Headlight failure — New Mexico Permit Test

Headlight failure on the New Mexico permit test — 2 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

If your headlights suddenly go out, first try the headlight switch a few times.

A loose switch is a common cause, and working it may bring the lights right back.

Try the headlight switch a few times.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.31

If the headlight switch does not help, put on the emergency flashers, turn signals or fog lights, and pull off the road as soon as possible.

Other drivers need some light to see you while you get off the road.

If that does not work, put on the emergency flashers, turn signals or fog lights if you have them.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.31

On the test

Your headlights suddenly go out. What should you try first?

Work the headlight switch a few times. A loose switch is a common cause, and working it may bring the lights right back. New Mexico Driver Manual, p.31: “Try the headlight switch a few times.”

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.