Power steering and headlight failure — Arizona Permit Test

Power steering and headlight failure on the Arizona permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

If your power steering fails, for example when the engine dies in a turn, firmly grip the wheel with both hands to finish the turn and move to the right side of the road.

Without power the wheel gets very heavy. Both hands give you the strength to keep the car out of the other lane.

Firmly grip the steering wheel with both hands to complete the turn and move to the right side of the road.
Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.69

When the engine dies in a car with power brakes, push the brakes extra hard to stop.

Power brakes lose their boost with the engine off. The pedal still works, but it takes much more force.

Stop the car; push the brakes extra hard if your vehicle has power brakes.
Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.69

If your headlights fail, first try the high beam/low beam switch, which may restore normal function.

Often only one set of bulbs or one circuit has failed. Switching beams can get you light back in a second.

Try the high beam/low beam switch. This may restore normal function.
Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.69

If the beam switch does not help, turn the headlight switch on and off several times.

A loose contact in the switch can cut the lights. Working it a few times can bring them back on.

Turn the headlight switch on and off several times.
Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.69

If your headlights cannot be restored, put on the parking lights, emergency flashers or turn signals, pull to the side of the road and stop.

Driving on in the dark means you cannot see the road and others cannot see you. Lights of any kind help you get safely off it.

If neither of these steps work, put on the parking lights, emergency flashers or turn signals; pull to the side of the road and stop.
Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.69

On the test

If your engine dies in a turn and the power steering fails, what should you do?

Grip with both hands and finish the turn. Without power the wheel gets very heavy. Both hands give you the strength to keep the car out of the other lane. Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.69: “Firmly grip the steering wheel with both hands to complete the turn and move to the right side of the road.”

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.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, published by the Arizona Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-28.