New Mexico MVD Permit Practice Test 41

  • 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 are driving on a two-lane road approaching the crest of a hill. Where should you position your vehicle?

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    Answer D: Toward the right side of your lane, in case an oncoming vehicle is over the center line

    You cannot see what is beyond a crest, and oncoming drivers sometimes drift across the center. Keeping right and slowing gives you a margin.

  2. 2. What is the only reliable remedy for a driver who is sleepy?

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    Answer A: Sleep

    Caffeine, fresh air and noise may make you feel alert for a few minutes, but they do not remove the need for sleep. Stop somewhere safe and rest.

  3. 3. About how far does a vehicle travel in one second at 60 mph?

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    Answer A: About 88 feet

    At 60 mph you cover about 88 feet every second, which is why a glance of only two or three seconds means driving the length of several vehicles blind.

  4. 4. A tow truck with flashing amber lights is loading a car on the shoulder ahead. How should you treat it?

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    Answer B: Give it the same room as an emergency vehicle

    Tow operators, utility crews and highway workers face the same danger from passing traffic, so move over or slow down for their flashing amber lights too.

  5. 5. You feel fine twenty minutes after your last drink. Why is that a poor guide to driving?

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    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.

  6. 6. Your wiper blades smear the windshield instead of clearing it. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Replace the blades, because smearing means that the rubber is worn

    Worn or hardened rubber cannot wipe cleanly, and blades are cheap compared with driving without a clear view.

  7. 7. A bicyclist is riding around a single-lane roundabout in the middle of the lane as you wait to enter. What is your duty?

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    Answer C: Yield to the bicyclist just as you would to a car

    A bicyclist using the roundabout is traffic like any other vehicle and has the same claim to the circulating lane.

  8. 8. A school sign paired with a plaque showing a diagonal downward-pointing arrow is installed

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    Answer D: at the school crossing itself, or as close to it as possible

    The diagonal downward arrow points at the crossing, so this assembly is placed at the crossing location rather than in advance of it.

  9. 9. What do yellow lines painted on a roadway separate?

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    Answer D: Traffic moving in opposite directions

    Yellow markings separate opposing streams of traffic, and they also mark the left edge of a divided highway or a one-way roadway.

  10. 10. What does a booster seat do for a child?

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    Answer B: It lifts the child so that the adult belt crosses hips and shoulder

    A booster raises the child so the adult belt lies on the strong parts of the body instead of the neck and the abdomen.

  11. 11. The lane you are in has a right-turn-only arrow painted on the pavement. What must you do?

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    Answer C: Turn right, because a lane-use arrow is a legal requirement

    Lane-use arrows painted on the pavement are regulatory markings, so a driver in that lane must travel in the direction shown.

  12. 12. The street you are turning right onto has a bike lane along its right edge. Where should your vehicle end up?

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    Answer B: In the first traffic lane to the left of the bike lane

    A bike lane is not a travel lane for motor vehicles, so the nearest lane you may finish a right turn in is the first general traffic lane beside it.

  13. 13. You arrive at an intersection where the traffic signal is completely dark because of a power failure. How should you proceed?

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    Answer C: Treat the intersection as an all-way stop

    When a signal shows no indication at all, drivers on every approach must stop and then take turns, exactly as at an all-way stop.

  14. 14. How should a pregnant driver or passenger wear a seat belt?

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    Answer A: Lap belt below the belly across the hips, shoulder belt across the chest

    A properly worn belt protects both mother and baby. The lap portion goes low under the belly, snug across the hip bones, and the shoulder belt crosses between the breasts.

  15. 15. You arrive at a four-way stop after two other vehicles have already stopped there. When is it your turn?

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    Answer A: After both of the earlier vehicles have gone

    Vehicles clear a four-way stop in the order they arrived, so the third driver to stop is the third to go.

  16. 16. You feel drowsy, so you open a window and turn the radio up. What does that achieve?

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    Answer B: Very little, because the drowsiness comes back

    Cold air and loud music are not sleep, so the alerting effect lasts a minute or two and the driver is soon just as sleepy and closer to a lapse.

  17. 17. A pedestrian waiting at a curb faces a steady upraised hand. What does that indication mean?

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    Answer A: Do not start to cross in that direction

    A steady upraised hand forbids entering the crosswalk, while a flashing hand only forbids starting a new crossing.

  18. 18. You want to pass on a two-lane road where several people are walking on the narrow shoulder ahead. What should you consider?

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    Answer D: There is no escape room if the pass goes wrong, so wait for a better place

    A pass depends on having somewhere to go if it goes wrong, and a shoulder occupied by pedestrians removes that option for both vehicles.

  19. 19. On a rural two-lane road you pass small blue signs, each naming one business with an arrow and a distance. What are they?

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    Answer D: Tourist-oriented directional signs for traveler businesses

    Tourist-oriented directional signs carry a white legend on blue and are used on rural conventional roads to guide travelers to eligible businesses.

  20. 20. A friend who has been drinking insists on driving home. What is the right thing to do?

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    Answer B: Take the keys and arrange a sober ride, even if the friend objects

    An impaired driver is dangerous on any street at any speed, and coffee does not lower blood alcohol. Keeping the keys and finding another way home is the only safe choice.

  21. 21. What does a flashing yellow traffic light mean?

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    Answer B: Slow down and proceed with caution

    A flashing yellow lets you enter the intersection cautiously after yielding to pedestrians and to conflicting traffic that is already there.

  22. 22. Why is this restriction used so often on a divided road just before a crest or a bend?

    A white square showing a U shaped arrow inside a red circle with a red diagonal line through it
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    Answer A: Because a vehicle turning across the median there stays hidden from approaching drivers until it is too late

    The maneuver needs a long gap and good visibility, and where sight distance is short an approaching driver has no time to react to a vehicle turning across the road.

  23. 23. You reach a T intersection where the cross street has a ONE WAY sign pointing to the right. What may you do?

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    Answer B: Turn right only, because the street carries traffic in that direction

    The arrow shows the only direction traffic may travel, so the only legal movement from the terminating road is a right turn.

  24. 24. In near freezing weather, which part of an otherwise clear road is most likely to still be icy?

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    Answer D: A shaded dip under trees or beside a rock cut

    Sun clears most of the road, but shaded hollows never warm up and can hold ice long after the rest of the pavement is dry.

  25. 25. You are driving on a divided highway and see a solid yellow line along the left side of your lanes. What does it tell you?

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    Answer D: It marks the left edge of the roadway for your direction

    On a divided highway or a one-way roadway, the left edge of the traveled way is marked with a solid yellow line.