Emergencies, Collisions, and Crash Reporting
What the exam tests
Emergency and crash questions ask what to do immediately after a collision, when police must be called, how to move vehicles safely, and how to handle fires, skids, and highway breakdowns.
Core rules
- At the scene: stop, check for injuries, call 911, and exchange names, addresses, insurance, and vehicle information. Do not leave the scene of a crash involving injury, death, or property damage.
- Move it law: if there are no injuries and vehicles are drivable, Georgia's Steer It, Clear It rule requires moving vehicles out of travel lanes to prevent secondary crashes.
- Reporting: call police when anyone is hurt or killed, or when property damage appears to exceed $500. A hit-and-run or an unattended parked car requires you to stop and leave your information.
- Safety at the roadside: turn on hazard lights, move behind a barrier if possible, and keep safety belts on until help arrives. If stranded, pull as far off as possible and call for help.
- Vehicle emergencies: for a fire, pull off, shut off the engine, get everyone out, and move away. For a brake failure, pump the brakes, downshift, and use the parking brake gradually.
Worked example
You are in a low-speed fender bender on a busy Georgia highway. No one is hurt, and both cars drive. Reasoning: leaving the cars in lanes creates a secondary-crash risk, so you move to the shoulder or a safe lot, then exchange information and call police if damage is likely over $500. You do not drive away just because the damage looks minor.
Traps that cost marks
- Leaving the scene before exchanging information, which can become a hit-and-run.
- Standing between the vehicles in a live lane.
- Failing to call police when injury or the damage threshold is met.
- Opening the hood fully on a smoking engine, which can feed a fire.