Headlights to be seen — New Mexico Permit Test

Headlights to be seen on the New Mexico permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

If you turn on your wipers, turn on your headlights.

In rain or snow other drivers have trouble seeing your car, and lights make it stand out.

Remember, if you turn on your wipers, turn on your headlights.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.18

Turn on your headlights when it begins to get dark; even turning them on a little early helps other drivers see you.

At dusk your car blends into the gray light, and early headlights help others pick you out.

Turn on your headlights when it begins to get dark.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.18

When driving away from a rising or setting sun, turn on your headlights so drivers coming toward you can see you.

Drivers facing a low sun are half blind, and your headlights help them see your car.

When driving away from a rising or setting sun, turn on your headlights.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.18

Turn on your headlights whenever you have trouble seeing others, because if you cannot see them, they may not see you.

Seeing and being seen go together, so if the light is poor for you it is poor for them too.

Remember to turn on your headlights whenever you have trouble seeing others.
New Mexico Driver Manual, p.18

On the test

You turn on your windshield wipers. What else should you turn on?

Your headlights. In rain or snow other drivers have trouble seeing your car, and lights make it stand out. New Mexico Driver Manual, p.18: “Remember, if you turn on your wipers, turn on your headlights.”

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.