New Mexico MVD Permit Practice Test 25

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass18
  • Passing score72%
  • Minimum age15 years

Minimum age: 15 years for an instructional permit

25 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why; you need 18 correct answers to pass.

  1. 1. You know in advance that you will be drinking at an event. What is the most reliable plan?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Arrange a driver who will not drink, or another way home, before the event begins

    A decision made before drinking is not affected by alcohol, while judging your own fitness afterward relies on the very ability alcohol impairs first.

  2. 2. The traffic around you is moving well above the limit on a wide highway. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Keep to the limit and stay to the right, letting faster traffic pass

    The limit is a legal maximum, and the safe way to differ from the traffic around you is to keep right and let it go by.

  3. 3. Another driver cuts you off and you feel your temper rising. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Take a breath, drop back and let it go, because the whole trip matters more

    Retaliation turns a moment of bad driving into a crash, and dropping back costs you only a few seconds.

  4. 4. Your vehicle stalls on a railroad crossing and will not restart. What should you do first?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Get everyone out and away from the tracks immediately

    Everyone must leave the vehicle and move well clear of the tracks at once, walking toward the train at an angle so that debris from an impact travels away from you.

  5. 5. A stop sign at a busy corner has a stop line and a crosswalk, but buildings block your view of the cross street. What is the correct sequence?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Stop at the line first, then edge forward and stop again to see

    The first stop is required at the line or before the crosswalk, and a second stop farther forward is what actually lets you yield safely.

  6. 6. A streetcar is coming along tracks in the middle of the street as you wait to turn across them. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Let the streetcar pass before you cross the tracks

    Rail vehicles cannot steer around you and need a long distance to stop, so drivers yield to a streetcar or light rail train.

  7. 7. When should headlights be switched on besides during the hours of darkness?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Whenever rain, fog, snow or dust makes it harder to see or to be seen

    Headlights are as much about being seen as about seeing, so they go on whenever visibility drops.

  8. 8. When reinstating a New Mexico license suspended over an unpaid accident judgment, when is a letter of release from the judgment NOT required?

    Show answer

    Answer B: When the judgment is more than 14 years old

    New Mexico waives the letter-of-release requirement for this type of suspension once the underlying judgment is more than 14 years old.

  9. 9. This sign leads to a crossing that has no gates and no flashing lights. What does that mean for the driver?

    A yellow circle showing a black cross and the letters R R in the side quarters
    Show answer

    Answer D: Nothing will warn of an approaching train, so the driver must check the tracks personally

    At a passive crossing there is no active device to announce a train, so the whole judgment rests on the driver, who must approach slowly enough to stop after looking along the track.

  10. 10. You are traveling beside another vehicle on a multilane highway at nearly the same speed. Why is this a poor position?

    Show answer

    Answer B: You may be sitting in that driver's blind spot with nowhere to go if they move over

    Driving alongside removes your side escape route and often puts you where the other driver cannot see you. Speed up or drop back to open space beside you.

  11. 11. Why is a shoulder check especially important on a road with motorcycles and bicycles?

    Show answer

    Answer D: A narrow vehicle can disappear completely in the blind spot

    A motorcycle or a bicycle is small enough to be hidden entirely by a door pillar or by the blind spot the mirrors do not cover.

  12. 12. In most states, how far before a turn must your signal already be on in city traffic?

    Show answer

    Answer B: At least 100 feet, roughly the length of six or seven cars

    Most states require the signal for at least 100 feet before a turn in city driving, which gives drivers behind you time to react before you slow; several require more at higher speeds.

  13. 13. Someone has stepped into a marked crosswalk in the middle of a block ahead of you. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Slow down, stop before the markings and let the person cross the street

    A marked mid-block crosswalk carries the same duty as one at a corner: give way to the person crossing, stopping if that is what letting them cross safely takes.

  14. 14. Where do you find how much weight your vehicle may carry?

    Show answer

    Answer C: On the placard in the driver door opening

    The certification placard in the driver door opening gives the load limit and the recommended cold tire pressures for the vehicle as built.

  15. 15. You brake hard in a vehicle with antilock brakes and feel the pedal pulsing under your foot. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Keep firm, steady pressure on the pedal and steer where you need to go

    The pulsing is the system releasing and reapplying the brakes so the wheels keep rolling, which is what lets you steer while braking. Pumping the pedal defeats it.

  16. 16. You are overtaking in a short passing lane on a two-lane road and it is about to end. What must you do?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Finish the pass and move back to the right before it ends

    The added lane ends and the traffic returns to a single lane in each direction, so the pass has to be complete before the pavement runs out.

  17. 17. The lane you are in is marked with a straight arrow and a right-turn arrow together. What does that mean?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Drivers in that lane may either go straight or turn right

    A lane marked with two arrows serves both movements, so a driver in it may take either one.

  18. 18. This sign comes into view ahead of a driver who has already started along a ramp. What should the driver do?

    A red rectangle with white lettering
    Show answer

    Answer B: Pull clear where it is safe, then turn around and leave the ramp traveling properly

    The driver is traveling against the legal flow, so the safest response is to stop clear of the lanes, turn the vehicle around and get off the ramp before meeting traffic head on.

  19. 19. Which of these makes you unpredictable to other drivers?

    Show answer

    Answer B: Changing lanes suddenly without signaling, to save a moment

    An unsignalled, sudden lane change gives nobody time to react and is a common cause of sideswipe collisions.

  20. 20. How many points deducted on the New Mexico road test score sheet result in a failing grade?

    Show answer

    Answer C: More than 30 points

    New Mexico examiners fail an applicant whose deductions total more than 30 points, and an applicant who fails must wait at least one week to retest.

  21. 21. What is the main limit of stability and traction control systems?

    Show answer

    Answer B: They cannot create grip that the tires and the road do not have

    These systems manage the grip that exists. If you enter a curve too fast for the surface, no amount of electronics will hold the vehicle on the road.

  22. 22. 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.

  23. 23. What does a sign reading Slower Traffic Keep Right require?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Traffic moving slower than the general flow must use the right-hand lane

    The sign applies to any vehicle traveling below the speed of the traffic around it, which must keep right so faster vehicles can use the lanes to the left.

  24. 24. You have strapped luggage to the roof rack for a long trip. What should you expect?

    Show answer

    Answer D: A higher center of gravity, so take the curves and lane changes gently

    Weight on the roof raises the center of gravity and makes the vehicle lean and respond more slowly to steering.

  25. 25. Your loaded vehicle weighs more than the figure shown on a posted weight limit sign. What must you do?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Find another route, because crossing is not permitted

    A posted weight limit is a legal maximum, not advice, so an overweight vehicle has to take a different route.