Vehicle emergencies — Illinois Permit Test

Where smoke appears a driver should pull off the road, turn off the engine, move away from the vehicle and call 911, and should not try to fight the fire themselves.

A vehicle fire goes from smoke to flames in seconds and the fuel is right underneath. Distance is the only protection.

Fire If smoke appears, pull off the road. Turn off the engine, move away from your vehicle, and call 911. Vehicle fires can be very dangerous. Do not fight the fire yourself.

Where a vehicle goes into water and does not sink at once, the people inside should try to escape through a window, because water pressure may stop the doors opening, and where it does sink they should move to the back seat where an air pocket usually forms.

The doors will not open against the water outside, and the windows will. The air pocket at the back is the last chance if they do not.

Water Crashes If your vehicle runs off the roadway into water but does not sink right away, try to escape through a window. Because of differences in water pressure, you or your passengers may not be able to open the car doors.

Carbon monoxide is deadly and is found in the fumes produced whenever a vehicle burns fuel, with the most common symptoms being headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain and confusion.

The symptoms read like flu, which is why people ignore them. It has no color and no smell to warn anybody.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide is deadly. It is found in fumes produced any time a vehicle burns fuel. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.

A vehicle should never be run inside a garage attached to a house, and a mechanic should check the exhaust system every year.

An attached garage shares its air with the house. People who fall asleep in a running vehicle can die before any symptom arrives.

Never run a vehicle inside a garage that is attached to a house.

Where power lines fall on a vehicle after a crash, the people inside should stay in it until help arrives, and where fire makes leaving necessary they must jump clear without touching the vehicle and the ground at the same time, landing on both feet and shuffling 50 feet away.

Touching the car and the ground together sends the current through you. Shuffling rather than striding keeps both feet at the same voltage.

When jumping from the vehicle, land on both feet and hop or shuffle while keeping your arms close to your body for a distance of 50 feet away from the vehicle.

A driver should always shut off the engine when refueling, should never smoke around gas pumps and should stay with the pump while refueling.

Gasoline vapor sits around the nozzle and ignites from very little. Staying with the pump is what stops a spill running unnoticed.

Explosive Fire Hazard Always shut off your vehicle’s engine when refueling. Never smoke around gas pumps. For safety purposes, remain with the pump while refueling.

What should an Illinois driver do about a vehicle fire?

Move away from the vehicle and call 911. A vehicle fire goes from smoke to flames in seconds and the fuel is right underneath. Distance is the only protection. Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.88: “Fire If smoke appears, pull off the road. Turn off the engine, move away from your vehicle, and call 911. Vehicle fires can be very dangerous. Do not fight the fire yourself.”