Headlight failure — New Hampshire Permit Test

Headlight failure 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

If the headlights suddenly go out a driver should try the turn signals or emergency flashers.

They run off a different circuit often enough to be worth trying, and any light at all is better than none.

Try the turn signals or emergency flashers.

New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.35

A driver whose headlights fail should pull off the road as quickly and safely as possible and leave the emergency flashers on.

A dark car on a dark road is invisible, so getting off the road matters more than getting anywhere.

Pull off the road as quickly and safely as possible and leave the emergency flashers on.

New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.35

On the test

What should a driver try first if the headlights go out?

The turn signals or emergency flashers. They run off a different circuit often enough to be worth trying, and any light at all is better than none. New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.35: “Try the turn signals or emergency flashers.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

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.

What it costs

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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.