New Mexico MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 31
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age13 years
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1. A vehicle in the lane beside you has stopped at a crosswalk. What should you do?
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Answer C: Stop as well, because that driver may be yielding to a pedestrian you cannot see
The stopped vehicle hides the crosswalk from you, and passing it is a leading cause of collisions with pedestrians who are already crossing.
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2. Railroad tracks cross the road at a slight angle. What is normally the safest way to cross them?
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Answer B: Ride straight across while staying inside your own lane
Riding straight ahead within your lane is usually safe on tracks that cross the road, because swerving to square them up can carry you into another lane or into oncoming traffic.
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3. What is the correct way to think about protective gear?
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Answer D: It reduces injury in a crash but does nothing to prevent one
Gear is the last line of defense. Avoiding the crash depends on skill, speed choice, space and visibility, and gear only limits the damage when those fail.
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4. When should you arrange your way home if you plan to drink?
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Answer C: Before the first drink
Judgment is the first thing alcohol weakens, so the plan has to be made while you can still make a good one.
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5. How much room should a rider try to leave when passing a line of parked cars?
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Answer A: Enough to clear an opening door, roughly the width of a car door
A door swings out about the width of a door, so ride at least that far from parked vehicles and slow down wherever you cannot leave that much space.
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6. The curb ahead is signed as a bus stop. May you wait there with your vehicle?
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Answer C: No, the space must stay clear for buses
A bus stop must stay open so that a bus can reach the curb and let passengers on and off safely, so no other vehicle may occupy it.
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7. There is a stop sign but no stop line and no crosswalk. Where must you stop?
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Answer A: Before entering the intersection, where you can see cross traffic
With no line or crosswalk, stop before you enter the intersection at the point where you can see traffic on the cross street.
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8. A large electronic advertising sign beside the road catches your eye. What should you do?
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Answer A: Glance briefly and return your eyes to the road
Bright changing displays are designed to hold attention, so treat them like any roadside object and give them no more than a brief glance.
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9. A parking space is marked with the international symbol of access. Who may use it?
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Answer A: Only a vehicle displaying the required placard or plate
Accessible spaces may be used only by a vehicle that displays a valid disability placard or plate, no matter how short the stop would be.
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10. What does a NARROW BRIDGE warning sign tell a driver?
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Answer A: The bridge is tighter than the road leading up to it
A narrow bridge still carries both directions, but with much less clearance than the approaches, so drivers should slow and hold their lane position carefully.
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11. Your light is green but the traffic beyond the intersection is stopped and there is no room on the far side. What should you do?
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Answer A: Wait behind the line until you can clear the far side
Entering an intersection you cannot clear blocks the cross traffic when their signal turns green, so you wait behind the line.
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12. How often should you check your mirrors while driving?
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Answer C: Every few seconds, so you always know what is around you
Traffic behind and beside you changes constantly. Frequent, brief mirror checks keep a picture of your surroundings current so nothing surprises you.
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13. With the engine off, a rider turns the handlebars fully to the left and to the right. What is being checked?
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Answer A: That the steering moves freely and no cable is pinched or binding
Cables and wiring that catch at full lock can hold the throttle open or stiffen the steering exactly when the rider needs a tight turn.
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14. You spot a deep pothole that the riders behind you will not be able to see until it is too late. What is the usual way to warn them?
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Answer B: Point at it with a hand or a foot on the side it lies on
Pointing at the hazard on the correct side tells the riders behind both that something is there and where in the lane it is.
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15. A yellow diamond in which one line joins another at an angle warns that
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Answer B: traffic from another roadway will merge into the driver's lane ahead
The merge sign warns that another traffic stream will join the same lane ahead, so drivers on both roadways must adjust speed and spacing.
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16. You have finished a distracting task and your eyes are back on the road. What is true?
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Answer A: Your full attention takes a while to come back
Studies of drivers show attention lags behind the eyes for many seconds after a phone or a screen task, so the danger continues after the task is over.
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17. A snow squall cuts visibility to almost nothing while you are on a highway. What must you not do?
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Answer D: Stop in a travel lane and wait for the squall to blow through
A vehicle stopped in a lane in a whiteout is invisible until someone hits it. Slow gradually and keep moving until you can leave the roadway completely.
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18. 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.
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19. How should a passenger swing their leg when getting off the motorcycle?
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Answer D: High and clear of the exhaust and the rear of the machine
A leg dragged low across the back of the motorcycle can catch the seat or the luggage and will find the hot exhaust, so it is lifted well clear.
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20. How can you check that you are keeping a safe following distance?
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Answer A: Count at least three seconds between the vehicle ahead passing a fixed object and your reaching it
Pick a fixed roadside object, start counting when the vehicle ahead passes it and make sure at least three seconds elapse before you reach it, adding more time in poor conditions.
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21. The gates at a railroad crossing begin to come down as you approach. What must you do?
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Answer A: Stop and wait until the gates are fully raised and the lights stop flashing
Once the gates start down you must stop clear of the tracks and wait until they are fully raised and the warning lights have stopped.
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22. A school crossing guard has returned to the curb but two children are still walking across the road. When may you go?
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Answer C: Only after the children have reached the far sidewalk
The guard leaving the road does not end your duty; you stay stopped until every child is clear of the roadway.
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23. Which color scheme is standard for the drums and barricades that channel traffic through a work zone?
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Answer C: Alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes
Drums and barricades carry alternating orange and white retroreflective stripes, and the traffic cones used in the same zones are predominantly orange.
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24. Why is a shoulder check especially important on a road with motorcycles and bicycles?
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Answer D: A narrow vehicle can disappear completely in the blind spot
A motorcycle or a bicycle is small enough to be hidden entirely by a door pillar or by the blind spot the mirrors do not cover.
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25. What is a manageable size for a single group of motorcycles?
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Answer A: No more than four or five riders
Four or five machines can hold a formation, stay in sight of one another and clear an intersection together, while larger groups quickly become unmanageable.