New Hampshire · Handbook chapter 9 · 4 min read

Chapter 9: Safe driving, crashes and emergencies

Visual search and space management, what to do after a crash in New Hampshire, the 15-day report and $1,000 rule, insurance and SR-22 filings, and how to handle skids, blowouts, brake failure and breakdowns.

Why this chapter matters

New Hampshire has more than 30,000 reported crashes a year. Knowing how to keep space around you, what to do after a crash and how to react in an emergency can prevent the next one, and the reporting rules are favorite test questions.

Visual search

• Turn your head before you turn the wheel.
• Look well ahead, past the vehicle in front, and keep checking your mirrors.
• Look to the sides for anyone who may cross your path, and to the rear before slowing, stopping, turning or changing lanes.
• Do not follow a large vehicle so closely that it blocks your view.

Space management

• Keep at least four seconds behind the vehicle ahead. Count from when its rear passes a fixed point until you reach the same point.
• Increase that gap on slippery roads, behind trucks, buses, RVs and trailers, at night, in fog or bad weather, and behind vehicles that must stop at railroad crossings (transit and school buses, hazardous material trucks).
• To the sides: do not ride beside other vehicles for long, keep away from the center line, and make room for vehicles merging onto a highway.
• Behind: drive at a steady speed and signal early.

After a crash

1. Stop.
2. If possible, move the vehicles off the road so traffic can pass.
3. Call 911 if anyone is hurt.
4. Give aid, but do not move the injured unless necessary, and make sure an ambulance is on the way.
5. Exchange names, addresses, license numbers and states, plate numbers, vehicle make, model and year, and insurance details; get the names and addresses of witnesses.

Reporting

• File a report with the Division of Motor Vehicles within 15 days if anyone is killed or injured or the combined property damage is over $1,000.
• If a police officer investigates, the officer's report satisfies the rule, although you may still file your own.
• The form is the Operator Accident Report (DSMV 400). If you are hurt and cannot file it, a passenger or the vehicle owner may.
• Not sure the damage passed $1,000? File anyway to be safe.

Insurance and financial responsibility

• New Hampshire has no mandatory insurance law, but an uninsured driver can be held responsible for all property damage and medical bills from a crash. If you cannot pay, the DMV suspends your privileges until a settlement is reached.
• After an uninsured crash you may have to carry insurance for several years through an SR-22 certificate.
• Convictions that require an SR-22 to get your privileges back include impaired driving, failing to stop and report after a crash, vehicular homicide, a second reckless driving offense, and a just cause hearing on your record.

Driving emergencies

Think before you act: panic makes things worse.

• ABS braking: press the brake and keep pressing. Vibration and clicking are normal.
• Swerving: grip with both hands and steer where you want to go, never to the left, then steer back to straighten.
• Accelerating may avoid being hit from behind or the side.
• Skids: ease off the gas and steer in the direction the rear of the car is sliding; be ready to steer back; once it stops, straighten and continue.
• Drop-off at the edge: do not jerk back on. Slow gradually, then return to the pavement when safe.
• Brake failure: apply the parking brake slowly, ready to release it if you skid; if that fails, turn off the engine and find a safe place to stop.
• Blowout: grip firmly and keep straight, ease off the gas, let the car slow or brake gently, then pull off and use flashers. A front blowout pulls hard toward the blown tire.
• Power failure: hold the wheel firmly (steering gets heavy), brake with steady pressure, pull off, try to restart.
• Stuck accelerator: eyes on the road, shift to neutral, brake firmly, pull off, then turn off the engine.
• Headlights fail: try the turn signals or flashers, then pull off and leave the flashers on.
• Breakdown: flashers on, get off the road, place flares or reflectors 200 feet in front and behind, and call for help. With no phone, raise the hood and tie a white cloth (red in a snowstorm) to the door handle or antenna. Stay with the car unless it is in a dangerous place.