Stalling on tracks and flooded roads — Minnesota Permit Test

Stalling on tracks and flooded roads on the Minnesota permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

If your vehicle stalls on railroad tracks with a train coming, leave the vehicle immediately.

The car can be replaced. Nothing about staying in it makes the train stop any sooner.

If your vehicle stalls on railroad tracks and a train is approaching, leave the vehicle immediately.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.83

Walk quickly at a 45-degree angle away from the tracks, toward the direction the train is coming from.

The wreck is thrown forward with the train, so walking toward it is walking away from the debris.

Walk quickly at a 45-degree angle away from the tracks in the direction from which the train is approaching.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.83

Do not drive through flooded areas; turn around and find another route.

You cannot see whether the road is still under there, and a washed-out lane looks like water either way.

Do not drive through flooded areas. If you see a flooded roadway ahead, turn around and find another route.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.83

Six inches of water reaches the bottom of most passenger cars and can cause loss of control or stalling.

Half a foot is less than it looks from the driver’s seat, and it reaches the exhaust and the engine.

Remember, 6 inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, causing loss of control or possible stalling.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.84

Two feet of moving water can carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and pickup trucks.

A car floats before it stops moving forward, and then the water is steering it.

2 feet of moving water can carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and pickup trucks.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.84

Even shallow-looking water may hide a dip or a road washed away underneath.

The surface tells you nothing about what the water has taken out from under it.

Even if the water appears shallow, do not attempt to cross a flooded road. Water can hide dips or damage roadways by washing away the surface.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.84

On the test

What do you do if your vehicle stalls on the tracks and a train is coming?

Leave the vehicle immediately. The car can be replaced. Nothing about staying in it makes the train stop any sooner. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.83: “If your vehicle stalls on railroad tracks and a train is approaching, leave the vehicle immediately.”

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 Minnesota Driver’s Manual, published by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-22.