Vehicle emergencies — Missouri Permit Test

The most important rule in any emergency is do not panic, because if you stay calm you will remember what to do.

Every procedure that follows depends on this one. Panic is what removes the others from reach.

The most important rule in any emergency is do not panic.

If you have power steering or a locking steering wheel, never turn off the ignition key until you have come to a full stop.

Switching off takes away the steering, and often locks the wheel where it stands.

If you have power steering or a locking steering wheel, never turn off the ignition key until you have come to a full stop.

If your brake pedal suddenly sinks to the floor, pump it fast and hard several times.

There is often one more application of pressure in the system, and pumping is how you find it.

Pump the brake pedal fast and hard several times.

If pumping does not restore the brakes, use the emergency or parking brake gradually and shift to a low gear.

Applied all at once the parking brake locks the rear wheels and puts the car sideways.

Use your emergency or parking brake, but use it gradually.

After a brake failure has stopped the vehicle, call for help and do not try to drive to a garage.

Brakes that failed once will fail again, and the second time may be in traffic.

After the vehicle has stopped, call for help. Do not try to drive to a garage.

In a tire blowout, hold the steering wheel tightly, take your foot off the accelerator, and do not hit the brakes.

The car will pull hard toward the flat tire. Braking adds a second force in the same fight.

Hold the steering wheel tightly.

After a blowout, apply the brakes only when the vehicle is almost stopped, and let it slow to a stop completely off the road.

Braking early puts the car into a spin. Waiting until it is nearly stopped costs you nothing.

Apply the brakes when the vehicle is almost stopped.

If your wheels run off the paved edge of the road, hold the wheel tightly, take your foot off the accelerator, and only apply gentle brake pressure if necessary.

Yanking the wheel back onto the pavement is how a drifted wheel becomes a rollover.

Take your foot off the accelerator, but do not hit the brakes. Only apply gentle brake pressure, if necessary.

Once you have slowed and regained control after running off the pavement, turn back onto the pavement if the lane is free of traffic.

Slow first, then steer. Reversing that order is the mistake.

When the vehicle has slowed and you have control of your vehicle, turn back onto the pavement if the lane is free of traffic.

If your steering fails, take your foot off the accelerator and let the vehicle slow by itself, not braking until it has almost stopped unless you have to.

Braking a car that will not steer sends it somewhere you cannot choose.

Let your vehicle slow down by itself. Do not hit the brakes until your vehicle has almost stopped, or unless you have to.

If your headlights go out, try the dimmer switch or the headlight switch; if that fails, put on the parking lights, emergency flashers, or turn signals and pull off the road.

Any light at all is better than none, and the flashers are the one that says something is wrong.

Try the dimmer switch or headlight switch, that might turn them on again.

If your accelerator becomes stuck, shift to neutral, apply the brakes, and keep your eyes on the road.

Neutral disconnects the engine from the wheels, which is the fastest way to take the power away.

Stuck Accelerator: If your accelerator becomes stuck, you should: • Shift to neutral;

Turn off the ignition after a stuck accelerator only when you no longer need to change direction and have stopped, because turning the key locks the steering wheel of many vehicles.

The key is the last step for the same reason it is a tempting first one: it takes away the steering too.

When you no longer need to change direction and have stopped, turn off the ignition.

If your hood flies open or something else blocks your vision, roll down the window so you can look around it, turn on your emergency flashers, and pull off the road.

The window is a view you still have. Using it is faster than trying to close the hood at speed.

Roll down the window so you can look around whatever is blocking your view.

If a vehicle is approaching head-on in your lane, slow down, pull over to the right, and sound your horn; do not swing over into the left lane.

The other driver is most likely to correct back into their own lane, which is the one you would be moving into.

DO NOT swing over into the left lane. The other driver may pull back over into that lane, too.

What does the guide call the most important rule in any emergency?

Do not panic. Every procedure that follows depends on this one. Panic is what removes the others from reach. Missouri Driver Guide, p.64: “The most important rule in any emergency is do not panic.”