Head restraints — New Hampshire Permit Test
Head restraints on the New Hampshire permit test — 2 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Head restraints are designed to prevent whiplash in the event of an accident.
They are not a pillow. The one job they have is to stop the head snapping backward when the car is struck from behind.
Head restraints, also known as head rests, are designed to prevent whiplash in the event of an accident.
A head rest should be adjusted so it comes in contact with the back of the driver’s head, but not below the ears.
Set too low it becomes a pivot rather than a support, and the head snaps back over the top of it.
Head rests should be adjusted so the head rest comes in contact with the back of the driver’s head, but not below the ears.
On the test
What are head restraints designed to prevent?
Whiplash in the event of an accident. They are not a pillow. The one job they have is to stop the head snapping backward when the car is struck from behind. New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.11: “Head restraints, also known as head rests, are designed to prevent whiplash in the event of an accident.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
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Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
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All New Hampshire permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against New Hampshire Driver's Manual, published by the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/NH.pdf (New Hampshire Driver's Manual, Rev. 11/25, New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-14)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/NH.pages.txt (plain pdftotext over that PDF; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/SOURCES.json (sha256, folio offset 6, folioMarker, nonLawPages, signGalleryPages and the extraction flag, each with its basis)