New Mexico MVD Motorcycle Practice Test 58
- Questions25
- Correct to pass18
- Passing score72%
- Minimum age13 years
-
1. A sign with a yellow background and a black legend generally conveys
Show answer
Answer B: a general warning
Yellow is the background color used for general warning signs, so a yellow sign tells the driver to expect something ahead rather than to obey a rule.
-
2. Which clothing color is most likely to get a rider noticed in daylight?
Show answer
Answer B: Bright orange, yellow or green, which contrast with backgrounds
High visibility colors stand out against road, foliage and vehicles, which helps drivers pick a motorcycle out of a busy background during the day.
-
3. What should a driver expect a short distance beyond this sign?
Show answer
Answer C: Another road crossing the one being traveled
Traffic may enter or cross from either side at the intersection ahead, so the driver should ease off, cover the brake and check both approaches.
-
4. You have just ridden through a stretch of deep standing water. What should you do next?
Show answer
Answer B: Ride slowly and apply the brakes lightly to dry them out
Wet brakes can grab or barely work at all, and gentle pressure while moving slowly heats and clears them before they are really needed.
-
5. Before making a U-turn on a narrow street, what should the rider do first?
Show answer
Answer A: Check that the street is wide enough and clear in both directions
A U-turn commits the rider to crossing both directions of traffic in a space the machine may not fit into, so both the width and the traffic are judged before starting.
-
6. The queue for an exit ramp has backed up into the right lane of the highway. What should you do if you want that exit?
Show answer
Answer B: Join the back of the queue in the lane instead of cutting in later
Passing a queue and forcing in at the front stops the whole line, and using the shoulder puts you where broken-down vehicles are expected to be.
-
7. You reach a one-lane bridge and a vehicle is already partway across it coming toward you. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer D: Stop before the bridge and let it come through
A vehicle already on a one-lane bridge has the right of way, and the driver who has not yet entered waits at the approach.
-
8. You are about to drive a rental car that you have never driven before. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Adjust the seat and the mirrors and find the controls before moving off
Hunting for the wipers or the lights in traffic is a distraction, so learn the layout while the vehicle is stopped.
-
9. You reach an intersection with no signs, signals or markings clearly before a vehicle that is approaching on your right. What is the rule?
Show answer
Answer B: You may go first because you got there first
At an uncontrolled intersection the first driver to arrive goes first; the yield to the right rule only settles a tie.
-
10. A sign shows a lane joining from the right with no merge required. What does that mean?
Show answer
Answer B: The joining traffic gets its own new lane, so nobody has to merge
An added lane means the roadway gains a lane at that point, so entering vehicles have somewhere to go without anyone changing lanes.
-
11. The divided highway ends warning sign means that
Show answer
Answer D: the median separating the directions ends and the road returns to two-way operation
Beyond this sign opposing traffic is no longer separated by a median, so the driver must keep right and expect vehicles approaching in the adjacent lane.
-
12. Why should a rider avoid coasting to a stop with the transmission in neutral?
Show answer
Answer C: Engine braking is lost and so is the ability to accelerate out of trouble
Staying in gear keeps engine braking working and leaves the rider able to power away from a hazard instead of hunting for a gear first.
-
13. You are stopping for a red light in the rain and your stopping point is on a wide painted stop line and crosswalk. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer C: Slow earlier and gently, since wet paint offers much less grip than pavement
Painted stop lines and crosswalks turn slick when wet, so start braking early and squeeze gently rather than braking hard on the markings.
-
14. Where should the weight of a load sit in relation to the rear axle?
Show answer
Answer A: Over the rear axle or in front of it
Weight placed behind the rear axle acts as a lever against the steering and can make the motorcycle wobble and handle and brake poorly.
-
15. Where should a touring rider keep the rain suit?
Show answer
Answer B: Somewhere it can be reached quickly without unpacking everything
Rain gear only helps if you can get to it before you are soaked, so pack it where a quick roadside stop is enough to reach it.
-
16. A yellow lamp flashes above a warning sign at a sharp curve. What does it ask of a driver?
Show answer
Answer D: Slow down and pass the point with extra care
A warning beacon draws attention to the sign it is mounted with, and the message of the sign is what the driver must act on.
-
17. What is the correct body position for riding over a bump or an obstacle?
Show answer
Answer B: Rise slightly off the seat with your weight on the footrests, absorbing the shock with knees and elbows
Coming slightly off the seat lets your legs and arms work as extra suspension instead of transferring the impact through your body and the handlebars.
-
18. A sign reads END SCHOOL ZONE. What does it tell a driver?
Show answer
Answer A: The regular limit for that road applies again
An end of restriction sign marks the downstream limit of a special zone, after which the ordinary speed limit for that road governs again.
-
19. In most states, how far before a turn must your signal already be on in city traffic?
Show answer
Answer B: At least 100 feet, roughly the length of six or seven cars
Most states require the signal for at least 100 feet before a turn in city driving, which gives drivers behind you time to react before you slow; several require more at higher speeds.
-
20. You are stopped at the yield line of a roundabout when an emergency vehicle comes up behind you with lights and siren. What should you do?
Show answer
Answer A: Stay out of the roundabout and pull over to the right of your lane if there is room
Never enter a roundabout ahead of an emergency vehicle and never stop inside one; wait clear of the entry so the crew can get through.
-
21. Why can an oncoming vehicle that looks comfortably far away leave you far less room than you expect?
Show answer
Answer D: You and that vehicle close the gap at the sum of both your speeds
Two vehicles approaching at 55 mph each close the distance between them at about 110 mph, so the gap disappears in half the time you would expect.
-
22. Traffic is heavy and a truck is stopped in the lane on your right. How do you keep an out?
Show answer
Answer B: Keep space open ahead of you and avoid being boxed in on both sides at once
Being hemmed in on both sides with no gap ahead removes every option, so keep at least one direction open.
-
23. On a motorcycle with a standard shift pattern, where is neutral found?
Show answer
Answer C: Between first gear and second gear
The usual pattern is one down and the rest up, with neutral sitting half a click between first and second gear.
-
24. You have turned onto a ramp at night and your headlights pick out large white arrows painted on the pavement pointing straight back at you. What do they mean?
Show answer
Answer C: You are traveling against the flow and must turn back
Wrong-way arrows are laid so that a driver going the correct way never sees them head on, so an arrow pointing at you means you are on the ramp backwards.
-
25. How should your following distance change in heavy rain?
Show answer
Answer D: It should be increased well beyond what you use on dry pavement
Wet pavement lengthens stopping distance and rain cuts visibility at the same time, so a larger gap gives you the extra seconds needed to see a problem and stop for it.