New Mexico MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 15

  • Questions25
  • Correct to pass18
  • Passing score72%
  • Minimum age13 years

Minimum age: 13 years with a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic RiderCourse for a Y or Z endorsement, 15 years otherwise

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

  1. 1. A pedestrian is crossing at a corner where no crosswalk is painted on the pavement. What is your duty?

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    Answer A: Yield, because a legal crosswalk exists at the corner even without paint

    Every intersection has a crosswalk whether or not it is marked, and drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing there.

  2. 2. Your vehicle has stalled on railroad tracks and no train is in sight. After getting everyone away, whom should you call first?

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    Answer B: The railroad emergency number posted on the blue sign at the crossing, giving the crossing number

    Every public crossing has a blue emergency notification sign with a phone number and a crossing identification number. That call lets the railroad stop or slow trains before they reach you.

  3. 3. On a typical motorcycle, which of these controls does the rider operate with the right hand?

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    Answer C: The front brake lever

    The front brake lever sits on the right handlebar and is squeezed with the right hand, while the clutch lever is on the left handlebar.

  4. 4. A center lane is bordered by a solid yellow line on the outside and a broken yellow line on the inside, with left-turn arrows painted in it. How may you use that lane?

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    Answer A: Only to make a left turn or to prepare for one from either direction

    That marking identifies a two-way left turn lane, which may only be used for left turns or to prepare for a left turn and never for travel or passing.

  5. 5. How can you tell a tire has reached its wear limit without measuring it?

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    Answer C: The wear bars across the grooves become level with the tread

    Molded bars sit at the bottom of the grooves. Once the surrounding tread has worn down to them, the tire has reached the end of its safe life.

  6. 6. How should a rider adjust speed on an unlit road at night?

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    Answer C: Slow enough to stop within the distance the headlight actually lights up

    A rider can only react to what is visible, so night speed has to fit the distance the headlight reaches rather than the posted limit.

  7. 7. Which statement best describes what the basic speed law requires of you?

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    Answer C: That you never drive faster than is reasonable and safe for the conditions

    Nearly every state has a basic speed law that makes the conditions the real limit: weather, traffic, light and road surface can all require a speed well below the posted number.

  8. 8. What makes up the total distance needed to bring a vehicle to a stop?

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    Answer A: The distance covered while you perceive the hazard, the distance covered while you react, and the braking distance

    Total stopping distance combines the ground covered while you notice the hazard, the ground covered while you move your foot to the brake, and the ground covered while the brakes slow the vehicle.

  9. 9. 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.

  10. 10. Why is the road often most slippery during the first few minutes of rain after a long dry spell?

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    Answer C: Oil and dust on the surface mix with the water into a slick film

    Oil drippings and road dust build up on dry pavement, and the first light rain lifts them into a slippery film before heavier rain washes it away.

  11. 11. You are backing out of a space in a parking lot. Who has the right of way?

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    Answer D: Traffic already moving in the lane, and pedestrians walking behind you

    A driver backing out must yield to vehicles and pedestrians already using the lane, because backing is the movement with the poorest view.

  12. 12. A curb sign reads 2 Hour Parking, 8 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Saturday. When may you stay longer than two hours?

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    Answer A: Outside those hours and on Sundays

    A time limit applies only during the days and hours printed on the sign; outside them the ordinary parking rules apply.

  13. 13. Your light turns green, but a vehicle is still in the middle of the intersection. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Wait until the intersection is clear before you move ahead

    A green light means go only when the way is clear. Drivers already inside the intersection must be allowed to finish crossing.

  14. 14. Blue pavement markings are used together with white markings at

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    Answer D: parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities

    Blue supplements the white markings of accessible parking spaces, which is the only assignment blue has on the pavement.

  15. 15. 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
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    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.

  16. 16. You are approaching a narrow bridge where the road has one lane in each direction and no shoulder. What should you do about passing?

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    Answer B: Do not pass on or near the bridge

    A narrow bridge gives neither vehicle anywhere to go, so passing is prohibited there in the same way as on a hill or in a tunnel.

  17. 17. At roughly what speed can hydroplaning begin when a lot of water is lying on the road?

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    Answer C: At speeds as low as about 35 mph

    With enough water and less than perfect tread, a tire can start to ride on the water at around 35 mph, well below normal highway speeds.

  18. 18. You are turning left from a one-way street onto a two-way street. How should the turn be made?

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    Answer B: Start in the far left lane and finish just to the right of the center line

    Left turns begin from the lane nearest the left edge of the street you are leaving and must finish on the right-hand side of the center line of a two-way street.

  19. 19. You are riding on a multi-lane road with a car traveling beside you in the lane on your right. Which lane position is usually best?

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    Answer D: The left portion, so you keep a cushion of space from the car alongside

    Lane position is chosen to hold space between the motorcycle and the nearest hazard, and here that hazard is the vehicle on the right.

  20. 20. Apart from other vehicles, who else must a driver let go first at this sign?

    A downward pointing white triangle with a wide red border
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    Answer A: Pedestrians and cyclists already in or entering the crossing

    The duty to give way covers every road user who has the right of way at that point, including people walking or cycling across the driver's path.

  21. 21. How may a New Mexico rider aged 18 or older add a motorcycle endorsement?

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    Answer C: By passing a road test on a motorcycle of appropriate size or completing the Basic Rider Course

    Riders 18 and over choose between a road test on a motorcycle matching the endorsement sought and the Basic Rider Course, and the written motorcycle test is also required unless the course was taken.

  22. 22. On a hot summer day you notice long black strips of crack sealant snaking across the pavement. What should a rider know about them?

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    Answer A: They soften in heat and can be slippery, especially under a leaned tire

    Crack sealant gets soft and greasy in the heat, so treat those strips as a low traction surface and avoid braking or hard cornering on them.

  23. 23. How should a rider approach a curve whose radius keeps tightening the further you go into it?

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    Answer A: Enter more slowly than the curve first appears to need, saving lean for the exit

    In a decreasing radius curve the sharpest part comes last, so a slower entry leaves both speed and lean angle in reserve for where they are needed.

  24. 24. Many signs use a symbol instead of words. The main advantage is that a symbol

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    Answer C: can be read from farther away and by more people

    A symbol is recognized at greater distance than a line of text and does not depend on the reader knowing English.

  25. 25. A sign at the curb reads Tow-Away Zone. What does it mean for you?

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    Answer C: That a vehicle left there can be removed at the owner's expense

    In a tow-away zone the vehicle can be removed immediately and the owner pays the towing and storage charges to get it back.