New Mexico MVD Permit Practice Test 44

  • 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. A driver who is passing you cannot complete the pass because a vehicle is coming. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Ease off the accelerator and make room for them to drop back in

    The only place for the passing vehicle to go is the gap behind you, and easing off opens that gap immediately.

  2. 2. What must a New Mexico instructional permit applicant under 18 provide, beyond passing the knowledge and vision tests?

    Show answer

    Answer B: A consent form signed by a parent or guardian

    New Mexico requires applicants under 18 to have a consent form signed by a parent or guardian before an instructional permit can be issued.

  3. 3. What should you do as you approach your exit from a roundabout?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Signal right and check the crosswalk for pedestrians before leaving

    A right signal tells following drivers and waiting drivers that you are leaving, and pedestrians cross at the exit leg, so the crosswalk must be checked.

  4. 4. What does a steady yellow traffic light tell the driver facing it?

    Show answer

    Answer A: The green movement is ending and a red indication is about to appear

    A steady yellow warns that the related green movement is being terminated and that red will follow, so you should stop if you can do so safely.

  5. 5. You have parked but your car sits across the line into the next space. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer B: Pull out and park again fully inside one space

    A car over the line takes a space away from someone else and leaves too little room for the doors of the vehicles beside it.

  6. 6. How do extra passengers affect a driver, especially a new one?

    Show answer

    Answer A: They increase the chance of distraction and of crashes

    Conversation, laughter and horseplay pull a driver's attention away from the road. Crash risk for young drivers rises with each additional passenger.

  7. 7. You are on a two-lane road where a broken yellow line runs on your side of the center. What does that pattern allow?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Passing when the way ahead is clear and it is otherwise legal

    A broken yellow center line marks a stretch where passing is permitted for traffic on that side when it can be completed safely.

  8. 8. You are following closely behind a vehicle you intend to pass on a two-lane road. What should you do first?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Drop back to give yourself room to build speed before you pull out

    From close behind you cannot see far enough ahead and you have no room to gather speed, so the pass takes longer and starts blind.

  9. 9. You are making a legal U-turn at an intersection. Who has the right of way?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Everyone else, until your turn is complete

    A U-turn crosses several paths at once, so you yield to oncoming vehicles, to crossing traffic and to pedestrians before starting it.

  10. 10. What is the function of a regulatory sign?

    Show answer

    Answer A: To inform road users of traffic laws or regulations that apply at that location

    Regulatory signs state requirements that carry the force of law where they are posted, so disregarding one is a violation rather than a lapse of judgment.

  11. 11. On a two-lane road, a solid yellow line runs on your side of the center while a broken yellow line runs on the other side. What does this mean?

    Show answer

    Answer D: You may not pass, although oncoming drivers may

    Passing restrictions are read from the line closest to your own lane, so a solid yellow line on your side creates a no-passing zone for you alone.

  12. 12. A sign with a black legend on a fluorescent pink background is used for

    Show answer

    Answer A: traffic incident management

    Fluorescent pink is set aside for signing that manages traffic around a crash, a spill or another unplanned incident, so it stands apart from routine work zone orange.

  13. 13. Why are sign shapes and colors standardized across the whole country?

    Show answer

    Answer D: So a driver knows the kind of message before reading it

    Uniform shapes and colors let a driver classify a sign as regulatory, warning or guide from a distance, before the legend can be read.

  14. 14. You have finished parallel parking at the curb. How should the vehicle sit?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Close to the curb, so that it does not stick out into the traffic lane

    A parked vehicle must sit close enough to the curb that it does not intrude into the path of passing traffic; the exact maximum distance is set by each state.

  15. 15. You notice at night that one of your headlights has burned out. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer B: Get it replaced promptly, because other drivers may take you for a motorcycle

    A single light makes your vehicle look narrower and further away, so other drivers misjudge you, and one light is also illegal.

  16. 16. How should you use your mirrors while another vehicle overtakes you on a multilane road?

    Show answer

    Answer C: Follow it from the inside mirror to the side mirror and then to your own view

    Handing the vehicle from one mirror to the next keeps it in sight through the blind spot instead of losing it there.

  17. 17. You are turning right on a red light where that is permitted. What does the law require first?

    Show answer

    Answer B: A full stop, then yielding to traffic and pedestrians

    A right turn on red is allowed only after stopping completely and giving way to everyone who has the green, including people in the crosswalk.

  18. 18. Some toll facilities use signs and markings with a purple background or a purple stripe. What do they identify?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Lanes reserved for vehicles with an electronic toll account

    Purple is assigned to lanes and ramps restricted to vehicles with a registered electronic toll collection account, so drivers without one must stay out.

  19. 19. Children are playing close to the edge of a residential street. What is the right speed choice?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Well below the limit, slow enough to stop for a sudden dash

    Children can step out without warning, so the safe speed is the one that lets you stop within the distance you can see to be clear.

  20. 20. It is dusk and a jogger in dark clothing is running along the edge of the road. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Slow down and scan the edges of the road

    Dusk is the hardest light for spotting people, and dark clothing removes most of your warning, so lower speed and a careful scan of the roadsides are the answer.

  21. 21. You see an open curb space on the opposite side of a two-way street. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer B: Drive on, turn around, and come back on that side

    You must park on the right, facing the direction of travel, so reaching a space on the other side means going around rather than crossing into it.

  22. 22. You realize at the last moment that you have passed the street where you meant to turn. What should you do?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Keep going and turn around where it is safe and legal

    A missed turn is a minor inconvenience; braking suddenly, backing up or turning across traffic to recover it causes crashes.

  23. 23. How do you avoid the sharp nod at the end of a stop?

    Show answer

    Answer A: Ease the pedal pressure off slightly just before the vehicle stops

    The nod comes from the suspension unloading at the instant the wheels stop. Releasing a little pressure at the end lets the vehicle settle smoothly.

  24. 24. You are on a four-lane divided highway and a vehicle in your lane is stopped waiting to turn left across the median. What is the normal way past?

    Show answer

    Answer D: Slow down and go by in the lane to the right when it is clear

    On a multilane road the free lane beside you is the lawful place to go past a vehicle waiting to turn, and the median is not part of the roadway.

  25. 25. You wait in the aisle with your signal on for a space that is about to be vacated. What is the risk?

    Show answer

    Answer D: You block the aisle and drivers behind may try to squeeze past

    A stopped vehicle turns a two-way aisle into a bottleneck, and drivers who try to get around it pass close to pedestrians and reversing cars.