The required minimum for bodily injury liability is $25,000 when a single person is hurt in a crash you cause. You may buy higher limits, but a $15,000 policy would fall short of the minimum.
Texas, for example, requires drivers convicted of DWI to complete a DWI education program, on top of fines, a license suspension and possible jail time. A conviction always goes on the driving record and brings more than a single fine, and a five-year suspension is not the penalty for a first offense.
New Mexico bars provisional drivers from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. unless a licensed adult aged 21 or older is with them, and only narrow exceptions, such as school, work or a medical emergency, apply. Before midnight they may drive on their own.
A written crash report is due when damage to property tops $500 or when anyone is injured, so damage alone can create the duty to report even if nobody is hurt.
Alcohol makes it hard to hold a lane, judge speed, and react smoothly, so impaired drivers often weave, drive unusually slowly, and brake or stop without warning. If you notice these signs, keep well back and report the driver to police when it is safe.
The examiner checks the car first and will not begin the test if it is unsafe, if seat belts are missing, or if a console or other equipment keeps the examiner from getting to the brake pedal; any one of these is enough.
Drivers under 21 are held to a zero-tolerance rule: a reading of 0.02% or more brings penalties such as license suspension, far below the 0.08% adult limit. Even a single drink can bring a young driver close to that level, so the only safe plan is not to drink before driving.
Once you become a New Mexico resident, a vehicle you brought from another state needs a New Mexico title and registration. Out-of-state plates cannot simply stay on until they expire, and current insurance does not take the place of registration.
Under implied consent, getting a license and driving on public roads count as advance agreement to chemical testing, such as a breath test, when you are arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Refusing the test usually brings its own penalties, including loss of your license.
When you damage an unattended vehicle and its owner is nowhere to be found, leave a note in a visible, secure spot with your contact information; many states also require you to report the crash to the police. Driving off without doing this counts as hit-and-run, but you are not expected to wait for the owner indefinitely.
A first DUI conviction costs a New Mexico driver the license for a full year, and an ignition interlock is required for a year as well. Separately, the MVD can revoke the license administratively, before any trial, when a driver fails or refuses a chemical test.
New Mexico law gives you 10 days after a move to report the new address to the MVD, which keeps renewal reminders and other official notices from going to your old home.
One standard drink equals either 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits; each holds about the same amount of alcohol. Choosing beer or wine over liquor does not make you any less impaired.
For drivers 21 and older, the standard legal limit is a BAC of 0.08%. Drivers under 21 are covered by zero-tolerance laws with a far lower limit, so 0.08% is not the cutoff for 18- to 20-year-olds, and 0.06% is not the standard adult limit.
Tip Watch the decimal point closely: the adult limit is 0.08% BAC, not 0.8%.
Every question in this set has its own page with the correct answer and an explanation.
