Vermont Car / Permit practice
Vermont 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
14 questions · pass with 11 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. How should you slow down on a slippery road in a vehicle without anti-lock brakes?
Correct answer: Lift off the gas, then squeeze the brakes gently and steadily
Ease off the accelerator first, then apply slow steady pressure so the wheels keep rolling, and release a little pedal pressure if they start to lock.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, How to Avoid Skidding
2. Your car breaks down on the Interstate. What does the manual say to do?
Correct answer: Move into the breakdown lane, raise the hood, tie on a white cloth, and remain inside
Get as far right as you can, signal for help by raising the hood and tying on a white cloth, and stay in the vehicle where you are safest.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Safe Driving on the Interstate
3. Your vehicle stalls in a flooded area. What is the safest action?
Correct answer: Get out and away from it as quickly as you can
Floodwater rises fast and can carry a car away with the people inside, so leave the vehicle at once and respect the force of moving water.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Floods and Storms
4. You dent a parked car and cannot find the owner. What must you do?
Correct answer: Leave a note with your name, address and telephone number
Write down your name, address and telephone number and leave the note in or on the vehicle so that the owner can reach you.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, What to Do After a Crash
5. How should a driver use anti-lock brakes in an emergency stop?
Correct answer: Hold firm, steady pressure on the pedal
Anti-lock brakes let you brake and steer together, but only while you hold steady pressure; pumping or lifting off shuts the system down, and noise and pedal vibration are normal.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Anti-lock Brakes
6. Your right tires slip off the edge of the pavement onto a low shoulder. What should you do?
Correct answer: Ease off the gas without braking, then steer back gently at low speed
Let the speed fall without using the brakes, then bring the vehicle back onto the pavement carefully once you are going slowly.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Low Shoulders
7. When must a Vermont crash be reported in writing to the DMV, and how soon?
Correct answer: When anyone is injured or damage tops $3,000, within 72 hours
Injury, or damage above three thousand dollars, means filing a written report with the Department of Motor Vehicles inside seventy-two hours.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, What to Do After a Crash
8. You realize you have gone past your exit on the Interstate. What should you do?
Correct answer: Carry on to the next exit
Never reverse and never use a median crossover, because those openings serve emergency and maintenance vehicles; simply drive to the following exit.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Safe Driving on the Interstate
9. You come to a stretch of road covered by floodwater. What does the manual tell you?
Correct answer: Stay out of it, because the depth and what lies beneath are unknown
Water hides washouts and other damage, engines stall in it, and people have died trying to move stalled vehicles, so turn around instead.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Floods and Storms
10. The anti-lock warning lamp stays lit after you begin driving. What does that mean?
Correct answer: The anti-lock system is not working, though the brakes still function
A light that remains on signals a fault in the anti-lock system; the ordinary brakes still work, but the vehicle needs service.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, Anti-lock Brakes
11. Your vehicle begins to skid. What is the correct response?
Correct answer: Steer toward the place you want the vehicle to go, without braking
Braking deepens a skid, so look and steer where you want the vehicle to end up, and be ready to correct in both directions until it settles.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, How to Control a Vehicle in a Skid
12. You are involved in a crash. What does Vermont law require of you first?
Correct answer: Stop and give whatever help is reasonably needed
A driver in a crash must stop at the scene and provide whatever assistance is reasonably needed.
Source: Vermont Driver's Manual — Chapter 7, What to Do After a Crash
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