New Mexico MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 27
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age13 years
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1. What is the main risk of buying a second hand helmet?
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Answer B: You cannot know whether it has been dropped or crashed already
A helmet's protection depends on a liner that may already be crushed by an impact you cannot see, and a stranger's helmet comes with no history you can trust.
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2. In heavy fog at night on a rural two-lane road, which marking best helps a driver hold position?
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Answer C: The solid white line along the right edge
Steering by the right edge line keeps a driver clear of oncoming traffic, while watching the center line tends to pull the vehicle toward it.
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3. You are about to leave a roundabout when a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk on your exit. What should you do?
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Answer B: Yield to the pedestrian and wait for the crosswalk to clear
Roundabout crosswalks sit on the entries and exits, and drivers must yield to pedestrians using them.
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4. What does it mean to scan the road while driving?
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Answer A: Moving your eyes constantly over the road, the sides and the mirrors
Scanning keeps information coming in from every direction, while a fixed stare leaves you blind to everything else.
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5. How should riders in a staggered formation pass another vehicle?
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Answer D: One rider at a time
Passing one rider at a time keeps each pass short and prevents the group from occupying the other lane longer than necessary.
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6. Which clue tells you that a parked vehicle is about to pull into traffic?
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Answer D: Exhaust smoke, brake lights, front wheels turned out or a driver in the seat
A running engine, lit brake lights, turned wheels or a person behind the wheel all mean the vehicle may move. Slow down and give it room.
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7. What is a driver being warned about here?
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Answer B: The pavement ahead carries vehicles traveling in the opposite direction
Beyond this point vehicles come the other way on the same pavement, which commonly happens where a one-way section or a separated stretch comes to an end.
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8. An ambulance has just gone by and traffic starts to move again. Why should you wait a moment before pulling back out?
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Answer B: Another emergency vehicle may be following the first one
Emergency calls often bring several vehicles, so check that nothing else is coming before you rejoin the traffic lane.
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9. What does a tire with worn tread do on a wet road?
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Answer B: It loses grip and it hydroplanes at a lower speed than a good tire
Tread grooves carry water away from the contact patch, and a worn tire cannot do that, so it floats on the water sooner.
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10. What causes the side to side motion a rider feels when crossing a steel grid deck or rain grooves?
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Answer C: The tires following the ridges and grooves, which is normal and harmless
The tread follows the pattern in the surface, which produces a wandering feel. The motorcycle is not out of control, so relax on the bars and hold your speed.
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11. Why would this sign be installed on an approach?
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Answer B: Because the signal cannot be seen from far enough back for a driver to react in time
Advance notice of a signal is used where a crest, a curve, trees or a building keep the signal heads out of view until a driver is already too close to stop comfortably.
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12. What should a rider remember about convex mirrors?
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Answer B: They show a wider view, but vehicles look farther away and slower than they are
The curved glass fits more of the scene into the mirror, and the price of that extra width is a distorted sense of distance and closing speed.
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13. A motorcycle ahead of you is weaving slightly as it crosses a stretch of grooved pavement. What should you do?
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Answer D: Give the rider extra room until the surface improves
Grooves, metal plates and loose material affect a motorcycle far more than a car, so back off and let the rider deal with the surface.
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14. You are riding a city street with embedded streetcar rails and it has just started to rain. What is the added risk?
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Answer D: Wet steel rails offer very little grip, and so does the pavement beside them
Steel rails give almost no traction when wet, so cross them upright at as close to a right angle as the lane allows, without braking or turning on the metal.
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15. How should a helmet sit on the head once it is fastened?
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Answer C: Level on the head, with the eye port giving a clear view of the road
A helmet worn level protects the forehead and gives full vision, while one pushed back leaves the forehead exposed in a crash.
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16. What is the what if habit of a defensive driver?
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Answer C: Thinking through what you would do if a hazard ahead of you turned bad
Rehearsing an answer before the hazard develops means you act at once instead of spending time deciding.
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17. A pedestrian signal changes to a flashing upraised hand. What does that indication mean?
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Answer C: Do not start crossing, but finish a crossing already begun
The flashing upraised hand is the pedestrian change interval: nobody may start to cross, but a pedestrian already in the crosswalk may continue to the far side or to a median.
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18. It is very hot and a rider is tempted to take off the riding jacket. Why can that make the heat worse?
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Answer C: A bare arm in hot moving air loses fluid fast and burns in the sun
In hot, dry air a covering layer slows the evaporation of sweat and blocks the sun, so ventilated gear can keep a rider cooler and better hydrated than bare skin.
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19. A car is coming straight at you in your lane and there is no time for it to move back. What should you do?
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Answer A: Brake, sound the horn and steer to the right, toward the shoulder or ditch
Steering right takes you away from the other vehicle even if its driver corrects course, and the shoulder or ditch is survivable.
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20. 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.
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21. You are approaching a multilane roundabout. When should you choose your lane?
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Answer C: Before you enter, using the lane-choice sign on the approach
You select your lane on the approach the way you would at any multilane intersection, then stay in that lane all the way around, because changing lanes inside a roundabout creates side-impact conflicts.
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22. Traffic is heavy and crawling where a sign warns that your lane ends and two lanes must become one. What is the best practice?
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Answer C: Use the lane to the end, then take turns merging one by one
In stop-and-go traffic the zipper merge, using both lanes up to the merge point and then alternating, keeps the queue shorter and traffic moving; in free-flowing traffic move over as soon as it is safe.
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23. You are riding in the right hand lane of a freeway and vehicles ahead are merging on from an entrance ramp. What is the best response?
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Answer C: Change lanes if you safely can, or adjust speed to open a gap for them
Merging drivers are looking over a shoulder for a gap and easily miss a motorcycle, so the rider makes room rather than waiting to be seen.
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24. Where must the engine cut-off switch be set before the starter button will crank the engine?
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Answer A: In the run position
The cut-off switch sits in the ignition circuit, so the engine will not start or run while it is set to off.
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25. You are following a large truck on a two-lane road and cannot see past it. What should you do before deciding to pass?
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Answer D: Drop back so that your view of the road ahead opens up
Distance is what buys you a view around a large vehicle, and no decision to pass can be made from a position where you cannot see.