Equipment failures — Oregon Permit Test

Equipment failures on the Oregon permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

If a front tire blows, steering will be difficult with a strong pull to the side; a rear blowout makes the back of the vehicle weave or sway. Grip the steering wheel firmly, slow down gradually, and pull off the road.

Braking hard on a blowout takes away what grip the other three tires still have, so the slowing has to be gradual.

If a front tire blows, steering will be difficult and there may be a strong pull to the side. A rear blowout causes the back of the vehicle to weave or sway.

2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.84

If your brakes stop working, pump them to build up pressure, shift to a lower gear so the engine helps slow you, slowly apply the parking brake, use your horn or lights to warn others, and ease onto the shoulder once you have slowed.

The parking brake is applied slowly because yanking it locks the rear wheels and spins the vehicle.

Slowly apply the parking brake.

2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.85

If your headlights go out, turn the switch off and on, try other lights such as high beams, driving lights or hazard lights to give enough light to guide you off the road, then slow down and ease onto the shoulder.

Any light at all is better than none, and the hazard lights work even when the headlight circuit has failed.

Turn the headlight switch off and on.

2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.85

If your accelerator sticks, search for an escape path, shift the vehicle to neutral using an open palm to avoid shifting into another gear, steer smoothly while braking, and pull off the road when it is safe.

An open palm is specified because grabbing the lever in a panic can select reverse or park, which is worse than the stuck throttle.

Shift the vehicle to neutral. Use an open palm to avoid shifting into another gear.

2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.85

If your power steering fails, grip the steering wheel firmly because steering will be difficult, then slow down and ease onto the shoulder.

The steering still works, it simply takes far more effort — letting go because it feels locked is the mistake.

Grip the steering wheel firmly. Steering will be difficult.

2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.85

On the test

What should a driver do when a tire blows out?

Grip the wheel firmly. Braking hard on a blowout takes away what grip the other three tires still have, so the slowing has to be gradual. 2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.84: “If a front tire blows, steering will be difficult and there may be a strong pull to the side. A rear blowout causes the back of the vehicle to weave or sway.”

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 2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, published by the Oregon Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-15.