Handling Emergencies

Study questions with answers

12 sample Handling Emergencies questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.

1. 1. What is usually the first sign that a front tire has failed while driving?

   Correct answer: The steering suddenly feels heavy

   If the steering suddenly feels heavy, it is likely a front tire that has failed; a loud bang or heavy vibration may also signal a blowout, though a rear tire may give only vibration.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

2. 2. What can happen to your brakes when you drive through deep standing water or heavy rain?

   Correct answer: They may weaken, apply unevenly, or grab

   Water can leave the brakes weak, grabbing, or applying unevenly, which may produce reduced stopping power, locked wheels, a pull to one side, or a jackknife when towing a trailer.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.13: Driving in Winter

3. 3. When you must leave the road to avoid a collision, when should you begin braking?

   Correct answer: Once you have slowed to roughly 20 mph, and then only gently

   If you can, hold off braking until you have slowed to roughly 20 mph, then brake softly to avoid a skid on the loose surface, keeping one set of wheels on the pavement.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

4. 4. Why should you avoid applying the brakes while making a quick emergency turn?

   Correct answer: It can lock the wheels and make you skid

   Braking while turning can easily lock the wheels, causing a skid and loss of control; turn no more than needed to clear the obstacle, then be ready to counter-steer.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

5. 5. If a tire blows out, what should you do with the brakes?

   Correct answer: Stay off the brake until the vehicle slows down

   Stay off the brake after a blowout until the vehicle slows on its own, because braking with a failed tire can cause a loss of control; then brake gently, pull off, and stop.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

6. 6. What is an escape ramp designed to do?

   Correct answer: Stop a runaway vehicle safely

   An escape ramp is a long bed of soft, loose gravel — sometimes paired with an upgrade — built to bring a runaway vehicle to a safe stop without harming the driver.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

7. 7. If your hydraulic brakes lose pressure and the pedal goes to the floor, which of the following can help slow the vehicle?

   Correct answer: Downshifting into a lower gear

   Downshift into a lower gear, pump the pedal to try to build pressure, and use the parking brake (pressing its release at the same time) while looking for an escape route.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

8. 8. How does an antilock braking system (ABS) help you during hard braking?

   Correct answer: It keeps the wheels from locking so you keep control

   ABS keeps the wheels from locking up during hard braking so you can keep the vehicle under control and steer around obstacles; it does not necessarily shorten stopping distance.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.18: Antilock Braking Systems

9. 9. Which of the following is one of the four ways a skid can be caused?

   Correct answer: Braking too hard and locking the wheels

   Skids are caused by over-braking, over-steering, over-acceleration, or simply driving too fast for conditions, all of which can break the tires' grip on the road.

   Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.19: Skid Control and Recovery

10. 10. How do you correct a drive-wheel braking skid where the rear wheels have locked and are sliding?

    Correct answer: Stop braking so the wheels roll, then counter-steer

    Stop braking so the rear wheels can roll again, then counter-steer — turning the wheel back the other way — because the vehicle tends to keep turning as it comes back on course.

    Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.19: Skid Control and Recovery

11. 11. In an emergency, when is steering around an obstacle often a better choice than stopping?

    Correct answer: When there is not enough room to stop in time

    In most cases you can swerve around an obstacle in a shorter distance than it takes to stop; when there is no room to stop, steering clear may be safer — though top-heavy loads and multi-trailer rigs can roll.

    Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.17: Driving Emergencies

12. 12. You are helping an injured person at a crash scene. When should you move a severely injured person?

    Correct answer: Only if fire or passing traffic makes it necessary

    Leave a badly injured person where they are unless fire or nearby traffic makes moving them necessary; otherwise control heavy bleeding with direct pressure and keep the person warm.

    Source: Massachusetts CDL Manual — Section 2.20: Accident Procedures