Night-time breakdown on a blind crest
It is 21:40 on the A1 between Maseru and Teyateyaneng. You are driving a light delivery van alone. Just past the top of a long downhill, the engine cuts out and the van rolls to a stop in the left-hand lane with no hard shoulder - the road edge drops to a grassy verge. The crest behind you is about 60 metres back, so approaching drivers cannot see your vehicle until they are almost on it. Your hazard lights work but the battery is weak and you are not sure how long they will last. You have a warning triangle in the back, a torch on your phone at 20% charge, and a reflective vest under the seat. It is dry and clear, traffic is light but fast-moving.
1. What is the correct order of actions in the first two minutes, and why does the order matter here?
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- Get the reflective vest on before leaving the cab - you must be visible from the moment you step out; a driver cresting at 100 km/h covers 60 m in roughly 2 seconds.
- Switch on hazard lights immediately (they are your primary warning while you are still inside).
- Exit on the side away from traffic where possible, and move to the verge, not the lane.
- Place the warning triangle uphill behind the vehicle, before the crest - roughly 45–50 m back on the approach side, so drivers see the triangle before they see the van. A triangle placed at the bumper is useless because it sits in the blind zone.
- Call for help and keep the phone torch off until needed to preserve charge.
Order matters because the crest converts a stationary vehicle into a surprise hazard: the warning must be visible before the blind spot, and you must be visible while placing it. Putting the triangle out before you are reflective-clothed inverts the risk.
2. A truck appears over the crest and brakes hard. Should you stay and manage the scene or move everyone off the carriageway? Justify your decision.
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Move off the carriageway and stay off it. Once a vehicle has nearly hit you, the scene has demonstrated that the warning is not sufficient. The verge is dry and firm, so it is the safer place to wait. Do not stand between your van and oncoming traffic to wave vehicles down - a driver who has already lost control will not stop for a hand signal, and you become the casualty.
Manage the scene from the verge: keep hazards on, keep the triangle in place, and warn approaching drivers only if you can do so from a position of safety (e.g. from the verge, well uphill, with the torch). The van is replaceable; the priority is that no person is in the impact zone if a second vehicle arrives too fast.
3. The battery is failing and the hazard lights may stop. What is your fallback, and what should you NOT do?
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Fallback: rely on the reflective triangle (which needs no power) as the primary warning, and position yourself and any passengers on the verge, uphill of the van where you can see and be seen. If another road user stops, ask them to keep their hazard lights on behind the scene rather than trying to improvise a warning yourself in the lane.
Do NOT: stand in the lane waving a phone torch at traffic, leave the vehicle unlit and unattended in the lane without the triangle, or attempt a roadside repair on the traffic side of the vehicle in the dark. Also do not drain the remaining battery on the torch - the triangle and your position are the warning, not the torch.