New Mexico MVD Permit Practice Test 47

  • 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 holds a steady highway speed into the section this sign warns about. What is the most likely result?

    A yellow diamond showing a black curving arrow
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    Answer B: The vehicle runs wide toward the outside and can cross into another lane or leave the pavement

    Holding speed into a change of alignment asks the tires for more side grip than they can supply, so the vehicle runs wide and the driver is left with less room to correct.

  2. 2. A yellow diamond showing a truck is posted beside a quarry entrance. What is it warning about?

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    Answer A: Trucks turning onto the highway from that entrance

    A truck crossing or trucks entering sign is used where heavy vehicles pull onto the road from a site, and they accelerate slowly once they are on it.

  3. 3. How should a turn at an intersection be taken on a wet road?

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    Answer C: Slow earlier than usual and steer smoothly through the corner

    Wet pavement leaves less grip, so the speed must come off before the turn and the steering must be gentle enough not to break traction.

  4. 4. How far from a New Mexico railroad crossing must a school bus or a truck hauling gasoline stop before crossing?

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    Answer A: At least 15 feet

    School buses, taxis and other vehicles for hire carrying passengers, and trucks hauling explosives or gasoline, must stop at least 15 feet from the crossing, and a school bus driver must also open the doors.

  5. 5. What should you do about snow and ice on your vehicle before driving?

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    Answer C: Clear all glass, mirrors and lights, and the roof and hood as well

    Snow left on the roof or hood slides onto your windshield when you brake and blows into the path of drivers behind you, and covered lights make your vehicle hard to see.

  6. 6. About how much alcohol can the body eliminate per hour?

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    Answer A: About one standard drink

    The liver removes alcohol at a nearly fixed rate of roughly one standard drink per hour. Drinking faster than that raises the blood alcohol level, and nothing speeds the process.

  7. 7. What does the letter V endorsement on a New Mexico driver's license or ID card indicate?

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    Answer D: The holder is a documented victim of identity theft in the state's database

    New Mexico's V endorsement does not authorize any vehicle type; it flags the holder as a documented identity theft victim listed in the Attorney General's database.

  8. 8. What does New Mexico generally require of an off-highway vehicle (OHV) operator under 18?

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    Answer D: Visual supervision by a parent

    As a general rule, New Mexico requires an off-highway vehicle operator under 18 to be visually supervised by a parent, subject to specific age-based exceptions.

  9. 9. Which family of signs normally uses a rectangle that is wider than it is tall?

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    Answer B: Guide signs, which name routes and destinations

    Guide signs are laid out as horizontal rectangles because they have to carry route numbers, place names and distances side by side.

  10. 10. You are traveling beside a tractor-trailer and cannot see the truck driver's face in any of the truck's mirrors. What does that tell you?

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    Answer A: The truck driver probably cannot see your vehicle

    Large trucks have deep blind spots on all four sides, so if the driver's face is not visible in a mirror the driver has no view of you. Move ahead or drop back until you are out of that area.

  11. 11. A yellow sign ahead of an underpass reads LOW CLEARANCE 12 FT 6 IN. What does the figure tell you?

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    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.

  12. 12. Why is passing another vehicle a bad idea in dense fog?

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    Answer C: You cannot see far enough ahead to know the passing lane is clear

    A pass needs a clear view of the road well beyond the vehicle you are overtaking, and fog takes exactly that away.

  13. 13. Which headlight setting should you use in dense fog?

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    Answer B: Low beams

    High beams reflect off the water droplets in fog and bounce glare back at you, while low beams aim downward and light the road without that mirror effect.

  14. 14. May you use a relative's accessible parking placard to park in a marked accessible space?

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    Answer D: No, only when the placard holder is being transported in the vehicle

    A placard belongs to the person, not to the car, so it is valid only when that person is being transported; using it otherwise takes a space from someone who needs it.

  15. 15. Loose gravel has been swept into the middle of your lane on a downhill bend. Which controls are affected most?

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    Answer D: Steering and braking, since the loose stones roll under the tires

    Gravel rolls between rubber and pavement, so the tires can neither turn the vehicle nor slow it as they would on a clean surface.

  16. 16. You park on level ground in a lot. Where should the front wheels be pointing?

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    Answer C: Straight ahead, so the car would not veer if it moved

    On the level the wheels go straight so that the car stays in its own space, and so that a shunt from behind does not send it across a lane.

  17. 17. When should you turn on your signal before a turn or a lane change?

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    Answer C: Well before the maneuver, so other drivers have time to react

    A signal is a warning to others, so it has to be given far enough ahead of the maneuver that drivers and pedestrians can adjust.

  18. 18. A sign reads MINIMUM SPEED 40. What does it require of a driver?

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    Answer C: Not to drive below that speed when conditions allow

    A minimum speed limit keeps unnecessarily slow vehicles from obstructing traffic, but it never overrides the duty to slow down for weather or congestion.

  19. 19. A separate right-turn lane leads onto the cross street and carries a yield sign. What does it require?

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    Answer D: Slowing and giving way to traffic and people, stopping if needed

    A yield requires you to slow, give way to traffic in the lane you are joining and to pedestrians, and stop only if that is what safety demands.

  20. 20. The lane control signal above your lane changes to a steady yellow X. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Prepare to leave the lane, because it is about to be closed

    A steady yellow X is the warning that the lane below it is about to close, giving drivers time to move over before the red X appears.

  21. 21. Where does New Mexico require vehicle emissions testing?

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    Answer A: Only in Bernalillo County, plus commuters into it 60 or more days a year

    New Mexico requires emissions testing only in Bernalillo County, and it also applies to people who commute into the county 60 or more days a year.

  22. 22. What is the main danger when you back out of an angle parking space?

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    Answer A: Parked vehicles beside you hide the traffic coming along the aisle

    You have to edge out blind past the vehicles on either side, so back very slowly and be ready to stop as soon as any part of the aisle comes into view.

  23. 23. A pedestrian signal displays a steady walking person symbol. What does it mean for a pedestrian at that corner?

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    Answer B: The pedestrian may start crossing in the direction of the signal

    The steady walking person permits a pedestrian to begin the crossing, while still yielding to vehicles already lawfully in the intersection.

  24. 24. A barricade carries a sign reading ROAD CLOSED TO THROUGH TRAFFIC. What does it permit?

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    Answer B: Local access for people whose destination is on that road

    This closure keeps out drivers who are only passing through while still allowing residents and deliveries to reach addresses within the closed section.

  25. 25. You enter a work zone at night where one lane is closed and a flagger is on duty. What is the safest approach?

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    Answer A: Slow early, merge before the closure and be ready to stop

    Merging early at a reduced speed keeps the queue orderly and leaves you room to stop for equipment, workers or traffic that has halted ahead.