Your car breaks down and you have no phone. What does the handbook suggest while you wait?
Nova Scotia Class 7 overview
Nova Scotia Class 7: Emergencies and collisions
Breakdowns, brake failure, blowouts, power and headlight failure, a stuck gas pedal, fires, skids, wheels off the pavement, animals, water, downed wires, snow plows and collision reporting duties.
- No sign-up
- Every answer explained
- Independent · not a government site
- 16 questions
- Topic drill
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Study reference: Nova Scotia Driver's Handbook (2017 revision), Ch. 5 Adverse Driving Conditions — Emergencies, Collisions
All 16 questions in this test
Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.
Your car breaks down and you have no phone. What does the handbook suggest while you wait?
- Stand beside the car to flag drivers
- Leave the doors unlocked so that helpers can get in
- Raise the hood and walk for help
- Put a Call Police sign in a window and stay inside
A power line has fallen on your car, and a fire forces you out. How should you leave?
- Step out normally and run
- Climb out holding the door frame
- Crawl out on your hands and knees, then run away
- Jump clear with feet together, then shuffle away
What amount of property damage makes a collision reportable in Nova Scotia?
- $1,000 or more
- $500 or more
- $2,000 or more
- $5,000 or more
A front tire blows out at highway speed. What should you do?
- Speed up to keep control
- Hold the wheel firmly and ease off the gas
- Brake hard right away
- Steer sharply to the shoulder and brake hard
Your gas pedal sticks down. Which action does the handbook advise?
- Reach down and pull the pedal up by hand
- Turn the key off while still moving fast
- Pump the gas pedal hard
- Shift to neutral and brake firmly
Several snow plows are clearing all lanes of a highway side by side. What should you do?
- Flash your lights to be let through
- Pass on the right shoulder
- Pass between them carefully
- Stay behind them; do not pass between them
Your right wheels drop off the pavement onto the soft shoulder. What should you do?
- Brake hard on the shoulder
- Speed up to climb the edge
- Jerk the wheel to get back on fast
- Steer back smoothly once you have control
Within what time must a reportable collision be reported to police or the Registry of Motor Vehicles?
- Within 24 hours
- Within 72 hours
- Within 1 hour
- Within 7 days
Your car starts to have mechanical trouble on the highway. What should you do first?
- Keep driving to the next town
- Stop in your lane and check the engine
- Stop on the centre line
- Signal, use flashers and pull well off the road
You smell smoke and see flames from under the hood. After stopping and turning off the ignition, how far away should everyone move?
- At least 10 metres
- At least 5 metres
- At least 30 metres
- At least 100 metres
Your headlights go out at night and the switch does not bring them back. What should you do?
- Use flashers and other lights, and leave the highway
- Keep driving slowly until you reach your destination
- Drive with your interior light on
- Follow another car's tail lights
Your engine dies while driving and you lose power steering and power brakes. What happens?
- You can still steer and brake, with more effort
- The car stops on its own
- The steering wheel locks and can no longer be turned
- The brakes stop working entirely
You back into a parked car and the owner is nowhere to be found. What must you do?
- Leave a note and drive away
- Nothing, if the damage is small
- Try to find the owner, or tell police within 24 hours
- Report it only to your insurance company within 7 days
Why should you not use water on a vehicle fire?
- Water makes too much smoke
- Water causes electrical shocks
- Water spreads gasoline and oil fires
- Water damages the engine
Your car goes into deep water. What is the best way out?
- Through the windows, opened right away
- Through the sunroof only
- Through the door, opened right away
- Wait for the car to settle on the bottom
Your brake pedal suddenly goes to the floor. What should you try first?
- Pull the parking brake hard at once
- Pump the brake pedal several times
- Shift into reverse
- Turn the engine off
Emergencies and collisions: key rules to remember
Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗
General highway trouble
- Regular servicing prevents many emergencies.
- At the first sign of trouble: signal, check mirrors, four-way flashers on, slow down, pull as far off the road as possible. Never stop in the driving lanes.
- Call for help by cell phone; otherwise put a "Call Police" sign in a window or tie a white cloth to the antenna. Do not raise the hood. Stay in the vehicle with doors locked; ask anyone who stops to call police or an auto club.
- Threshold braking: firm, steady pressure just short of lock-up; ease off slightly if wheels lock, then repeat. ABS lets you press hard and still steer.
Brake, tire, power and headlight failure
- Brake failure: pump the pedal several times to build pressure; if that fails, apply the parking brake gently but firmly while holding the release button. Once stopped, don't drive on — get help.
- Blowout: don't brake; hold the wheel firmly; ease off the gas slowly; steer to a safe stop off the highway.
- Power failure: power steering and brakes are lost — steering and braking take more effort but still work; get off the road.
- Headlight failure: work the switch a few times, try high/low; then four-way flashers and any other lights (signals, fog lights); get off the highway. Driving at night without lights is dangerous and illegal.
Sticking gas pedal, vehicle fires
- Sticking gas pedal: tap it or lift it with your foot; eyes on the road; don't reach down by hand; flashers on, shift to neutral, brake firmly without locking, pull off, engine off.
- Fire or smoke: get off the highway, ignition off, get everyone out and at least 30 m away. Use an extinguisher, not water (water spreads gas and oil fires); sand, earth or clothing can smother flames. Keep some extinguisher in reserve; fight with the wind at your back; open the hood slowly or not at all (fresh air feeds the fire).
Skids, wheels off the pavement, animals
- Skid on ice: foot off the gas, let the car slow, steer to avoid collisions, then threshold brake when slow enough. Shifting, braking or sudden steering can start a skid.
- Wheels drop onto the shoulder: don't jerk back onto the pavement. When safe and under control, steer smoothly back on, eyes on the centre of your lane.
- Animals: watch for animal crossing signs (moose, deer, cattle); use high beams at night when possible.
Water, electrical wires
- A vehicle with closed windows floats 3 to 10 minutes. Best escape is the windows; open power windows immediately before water shorts them. Most cars sink nose first, trapping air near the roof at the rear; when pressure equalizes the door opens more easily.
- Downed wires: stay inside if at all possible; touch nothing outside. If you must leave (e.g. fire), jump clear with feet together without touching the car, then shuffle away with feet together at least 20 m (65 ft).
Snow plows
- Plow wings can extend up to 3 m to the right. On highways several plows may be staggered across all lanes; never pass between them.
Collisions
- Drivers in a collision must stop immediately; leaving the scene is an offence.
- Report (within 24 hours, to local police, RCMP or the RMV) a collision with personal injury, death, or property damage of $2,000 or more (amended from $1,000; handbook web page and Ch. 7 p. 175 give $2,000).
- Give your name, address and vehicle permit to the person struck, the other driver/occupant or a witness; give reasonable help to anyone injured.
- If the driver can't report, an occupant must.
- Garage receiving a vehicle with signs of a serious collision must notify police within 24 hours.
- Damage to an unattended vehicle or property: try to find and notify the owner; if you can't, notify police within 24 hours.
- Collision with apparent damage of $50 or more, injury or death and no proof of financial responsibility: licence and all registrations in your name suspended.
Other topics
- Regulatory signsStop, yield and school zone signs, green-circle and red-slash signs, turn, passing, parking and stopping restrictions, one-way, keep-right, speed limit and accessible parking signs.
- Warning and guide signsYellow diamond warning signs for curves, narrowing roads, merges, lane endings, divided highways, bumps and hidden hazards, chevrons and checkerboards, lane-use arrows and green guide signs.
- Work zone signsOrange work zone signs, general, arrow, specific and human activity signs, traffic control persons, flashing arrow boards, lane closures and the main causes of work zone collisions.
- Railway crossingsThe crossbuck and advance railway warning sign, flashing lights and gates, vehicles that must stop at crossings, what to do if you are stuck on the tracks, and parking near a crossing.
- Traffic signals and crossing guardsGreen, yellow and red lights, right and left turns on red, arrow signals, flashing red, yellow and green signals, lane-control signals, dark signals, pedestrian Walk signals and crossing guards.
- Pavement markings and special lanesYellow and white lines, broken, solid and double solid centre lines, edge lines on divided highways, climbing lanes, continuity lines and two-way-left-turn lanes.
- Graduated licensing: Class 7, 5N and restricted stageApplying for a Class 7 learner's licence, the knowledge and vision tests, learner and newly licensed restrictions, curfew, waiting periods, driver training, the restricted individual stage, visitors and new residents, and licence classes.
- Demerit points and losing your licenceDemerit point values for common offences, warning, interview and suspension thresholds for learners, newly licensed and other drivers, probationary and conditional licences, revocation and suspension.
- Right of way, pedestrians and emergency vehiclesIntersection right-of-way rules, marked and unmarked crosswalks, pedestrians at signals, driveways, emergency vehicles, the slow down and move over rule and yielding to transit buses.
- Speed, stopping distance and followingDefault speed limits, 50 km/h situations, school zone limits, stopping distances, driving too slowly, keeping right, the two-second rule, safety scans, blind spots and curves.
- Signals, turning, lane changes and passingSignal lights, hand signals and the horn, right and left turns, turning lanes, lane changes, overtaking and passing, places where passing is unsafe, being passed and backing up.
- Parking, roundabouts and drivewaysWhere you may not stop or park and the distances involved, parallel and angle parking, parking on a hill, roundabouts and rotaries, and entering or leaving driveways.
- Highways, school buses and sharing the road100-series controlled-access highways and interchanges, large commercial vehicles and truck blind spots, school bus lights, motorcycles and bicycles.
- Your vehicle: inspection, equipment, registration and insuranceAnnual safety inspection, tires and studded tire dates, maintenance checks, lighting and horn rules, special flashing lights, loads and trailers, vehicle permits and plates, and mandatory liability insurance.
- Seat belts, child seats and safe driving habitsSeat belt law, child restraints and booster seats, airbags, carrying passengers, driving position, steering, braking and ABS, defensive driving and highway hypnosis.
- Night driving and bad weatherHeadlight timing and dimming distances, glare, rain, fog and snow, hydroplaning, wet brakes, ice and black ice stopping distances, gravel roads, four-wheel drive and winter driving.
- Impaired driving and fitness to driveBlood alcohol limits, standard drinks, roadside screening results and suspensions, the administrative licence suspension, penalties by offence, drug impairment, emotions, vision standards and fatigue.