Crash protection — New Mexico Permit Test

Crash protection on the New Mexico permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

The most important thing you can do to lessen injuries in a crash is to use your lap and shoulder belts.

Belts hold you in place so your body does not hit the wheel, the glass or the road.

The most important thing you can do is to use your lap and shoulder belts.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33

If you are hit from the rear, press yourself against the back of your seat and put your head against the head restraint.

Your head snaps back in a rear crash, and the head rest stops it from whipping.

Press yourself against the back of your seat and put your head against the head restraint.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33

When hit from the rear, be ready to apply your brakes so you will not be pushed into another vehicle.

One crash can shove you into a second one unless your foot is ready on the brake.

Be ready to apply your brakes so that you will not be pushed into another vehicle.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33

If your vehicle is hit from the side, your body will be thrown toward the side that is hit.

You slide toward the door that was hit, and the belt is what keeps you behind the wheel.

If your vehicle is hit from the side, your body will be thrown towards the side that is hit.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33

If you are about to be hit from the front, try to turn so you take a glancing blow rather than a head-on hit.

A glancing hit spreads out the force, while a head-on hit takes it all at once.

If your vehicle is about to be hit from the front it is important to try and have a “glancing blow” rather than being struck head on.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33

An air bag inflates in a crash and deflates after it, so be ready to keep your vehicle from hitting something else.

Once the bag goes down, you need to steer and brake to avoid a second crash.

It also will deflate following the crash, so be ready to prevent your vehicle from hitting something else.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33

On the test

What is the most important thing you can do to lessen injuries in a crash?

Wear your lap and shoulder belts. Belts hold you in place so your body does not hit the wheel, the glass or the road. New Mexico Driver Manual, p.33: “The most important thing you can do is to use your lap and shoulder belts.”

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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All New Mexico permit topics

Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against New Mexico Driver Manual, published by the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.