Hazard Perception and Emergency Procedures
What this domain tests
Scenarios where something has already gone wrong: a blowout, a brake failure on a grade, a load shift, a spill. The exam wants a sequence of actions, not a single reaction.
Perception first
Scan 12-15 seconds ahead - roughly 300 m at highway speed - and keep your eyes moving; staring locks you onto the vehicle ahead. Check mirrors every 5-8 seconds. Constantly name your escape route: the shoulder, the empty lane, the ditch. Identify the hazard before it becomes an emergency. In Quebec, expect wildlife at dawn and dusk, black ice on bridges and shaded curves, and snow squalls that drop visibility from clear to 30 m.
When it happens
- Tire blowout: hold the wheel with both hands, keep the throttle steady or ease off, do not brake hard, let the vehicle slow, then pull off.
- Brake failure on a grade: downshift through the gears, use the engine brake or retarder, apply the parking brake gradually rather than in one pull, sound the horn, and aim for a runaway lane or a soft ditch.
- Jackknife: release the brakes, straighten the wheel, and re-apply gently once the combination is in line.
- Fire: stop, shut off the engine, get out, move upwind, call 911.
- Warning devices: place triangles or flares behind and ahead of the vehicle, starting close to the unit and working outward, further back on a high-speed road.
Worked example
A front tire blows at 100 km/h with a full load. You do not touch the brake. Both hands on the wheel, throttle eased, the truck tracks straight as it slows. Once under 40 km/h you signal, check the mirror and move to the shoulder. Hard braking would have shifted weight forward, ruined the remaining tire and pulled the tractor into the next lane.
Traps that cost marks
Braking hard in a blowout; yanking the tractor parking valve on at highway speed; standing behind or in front of a stopped truck while placing warning devices; and leaving the scene of a dangerous-goods spill.