Drugs and driving — New Mexico Permit Test

Drugs and driving 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

Drugs taken for headaches, colds, hay fever, allergies or to calm nerves can make you drowsy and affect your driving.

Medicine you can buy at any store can slow you down as much as a drink.

Drugs taken for headaches, colds, hay fever or other allergies or those to calm nerves can make a person drowsy and affect their driving.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.29

Pep pills, uppers and diet pills may make you feel alert for a short time, but later can make you nervous, dizzy and unable to concentrate.

The burst of energy fades, and what comes after can be worse than being tired.

Later however, they can cause a person to be nervous, dizzy, unable to concentrate, and they can affect your vision.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.29

Driving under the influence of any drug that makes you drive unsafely is against the law.

A drug from a doctor can impair you as much as an illegal one, and the crash is just as real.

Driving under the influence of any drug that makes you drive unsafely is against the law.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.29

Before driving, check a drug's label for warnings, and if you are unsure it is safe, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Some side effects do not show up until you are already out on the road.

If you are not sure it is safe to take the drug and drive, ask your doctor or pharmacist about any side effects.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.30

Never drink alcohol while taking other drugs; they can multiply the effects of alcohol.

One drink plus one pill can hit you far harder than either alone, and can even kill.

These drugs could multiply the effects of alcohol or have additional effects of their own.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.30

Studies show people who use marijuana make more mistakes, have more trouble adjusting to glare and get arrested for traffic violations more than other drivers.

Feeling calm is not the same as driving well; the mistakes still happen.

For example, studies have shown that people who use marijuana make more mistakes, have more trouble adjusting to glare and get arrested for traffic violations more than other drivers.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.30

On the test

Why can a cold or allergy medicine be risky before driving?

It can make you drowsy. Medicine you can buy at any store can slow you down as much as a drink. New Mexico Driver Manual, p.29: “Drugs taken for headaches, colds, hay fever or other allergies or those to calm nerves can make a person drowsy and affect their driving.”

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