New Mexico Car / Permit practice
New Mexico Car / Permit: Signals & Pavement Markings practice test
How to read traffic signals, lane lines, and pavement markings — including yellow and white lines, arrows, and flashing lights.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
15 questions · pass with 12 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
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Study questions with answers
12 sample Signals & Pavement Markings questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.
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1. What is a driver being told by a steady yellow traffic light?
Correct answer: Red is coming next, so stop if it can be done safely
Yellow warns that red is next, so stop if you can do it safely. A driver already inside the intersection when yellow appears should keep going instead of braking.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
2. When is a right turn on a red light allowed in New Mexico?
Correct answer: After stopping fully, when it is safe and no sign forbids it
You may turn right on red once you have stopped completely, provided the move is safe and no posted sign bans turning on red. Watch closely for people crossing ahead of your vehicle.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
3. What message does a yellow arrow give a driver waiting to turn?
Correct answer: The protected turn is ending, so prepare to stop and yield to oncoming traffic
The yellow arrow shows that the protection the green arrow gave you is running out. Get ready to stop and let oncoming vehicles through before completing the turn.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
4. A solid yellow line runs alongside a broken yellow line between opposing lanes. When may you pass?
Correct answer: Only when the broken line lies on your side of the road
The line nearest your side of the road governs. Passing is permitted only when the broken line falls on your side and the move can be made safely.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Pavement Markings
5. A sign or signal requires you to stop. Where does your vehicle have to stop?
Correct answer: Short of the stop line or crosswalk
Your vehicle has to be halted before it reaches the painted stop line or the crosswalk. Crosswalks mark where people on foot may cross, and many crosswalks carry no paint at all.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Pavement Markings
6. A traffic light flashing red must be obeyed in the same way as which traffic control?
Correct answer: A stop sign
Flashing red carries the force of a stop sign. Bring the vehicle to a complete halt, then move on once the way is clear.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
7. What is a solid white line between two lanes of traffic telling you?
Correct answer: Remain in your lane unless a special circumstance requires a change
A solid white line asks you to hold your lane; change out of it only when some particular situation makes the move necessary.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Pavement Markings
8. How should you respond to a traffic light that is flashing yellow?
Correct answer: Reduce speed and continue with care
A flashing yellow lamp calls for reduced speed and extra care as you move through, but it does not require you to stop.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
9. Some red signals contain a small, very bright blinking lamp. What is it for?
Correct answer: It calls attention to the red light so you stop
That blinking lamp exists to catch your eye and make the red indication unmistakable, reminding you that stopping is required.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
10. You face a steady green light with no arrow and want to turn left. What must you do?
Correct answer: Hold back until approaching traffic has cleared, because it has priority
A plain green permits the turn but gives you no protection; vehicles coming toward you keep the right of way, so wait for a gap. Watch for signs banning the turn and for people walking across your path.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Traffic Signals
11. What does a broken white line painted between two lanes of traffic mean?
Correct answer: Moving into the next lane is allowed when it is safe
White separates lanes running the same way, and a broken white line lets you move into the neighboring lane whenever the move can be made safely.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Pavement Markings
12. What do yellow pavement lines separate?
Correct answer: Streams of traffic traveling in opposite directions
Yellow is the color used between streams of traffic headed in opposite directions, while white divides lanes moving the same way.
Source: New Mexico Driver Manual — Pavement Markings
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Every New Mexico question is written from the official New Mexico driver handbook and checked against its current edition. DMV Test Free is a free, independent study resource — not affiliated with any DMV or government agency. About DMV Test Free