Pennsylvania · Handbook chapter 6 · 6 min read

Chapter 6: Driving emergencies and road rage

What the Pennsylvania Driver's Manual says to do in an emergency: steering versus braking, hand position, ABS and non-ABS braking, skids, floods, stuck accelerators, brake failure, blowouts, drop-offs, head-on threats, aggressive drivers and funeral processions.

Why this chapter matters

In one review of 12,000 crashes, 37 percent of drivers did nothing at all to avoid the crash. Knowing the right reaction in advance gives you a chance, and the knowledge test asks about skids, blowouts and brakes.

Steering out of trouble

• When you can either brake or steer, it is usually better to steer around the hazard, especially above 25 mph, because you react faster by swerving than by braking.
• Evasive steering means turning the wheel quickly at least half a turn one way, then back almost a full circle the other way, then straightening. At higher speeds you need less steering.
• Hold the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock or 8 and 4 o'clock, with thumbs along the face of the wheel. This reduces overcorrection and keeps the air bag from throwing your hands into your face. 10 and 2 is acceptable but riskier if the air bag deploys.
• The two steering methods are hand-over-hand and push-pull.
• If you cannot avoid a crash, your protection depends mostly on your seat belt, a correctly set head restraint, an air bag and sitting at least 10 inches from it.

Braking hard

Check your owner's manual to know which system you have before you need it.

Skids

Look and steer where you want to go. If the rear skids left, steer left; if it skids right, steer right. A smaller skid may follow the other way; correct it the same way. Do not brake during a skid: it makes it worse and can lock the wheels.

Flooded roads

• Even at low speed, as little as 6 inches of water can make you lose control and can float some small vehicles.
• 2 feet of water carries away most vehicles, including SUVs.
• A vehicle that floats into deeper water may roll and fill with water, trapping the people inside.

If there is moving water on the road, the safest choice is another route. It is illegal to drive around or through signs or devices that close a road because of hazards such as flooding.

Stuck accelerator

1. Keep your eyes on the road. Tap the pedal or lift it with your toe, but do not reach down with your hand.
2. If it stays stuck, shift to neutral and brake. The engine will race, but the wheels lose power.
3. Steer off the road when slow, stop, turn off the engine and put on the flashers.

To stop quickly you can turn the ignition OFF, never to LOCK, which locks the steering.

Brake failure

Newer cars have split braking systems, so a warning light may mean you still have brakes on two wheels: the pedal sinks farther and you must push harder. In an older vehicle whose brakes fail:

1. Shift to a low gear and look for a place to stop.
2. Pump the brake pedal fast to build pressure.
3. Use the parking brake, holding the release so you can let off if the rear wheels lock.
4. Steer toward an open area or an uphill road.
5. As a last resort, turn the ignition OFF (not LOCK) and shift to the lowest gear.

Then call for help; do not drive the vehicle.

Tire blowout

A front blowout makes the wheel vibrate and the car pull to one side; a rear blowout drops one corner and makes the back wobble. Hold the wheel tightly, stay off the brake, ease off the gas and steer smoothly. You can roll on the flat until you reach a safe place. Keep tire-changing tools in the vehicle, and change the tire on flat ground well off the road with the parking brake set and the wheels chocked.

Drifting onto a low shoulder

A drop-off happens when your wheels leave the pavement onto a lower or soft shoulder. Do not steer sharply and do not brake hard.

1. Ease off the gas. Brake only gently if you must.
2. Grip the wheel and straddle the edge, two wheels on and two off, without scraping the pavement edge.
3. Slow to under 25 mph, preferably close to 10 mph.
4. Check traffic behind, signal left, and ease back onto the road, then straighten.
5. Speed up to match traffic once you are back in full control.

A vehicle coming at you in your lane

Sound your horn. If the other driver does not move, escape to the right if possible: if you swerve left and the other driver corrects at the last moment, you still collide. If a crash cannot be avoided, brake firmly and steadily: every mile per hour you shed reduces the impact.

Road rage

About 60 percent of the roughly 1,500 highway deaths in Pennsylvania each year are blamed on aggressive driving.

• Never take your anger out on other drivers, and do not take it personally when someone cuts you off.
• Do not retaliate or try to teach anyone a lesson.
• Get out of the aggressive driver's way and do not block the passing lane.
• Do not speed up to challenge them, avoid eye contact, and ignore gestures.
• Call police or 911 only if you can do it safely hands-free, or let a passenger call.
• If you are followed, do not drive home. Go to a police station, convenience store or other place with help and witnesses.

Funeral processions

Yield to a funeral procession. Once the lead vehicle has entered an intersection, the rest of the procession may follow, even through a red light or STOP sign (the lead vehicle must stop first at a STOP sign), and other traffic must yield. Do not cut into the line unless directed by police or a funeral director's agent. Procession vehicles use headlights and emergency flashers and a flag or marker, and may show a flashing purple light. Processions yield to emergency vehicles.