Vehicle emergencies — Florida Permit Test

If your vehicle breaks down you must move it so all four wheels are out of the traffic lanes as soon as possible, or have it moved.

All four wheels clear is the standard, because three out of four still leaves a corner in the lane.

You must move the vehicle so all four wheels are out of traffic lanes as soon as possible.

If possible, park a disabled vehicle where it can be seen for 200 feet in each direction, turn on the hazard lights, and get all passengers out on the side away from traffic.

Being visible from 200 feet either way is what gives an approaching driver time to move over.

If possible, park where the disabled vehicle can be seen for 200 feet in each direction.

In a vehicle fire, get out, call 911, and attempt to extinguish it only with a portable extinguisher and only if the fire is small. Never apply water to a gasoline or diesel fire.

Water spreads a fuel fire rather than putting it out.

Attempt to extinguish the fire only if you have a portable extinguisher and the fire is small. NEVER apply water to a gasoline or diesel fire.

If you cannot put out a vehicle fire, get away from the vehicle, because the fumes are toxic and an explosion is possible.

Standing near a burning car to watch it is how people are hurt by a fire they escaped.

If you can’t extinguish the fire, get away from the vehicle! The fumes are toxic and an explosion is possible.

With a jammed gas pedal, take your foot off the gas, press the clutch or shift into neutral, brake to slow the vehicle, and steer to a safe place to stop.

Neutral disconnects the engine from the wheels, which is what makes the brakes work again.

Press the clutch (manual transmission) or shift into neutral (automatic transmission).

Do not shut off the engine with a jammed gas pedal unless nothing else slows the vehicle, because shutting it off loses you the ability to steer.

A car without power steering at speed is a car you cannot point anywhere.

Do not shut off engine unless #1 and #2 do not work to slow the vehicle. If you shut off your engine, you will lose the ability to steer the car.

Overcorrection is excessive steering in reaction to an event or a loss of control, and it can end in a rollover or in steering into oncoming traffic.

The second, bigger crash is usually caused by the driver’s hands rather than by the first one.

Overcorrection is excessive steering in reaction to an event or loss of control of a vehicle.

If you unintentionally leave the roadway, stay calm, hold the wheel firmly, take your foot off the gas, do not slam on the brakes, and steer where you want to go.

Snatching at the wheel or the brakes is what turns two wheels off the road into a rollover.

Take your foot off the gas and do not slam on the brakes.

With the right wheels off the pavement, hold the wheel firmly and steer straight, brake lightly, wait until the road is clear and then turn back on at a slow speed with a signal.

Coming back onto the pavement at speed is where the front tire grabs and the car spins.

Wait until the road is clear. Turn back on the pavement at a slow speed (signal your intention).

In a skid or while hydroplaning, take your foot off the gas, avoid the brakes if possible, and turn the front tires in the direction you want to go.

Steering where you want to go is what points the tires back along the road.

Turn the vehicle’s front tires in the direction you want to go (steer in the direction of the skid).

If your car stalls on railroad tracks, get everyone out immediately and get away from the car.

The car can be replaced, and nothing you can do in it beats being out of it.

If your car stalls on the railroad tracks, get everyone out immediately and get away from the car!

Once the warning lights at a crossing begin to flash, 20 seconds is the minimum time it takes a train to reach the crossing.

Twenty seconds is not long enough to do anything except get out and run.

20 seconds is the minimal amount of time

If a train is coming while you are stalled on the tracks, run away from the tracks at a 45-degree angle in the direction the train is coming from.

Running that way keeps you clear of your own car and the debris thrown forward.

If a train is coming, run in a 45-degree angle away from the tracks, but in a direction toward the train; you will be less likely to be hit by your vehicle or debris from the collision.

A blue Emergency Notification System sign is installed at every highway-rail grade crossing, giving the contact information for the railroad responsible if something is blocking the tracks.

It is the only way to reach whoever can stop the next train.

There is a blue ENS sign installed at every highway-rail grade crossing.

A vehicle that crashes into water will only float on the surface for 30 to 60 seconds, so get out immediately and do not call 911 until you are out.

The window of time is about as long as it takes to find a phone and unlock it.

If you crash into a pond, river, or other body of water, your vehicle will only float on the surface for 30–60 seconds.

In a sinking vehicle, unbuckle your safety belt and roll the window down before the car sinks, and if the window will not open, try to kick out a side window.

Opening the door lets the water in all at once, and the window is the way out before that.

Roll the window down before the car sinks. If you are able to open the door, be aware that the car will immediately fill with water.

In a tire blowout, take your foot off the gas, do not use the brakes, concentrate on steering, slow down gradually, brake softly once the car is under control, and pull completely off the roadway.

Braking on a blown tire pulls the car hard to one side, which is the last thing you need.

Take your foot off the gas. Do not use the brakes.

If a vehicle is approaching in your lane, sound the horn, flash your high beams, brake hard and steer to the side of the road.

All four at once, because there is no time to do them one after another.

Sound horn and flash high beams.

If your brakes are wet, test them lightly, expect them to pull to one side or not hold, and dry them by driving slowly in low gear while applying the brakes.

Testing them on an empty road beats finding out at the next stop sign.

Dry brakes by driving slowly in low gear and applying brakes.

On a light truck with rear-wheel anti-lock brakes, the rear wheels cannot lock but the front ones still can: if that happens, let up on the pedal just enough for the front wheels to roll again.

Locked front wheels means no steering, and easing off is what gives it back.

If this happens, let up on the brake pedal just enough to allow the front wheels to start rolling again to regain control.

How much of a broken-down vehicle must be out of the traffic lanes?

All four wheels clear of the lanes. All four wheels clear is the standard, because three out of four still leaves a corner in the lane. Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.78: “You must move the vehicle so all four wheels are out of traffic lanes as soon as possible.”