New Mexico MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 45

  • 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. Before making a right turn at an intersection, what should you check besides oncoming traffic?

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    Answer B: Your right blind spot and the crosswalk, for cyclists and pedestrians

    Right turns often catch a cyclist or a pedestrian coming up on the right, so check the blind spot and the crosswalk before you turn.

  2. 2. A squirrel darts into your path a short distance ahead. What is normally the safest response?

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    Answer C: Hold your line, brake as much as is safe, and accept hitting a small animal

    Swerving without space, or crashing while braking, hurts the rider far more than a small animal does, so stay in your lane and slow as much as traction allows.

  3. 3. Your road ends at a T-intersection with no signs or signals. Who has the right-of-way?

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    Answer A: Traffic on the through road, and you must yield before entering

    A driver on a road that ends at a T-intersection must yield to traffic on the through road that continues past the junction.

  4. 4. You are in the right-hand lane of a multilane street and that lane becomes a right-turn-only lane ahead, but you want to go straight. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Change into a through lane before you reach the markings for the turn lane

    A lane-use arrow is a regulatory marking, so a driver who wants to continue straight has to leave that lane before it becomes a mandatory turn lane.

  5. 5. A driver extends the left arm out the window and bends it upward at the elbow. What does this signal mean?

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    Answer B: A right turn

    The left arm bent upward at the elbow is the standard hand signal for a right turn.

  6. 6. Why is dusk one of the harder times of day to drive?

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    Answer B: The failing light blurs shapes into the background

    In fading light there is not enough contrast to pick objects out, yet it is not dark enough for headlights to do the work, so pedestrians and cyclists disappear.

  7. 7. Traffic in a work zone is down to one lane in each direction, separated by a temporary double yellow line. May you pass?

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    Answer C: No, temporary markings prohibit passing just as permanent ones do

    A temporary marking has the same legal force as a permanent one, and a work zone is the last place with room to spare for an overtaking vehicle.

  8. 8. What most often leads to an engine seizure on a motorcycle?

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    Answer A: Loss of engine oil or coolant, so the moving parts overheat and grip

    Seizure is normally a lubrication or cooling failure, which is why oil level and coolant are part of every pre-ride check and why a rising temperature reading deserves attention.

  9. 9. A yellow curve warning sign carries a yellow plaque showing a speed. What does that number mean?

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    Answer D: The recommended maximum safe speed for the curve under ideal conditions

    An advisory speed plaque on a yellow warning sign gives the recommended maximum speed for the hazard ahead when conditions are good.

  10. 10. You are circulating in a roundabout and a vehicle is waiting to enter ahead of you. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Keep going, because circulating traffic does not stop for entering vehicles

    Stopping in the circle to be polite surprises the drivers behind you and defeats the design; entering traffic is the side that waits.

  11. 11. An oncoming vehicle keeps its high beam on and dazzles you. What should you do?

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    Answer C: Look toward the right edge of your lane and slow until it has passed

    Shifting your gaze to the right edge of the lane keeps you on line without staring into the glare, and slowing gives you time if something is hidden in it.

  12. 12. A center lane is marked with a broken yellow line on each side and is controlled by overhead lane signals. How is that lane used?

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    Answer A: It carries traffic one way or the other according to the signals

    A reversible lane is marked with broken yellow lines on both sides and its direction of travel is set by the lane control signals above it.

  13. 13. You park at the roadside on a hill, facing downhill. What keeps the motorcycle from rolling away?

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    Answer D: Leaving it in first gear with the front wheel turned toward the curb

    A motorcycle has no parking brake, so the transmission left in gear stops the wheel turning and the front wheel turned into the curb blocks any roll.

  14. 14. You are approaching a horse and rider on a country road. What about your horn?

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    Answer C: Do not sound it at all, because the noise can frighten the animal

    A startled horse is dangerous to its rider and to you, so pass wide and slow and leave the horn alone.

  15. 15. Traffic in your lane is backed up and the paved shoulder looks clear. May you drive along it to get past?

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    Answer C: No, the shoulder is not a travel lane

    Passing must be done within the roadway; driving on the shoulder to get around traffic is prohibited and surprises anyone entering from the right.

  16. 16. You are waiting to turn and the traffic ahead has stopped. Where must you not come to rest?

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    Answer D: On the crosswalk, which people need in order to cross the street

    Stopping on a crosswalk forces pedestrians out into the traffic lanes to get around you, so you hold back before it instead.

  17. 17. Your navigation device tells you to turn where a road sign says the turn is closed. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Follow the signs and what you can see

    A device works from stored data that can be out of date, while signs and the road in front of you show the situation now, so the road wins every time.

  18. 18. Besides school signing, which warning signs may also use a fluorescent yellow-green background?

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    Answer C: Pedestrian and bicycle warning signs

    Pedestrian crossing, bicycle and playground warning signs may use either the standard yellow or the fluorescent yellow-green background, which draws extra attention where people outside vehicles are present.

  19. 19. Where is passing prohibited even when no line is visible?

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    Answer D: On a curve or near the crest of a hill, at intersections and at railroad crossings

    Passing is prohibited wherever your view of oncoming traffic is blocked or where vehicles may cross your path, which includes hills, curves, intersections and rail crossings.

  20. 20. What happens if a passenger leans the opposite way to the rider in a curve?

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    Answer B: The motorcycle becomes harder to steer and may run wide in the curve

    A passenger leaning against the turn fights the lean angle the rider has set, forcing extra steering effort and pushing the machine toward the outside of the curve.

  21. 21. You are approaching a sharp curve. When should you reduce your speed?

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    Answer D: Before you enter the curve, so you can accelerate gently through it

    Braking hard inside a curve uses up the traction that is already being demanded for cornering, so the slowing must be finished before you enter.

  22. 22. Where in the United States may a motorcycle ride between lanes of traffic?

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    Answer C: Only where a state has specifically authorized it

    Riding between lanes is prohibited in most states and permitted only where a state law expressly allows it, so a rider must know the rule for the state being ridden in.

  23. 23. Someone stops drinking heavily at two in the morning and drives to work at eight. What is true?

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    Answer A: They may still be impaired and over the limit

    The body removes alcohol at a slow, fixed rate, so a heavy night can leave a driver impaired well into the next morning no matter how they feel.

  24. 24. What does a sign reading Slower Traffic Keep Right require?

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    Answer C: Traffic moving slower than the general flow must use the right-hand lane

    The sign applies to any vehicle traveling below the speed of the traffic around it, which must keep right so faster vehicles can use the lanes to the left.

  25. 25. You are stopped at a red light waiting to turn right where the turn is allowed. Besides traffic from the left, what must you check?

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    Answer D: Both crosswalks, and anyone approaching along your right side

    A right turn on red crosses the crosswalk in front of you and enters the one on the cross street, and cyclists often approach along your right.