New Mexico MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 47

  • 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. At night you are waiting to turn left and can see only the headlights of an approaching vehicle. Why should you allow a bigger margin?

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    Answer D: Because lights alone make speed and distance hard to judge

    With no other visual cues, two points of light give you very little information about how fast the vehicle is closing, so leave extra margin.

  2. 2. A yellow diamond shows the two edges of the road pinching toward each other. What does it mean?

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    Answer B: The pavement gets narrower but the lanes continue

    The road narrows sign warns that the traveled way becomes tighter, leaving less room beside passing vehicles even though no lane is dropped.

  3. 3. You are stopped facing uphill on a steep grade and need to pull away. What is the recommended technique?

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    Answer D: Hold with the rear brake, ease the clutch into the friction zone, then release

    The rear brake keeps the motorcycle from rolling backward while the clutch takes up the drive, and it is released as the throttle is opened.

  4. 4. You arrive at an intersection with no signs, no signals and no markings at the same time as a vehicle on the road to your right. What must you do?

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    Answer B: Yield to the vehicle on your right

    At an uncontrolled intersection you must yield to a vehicle already in the intersection or approaching from your right.

  5. 5. How should space management change with a passenger aboard?

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    Answer B: Allow a greater following distance and wait for larger gaps in traffic

    A loaded motorcycle accelerates and stops more slowly, so it needs more room ahead and bigger gaps to merge, to pass or to cross traffic.

  6. 6. What is the purpose of the engine cut-off switch?

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    Answer B: To stop the engine without letting go of the handgrips

    The cut-off switch, usually a red switch near the right handgrip, shuts the engine down while the rider keeps both hands in control of the motorcycle.

  7. 7. You are about to descend a long steep grade. How should you control your speed?

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    Answer D: Select a lower gear before starting down and use the brakes in firm, brief applications

    Engine braking in a lower gear carries most of the load down the grade, while continuous brake pressure overheats the brakes and reduces their effectiveness.

  8. 8. The signal ahead turns yellow while you are approaching it. What does the yellow light mean?

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    Answer C: The red is coming; stop if you can do so safely

    A steady yellow warns that the red is next. Stop if you can do so safely; enter the intersection only when stopping would be dangerous.

  9. 9. What does black ice usually look like from the driver seat?

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    Answer C: A patch of pavement that simply looks wet or slightly glossy

    Black ice is clear, so you see the dark road through it and read it as a wet patch. In freezing weather, treat any wet looking patch as ice.

  10. 10. A driver disregards this sign and turns so as to travel against the direction it establishes. What is the immediate danger?

    A black rectangle with a white arrow and white lettering
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    Answer D: The driver will face traffic head on, because every lane comes the other way

    Turning against the established direction puts the vehicle nose to nose with all the traffic on that street, which is why the mistake has to be corrected at once.

  11. 11. A lane along the right edge is set off by a solid white line and marked with a bicycle symbol. How should a driver treat it?

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    Answer B: Stay out of it except for the short distance needed to turn or cross where that is allowed

    A marked bicycle lane is set aside for bicycle traffic, and motor vehicles may enter it only briefly where turning or crossing is permitted.

  12. 12. A notification appears on your smart watch while you are driving. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Treat it as you would a phone and leave it

    A watch screen demands the same eyes and the same attention as a phone, and a wrist is no safer a place to read a message than a dashboard.

  13. 13. A pedestrian is crossing a wide four-lane street and has reached the lanes on the far side. When may you go on?

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    Answer C: Only after the person has finished crossing the roadway

    Waiting until the pedestrian has finished crossing is correct in every state and removes any doubt about how much clearance your state demands.

  14. 14. Your group is turning left across oncoming traffic. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Wait until you personally have a large enough gap to turn

    Each rider needs a gap of their own, and turning on the strength of the rider ahead means turning into traffic you have not actually judged.

  15. 15. A driver reaches this sign and the intersecting roadway is completely clear. What is required?

    A downward pointing white triangle with a wide red border
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    Answer D: Slowing to a speed that allows stopping, then going on without stopping if the way stays clear

    This control asks the driver to slow down and be ready to stop, and a full stop becomes necessary only when traffic or pedestrians would otherwise be interfered with.

  16. 16. What must a New Mexico driver do to contest an administrative DWI revocation before the deadline passes?

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    Answer A: Submit a hearing request within 10 days of being served the notice, with a $25 fee or a letter of indigence

    A driver contesting an administrative DWI revocation must request a hearing within 10 days of being served the notice, along with a $25 fee or a letter of indigence.

  17. 17. Which combination best reduces the chance of hydroplaning?

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    Answer D: Good tread depth, correct tire pressure and lower speed in the rain

    Tread channels water away, correct pressure keeps the tire's shape, and lower speed gives the tire time to push water aside. Hydroplaning can begin at surprisingly modest speeds.

  18. 18. Where does loose sand and gravel most often collect on a paved road?

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    Answer D: Along the edges of the road and on curves and highway ramps

    Traffic sweeps loose material toward the outside of the travel path, so it builds up at the road edges and on curves and on entrance and exit ramps.

  19. 19. A diamond-shaped sign is used to

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    Answer A: warn of a condition on or next to the road that may call for caution

    The diamond is the standard shape of the warning series, which alerts drivers to conditions that would otherwise not be obvious in time to react.

  20. 20. Another driver cuts you off and you feel your temper rising. What should you do?

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    Answer A: Take a breath, drop back and let it go, because the whole trip matters more

    Retaliation turns a moment of bad driving into a crash, and dropping back costs you only a few seconds.

  21. 21. You are following closely behind a vehicle you intend to pass on a two-lane road. What should you do first?

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    Answer D: Drop back to give yourself room to build speed before you pull out

    From close behind you cannot see far enough ahead and you have no room to gather speed, so the pass takes longer and starts blind.

  22. 22. You are approaching an intersection in a line of traffic. What can you do to be more visible to a driver waiting to pull out?

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    Answer D: Move to a lane position where you are not hidden behind the vehicle ahead

    A motorcycle tucked directly behind a larger vehicle is invisible to a waiting driver until the moment it appears, so the rider moves to where the headlight can be seen.

  23. 23. Which helmet style gives the rider the most coverage?

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    Answer C: A full face helmet

    A full face helmet covers the chin and jaw as well as the skull, protecting the area that open styles leave exposed.

  24. 24. Your light turns green, but a vehicle from the cross street is still finishing a turn inside the intersection. What should you do?

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    Answer B: Wait until that vehicle has cleared the intersection

    A green indication lets you proceed only after yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk and to vehicles already lawfully within the intersection.

  25. 25. After an hour on a hot highway your tire pressure reads higher than it did in the morning. What should you do?

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    Answer D: Nothing, because pressure rises when tires heat up

    Air expands as the tire warms, so a hot reading is normally above the cold setting. Bleeding air off would leave the tire underinflated once it cooled.