Shared center lane — New Mexico Permit Test

Shared center lane on the New Mexico permit test — 3 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

A shared center lane is reserved for making left turns, or U-turns where they are allowed.

It gives turning cars a place to wait out of the way, so traffic behind them can keep moving.

These center lanes are reserved for making left turns (or U-turns when they are permitted) but can be used by vehicles traveling in both directions.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.9

A shared center lane is used by vehicles traveling in both directions.

A car coming the other way may turn into the same lane, so look ahead before you pull into it.

These center lanes are reserved for making left turns (or U-turns when they are permitted) but can be used by vehicles traveling in both directions.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.9

A shared center lane is marked on each side by a solid yellow line and a dashed yellow line.

Knowing the markings helps you tell a turn lane from a normal lane, so you do not drive down it as a travel lane.

These lanes are marked on each side by a solid yellow and dashed yellow line.

New Mexico Driver Manual, p.9

On the test

What is a shared center lane for?

Left turns and allowed U-turns. It gives turning cars a place to wait out of the way, so traffic behind them can keep moving. New Mexico Driver Manual, p.9: “These center lanes are reserved for making left turns (or U-turns when they are permitted) but can be used by vehicles traveling in both directions.”

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.