West Virginia Car / Permit practice
West Virginia Car / Permit: Handling Emergencies practice test
What to do when things go wrong — brake failure, tire blowouts, skids, and stalling on railroad tracks.
Content reviewed against official driver handbooks · August 12, 2026
12 questions · pass with 10 correct. You get instant feedback and an explanation after every answer.
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.
Show all 12 questions with answers
1. Your vehicle starts to skid. How do you steer out of it?
Correct answer: Ease off the gas and steer in the direction of the skid
Lift off the accelerator and turn the wheel the way the rear is sliding; if the vehicle then swings the other way, steer again toward where you want to go and straighten up.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Skids
2. Smoke is coming from under the hood and there is no extinguisher in the vehicle. What should you use?
Correct answer: Dirt or sand to smother the flames
Leave the roadway and shut off the ignition, then smother the flames with dirt or sand rather than water, which lets burning fuel float and spread.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Fire in Vehicle
3. Your brake pedal goes to the floor. What does the handbook tell you to do?
Correct answer: Pump the pedal quickly and shift to a lower gear
Pump the pedal quickly, shift down, look for somewhere off the roadway to slow and stop, and use the parking brake while holding its release so you can ease off if a wheel locks.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Brake Failure
4. The temperature warning shows your engine is overheating. What is the correct response?
Correct answer: Pull off, shut down the engine, and leave the radiator cap until it cools
Pull off the road and shut the engine down, and leave the radiator cap alone until everything has cooled.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Overheating Engine
5. A tire blows out at speed. What should you do first?
Correct answer: Grip the wheel, steer straight and ease off the accelerator
Hold the wheel firmly, steer straight ahead and ease off the accelerator; braking comes only once the vehicle is back under control.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Blowouts
6. Your vehicle breaks down on an interstate. Where should the second flare go?
Correct answer: About three hundred feet behind the vehicle
One flare is placed about a vehicle length behind, and a second roughly three hundred feet back, each set on the shoulder close to where the through lane begins.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter VII, Adverse Conditions
7. In what order does the handbook say first aid should be given at a crash?
Correct answer: Control bleeding, restore breathing, treat for shock, protect broken bones
The sequence given is to control bleeding, restore breathing, treat for shock, and then protect broken bones, keeping the casualty lying down and comfortable.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, First Aid
8. Your right wheels drop off the pavement onto the shoulder. What is the correct recovery?
Correct answer: Grip the wheel, stay on the shoulder and slow before easing back on
Hold the wheel tightly, stay on the shoulder while easing off the gas, brake gently, and only after slowing check for traffic and steer sharply back, straightening as the tires regain the pavement.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Wheels Off the Road
9. Your vehicle has stalled on a railroad crossing and a train is coming. What should you do?
Correct answer: Get out and move to a safe place
The handbook is blunt: leave the vehicle and move to a safe place away from the tracks.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Stalling on Railroad Tracks
10. Your headlights fail on an unlit road. What does the handbook advise?
Correct answer: Try the parking lights, signals or hazard flashers and get off the roadway
Try the parking lights, the direction signals or the hazard flashers to make yourself visible and get off the roadway; if every light fails, stay on the road and slow enough to pull off safely.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Headlights Fail
11. A vehicle is coming straight at you in your own lane. What does the handbook say to do?
Correct answer: Move right, slow down, sound your horn and flash your lights
Move to the right and slow down, then sound the horn and flash your headlights; do not steer into the lane the other driver has left, because they may correct back into it.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Vehicle Approaching in Your Lane
12. The accelerator sticks down while you are driving. What should you do?
Correct answer: Try to free the pedal, then use the clutch or neutral before braking to a safe stop
Keep your eyes up and concentrate on steering, work the pedal loose with your foot if you can, and otherwise push in the clutch or select neutral, then brake and stop somewhere safe.
Source: West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook — Chapter IX, Stuck Gas Pedal
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