWI revocation eventually seek restoration of driving privileges?
Show answer
Answer B: By petitioning district court five years after the conviction, and again every five years after that
A driver under a lifetime DWI revocation may petition district court for restoration five years after the conviction, and may petition again every five years thereafter.
-
6. You are waiting to turn left and an oncoming vehicle stopped in the near lane to turn left blocks your view of the far lane. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Wait where you are until you can see that the far lane is completely clear
The lane you cannot see is where the crash comes from, so you hold your position until the view opens up.
-
7. Your phone is in a mount on the dashboard rather than in your hand. What is true?
Show answer
Answer B: It still takes your eyes and mind off the road
A mount solves the hand problem but not the eye or the mind problem, and reading or tapping a mounted screen costs the same seconds of attention.
-
8. Why is wearing headphones over both ears a problem while driving?
Show answer
Answer D: You may not hear horns, sirens or other warning sounds
Hearing is part of your awareness of traffic. Covering both ears blocks emergency sirens, horns and the sound of an approaching vehicle you cannot yet see.
-
9. You feel fine twenty minutes after your last drink. Why is that a poor guide to driving?
Show answer
Answer B: Your blood alcohol level can still be rising
Alcohol keeps being absorbed for some time after the last drink, so a driver who feels able at the door can be more impaired a few miles down the road.
-
10. What does New Mexico require of a driver when no minimum speed limit is posted on a road?
Show answer
Answer C: Drive fast enough not to interfere with the normal flow of traffic
When no minimum speed is posted, New Mexico requires drivers to travel fast enough that they do not interfere with the normal flow of traffic.
-
11. Where should a rear-facing infant seat never be placed?
Show answer
Answer C: In a front seat with an active passenger air bag
A deploying front air bag strikes the back of a rear-facing seat with enormous force. Rear-facing seats belong in the back seat.
-
12. Your vehicle has a backup camera. What is the right way to use it?
Show answer
Answer C: Use it as an aid, but still turn and look behind you
A camera has a limited field of view and can be dirty or wet, so it supplements looking over your shoulder and using the mirrors rather than replacing them.
-
13. What can release the adult who signed a New Mexico minor's license application from liability for the minor's negligent driving?
Show answer
Answer C: The minor depositing proof of financial responsibility
New Mexico holds the adult who signed a minor's application liable for the minor's negligence or willful misconduct while driving, unless the minor has deposited proof of financial responsibility.
-
14. Does a foreign visitor temporarily in New Mexico, even for up to a year or more, need to get a New Mexico driver's license?
Show answer
Answer C: No, as long as they remain a temporary visitor who will return home
New Mexico does not require a foreign visitor who is here temporarily, even for up to a year or more, to obtain a New Mexico driver's license.
-
15. What is the maximum speed within a posted New Mexico school zone?
Show answer
Answer C: 15 mph
New Mexico caps speed at 15 mph inside a school zone that carries a posted school zone speed limit.
-
16. What should a driver expect a short distance beyond this sign?
Show answer
Answer C: Another road crossing the one being traveled
Traffic may enter or cross from either side at the intersection ahead, so the driver should ease off, cover the brake and check both approaches.
-
17. A police officer is directing traffic at an intersection and waves you through a red light. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Follow the officer, whose directions come before signs and signals
Directions given by a police officer or an authorized flagger override signs, signals and pavement markings.
-
18. When does a New Mexico applicant's Organ Donor Statement require a parent or guardian signature?
Show answer
Answer D: Only when the applicant is under 15
New Mexico does not require a parent or guardian signature on the Organ Donor Statement unless the applicant is under age 15, younger than the general minor threshold of 18.
-
19. During which hours may a New Mexico provisional license holder not drive alone?
Show answer
Answer D: Between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
Provisional drivers may not be on public highways between midnight and 5:00 a.m. unless a licensed driver 21 or older is aboard or a documented work, school, family, medical or religious exception applies.
-
20. Besides a standard liability insurance policy, what else can satisfy New Mexico's proof-of-financial-responsibility requirement when reinstating a license?
Show answer
Answer A: An insurance binder, a State Treasurer's Certificate of Deposit, or an MVD Surety Bond Certificate
New Mexico accepts an insurance binder, a State Treasurer's Certificate of Deposit, or an MVD Surety Bond Certificate as alternatives to a standard policy when proving financial responsibility.
-
21. You are driving in fog so thick that you can barely see the vehicle ahead. Which pavement marking is the best guide for staying in your lane?
Show answer
Answer A: The white edge line on the right side of the road
The right edge line keeps you positioned away from oncoming traffic and is easy to follow at low speed. Following tail lights closely tempts you to drive faster than you can see.
-
22. As a center two-way left-turn lane reaches an intersection, the markings change into a single left-turn lane. What does that mean for you?
Show answer
Answer D: From that point it serves one direction only, so use it just to turn left
Where the shared lane becomes a marked turn bay it belongs to one direction of travel, and only vehicles making that left turn may occupy it.
-
23. What must you do before changing lanes, in addition to signaling and checking your mirrors?
Show answer
Answer D: Glance over your shoulder to check the blind spot the mirrors do not cover
Mirrors leave an area beside and behind the vehicle that they cannot show, so a quick head check is needed before the vehicle moves sideways.
-
24. At a stop sign with a painted stop line and a crosswalk, where must you stop?
Show answer
Answer D: At the stop line, before it and before the crosswalk
You stop at the stop line first, and only if there is no stop line do you stop before the crosswalk, and only if there is neither do you stop before entering the intersection.
-
25. What are the minimum liability coverage amounts required in New Mexico?
Show answer
Answer B: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 property damage
The New Mexico Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act sets minimums of 25,000 dollars for injury or death of one person, 50,000 dollars for two or more people and 10,000 dollars for property damage.