New Mexico Motorcycle practice
New Mexico Motorcycle: Hazards & Road Surfaces practice test
Gravel, wet pavement, grooved roads, and railroad tracks — reading and handling surfaces that matter far more on two wheels.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
14 questions · pass with 11 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
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12 sample Hazards & Road Surfaces 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. Rain has just begun. Which part of the lane is usually best?
Correct answer: The tire tracks left by the vehicles ahead, often the left one
Traffic wipes water and oil from its wheel tracks, so riding in them — commonly the left one — gives better grip than the middle.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
2. You cannot avoid a stretch of snow or ice. How should you ride it?
Correct answer: Hold the motorcycle upright, go as slowly as you can, and stay off the brakes
Keep the machine vertical and the speed to a crawl; at walking pace you may let your feet skim the surface, and squeezing the clutch to coast avoids upsetting the tires.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
3. When is wet pavement usually at its most slippery?
Correct answer: In the first minutes of a shower, before the oil on the surface washes away
Rain lifts oil to the surface, and the road is at its worst until that film has been washed toward the edges.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
4. Which of these becomes noticeably slick once it is wet?
Correct answer: Painted lane markings, steel plates and utility covers
Paint, metal plates and surface covers offer poor grip, and water makes them worse still.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
5. Your motorcycle begins to weave as you ride over a bridge grating. What should you do?
Correct answer: Relax, hold a steady speed, and continue straight across
The wandering feeling over grooves and gratings is unsettling but not usually dangerous, and trying to correct it by angling across is what creates the hazard.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Grooves and Gratings
6. The steering suddenly feels heavy and the motorcycle handles oddly. Which failure does that suggest?
Correct answer: A flat front tire
Air loss at the front shows up as heavy, sluggish steering, while a soft rear tire makes the back of the machine jerk or sway.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Mechanical Problems, Tire Failure
7. The throttle sticks open while you are riding. What is the first thing to try?
Correct answer: Twist the throttle back and forth a few times to see whether it frees itself
Working the throttle may release a sticking cable; if it stays open, hit the engine cut-off switch and pull in the clutch together, then get to a safe place and stop.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Mechanical Problems, Stuck Throttle
8. Where do patches of ice tend to form first?
Correct answer: In low or shaded spots and on bridges and overpasses
Shade and open air under a deck keep those surfaces colder, so ice lingers there after the rest of the road has dried.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Slippery Surfaces
9. You have just ridden over an object in the road. What should you do next?
Correct answer: Pull off the road and look over the tires and rims before going on
Damage from a struck object may not show up in the handling right away, so stop somewhere safe and inspect both wheels.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Uneven Surfaces and Obstacles
10. What is usually the safest way to cross railroad or trolley tracks that run across your lane?
Correct answer: Ride straight ahead within your own lane
Swinging out to square up with the rails can carry you into another lane, which is the greater danger, so holding a straight line in your own lane is normally enough.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Railroad Tracks, Trolley Tracks and Pavement Seams
11. Tracks or a pavement seam run along your path of travel. How should you get across them?
Correct answer: Move far enough away to cross at a minimum of forty-five degrees, then turn across deliberately
A rut or rail that parallels your line can catch a tire, so open up room and cross it with a deliberate turn at an angle of at least forty-five degrees.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Handling Dangerous Surfaces, Railroad Tracks, Trolley Tracks and Pavement Seams
12. A dog runs out and starts chasing your motorcycle. What does the manual advise?
Correct answer: Downshift and approach it slowly, then accelerate away as you reach it
Slow as you come up to the dog, then pull away and leave it behind, keeping control and looking where you want to go; large animals such as deer or elk call for braking and being ready to stop.
Source: Motorcycle Operator Manual — Animals
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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