Emergencies and Special Situations: Safe Driving at Every Age, Aggressive Driving, Intersections, Freeway Driving and Merging, Fatigue, Cruise Control, an Oncoming Vehicle, Bad Weather, Skids and Braking, Stopping Distances, Night Driving, Crashes, Deer, Planning, Security, Breakdowns and Police Stops
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Michigan driver's license written knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: What Every Driver Must Know (SOS-133, revised October 2025), Michigan Department of State, chapter 7 "Emergencies and Special Situations" (pp. 59–67).
Safe driving and aggressive driving
Safe driving takes judgment, reflexes, experience, patience and common sense. Teens gain skill through practice on the range, with parents or a designated adult 21 or older, and then alone; middle-aged drivers risk complacency on "autopilot"; older drivers face health and aging challenges but can improve through refresher courses such as AAA RoadWise Driver and AARP Driver Safety.
Aggressive drivers run signs and lights, speed, tailgate, weave, pass on the right illegally, gesture, yell, honk and flash their lights; responding in kind can escalate to road rage, where the vehicle or a weapon becomes an assault tool. NHTSA estimates 66 percent of traffic fatalities involve aggressive behavior. Check yourself: merge smoothly and give others room to merge, do not sit in the left lane, do not tailgate, and never gesture. Confronted by an aggressive driver, get out of the way, avoid eye contact, ignore gestures and insults, and call the police when safe; if that driver crashes down the road, stop at a safe distance and report what you saw.
Intersections
More fatalities and serious injuries happen at intersections than anywhere else. Approaching one, check oncoming and cross traffic, other road users, pedestrians, signals, signs, markings, the road surface and areas of limited visibility; expect someone to run a signal, and when unsure what another driver will do, let them go first; look twice for motorcycles, bicycles and mopeds; and where trees, buildings or snow piles block your view, edge forward slowly until you can see.
Freeway driving
Freeways flow one way with no stops or intersections; pedestrians, motorcycles of 124 cc or less, mopeds, bicycles, ATVs and slow-moving vehicles are banned. Entrance ramps, often beside exit ramps, lead to an acceleration lane where you match freeway speed; watch for Do Not Enter and Wrong Way signs; signal, check mirrors and glance over your shoulder, choose a gap and merge, yielding to freeway traffic and never counting on others to let you in. Michigan law puts the burden on the merging driver to adjust speed and position, entering or exiting. On a two-lane freeway, drive in the right lane except to pass, exit left, let someone merge, in heavy congestion, or when emergency vehicles or workers are on the shoulder; with three or more lanes you may use any, but near the minimum speed stay with the slower traffic. HOV lanes require two or more occupants during posted hours and are open to all at other times; motorcycles may use them anytime. Watch for merging traffic at Merge signs and for drivers who slow suddenly or swerve for exits.
Leaving: most exits have a deceleration lane; watch the exit signs, signal, move over, and slow only once fully in the deceleration lane, obeying the ramp's posted limit on its sharp curves. Never stop on a freeway except in an emergency (flashers on, slow gradually, pull completely off the pavement). If you miss an exit, never back up, turn around or use the median crossover, which is for emergency and MDOT vehicles; go to the next exit and come back.
Fatigue is among the greatest freeway dangers: the hum of wind, tires and engine can hypnotize you. Let someone else drive; do not rely on coffee or stay-awake drugs; take a 10-minute break at least every two hours; and keep your eyes moving between mirrors and near and far objects. Cruise control suits rural roads with little traffic, set at or below the limit; acceleration does not cancel it but the brake does; avoid it in heavy traffic, near many ramps, on slippery roads, and when towing heavy loads.
Emergencies on the road
If an oncoming vehicle is in your lane: tap the horn if there is time, brake hard without locking the wheels (unless you have ABS), look for an escape route to the right, avoid going left because the other driver may return to the proper lane, try an emergency stop in your lane only if there is room and no way off, and if a hit is unavoidable steer around it, turning no more than needed.
Bad weather
Prepare for winter: check power steering, brake, washer and oil fluids, use strong fresh antifreeze and winter washer fluid. Leave extra time, drive slower and lengthen following distance in fog, rain and snow; bridges and underpasses freeze first. Roads are slickest in the first half hour of rain, when oil has not washed away, especially at intersections; slow down and allow at least twice the normal following distance. Wet brakes after deep water or heavy rain may pull or fail; slow and press gently until they work. Hydroplaning, when tires ride on top of water, comes from worn tires, low pressure or speed. At a flooded road, never drive around safety barricades; without barricades, find another route or proceed with extreme caution, since debris, power lines, a washed-out road or engine damage may await. In fog, drive slowly on low beams ready to stop quickly, and if you cannot see at all, pull off, turn on the four-way flashers and wait. On ice and snow, drive slowly, listen for snowmobiles at trail and crosswalk signs, slow gradually, and test the brakes lightly to feel the road; most skids come from turning too quickly or stopping suddenly.
Skids: take your foot off the accelerator, turn the front wheels only enough to point where you want to go, expect a secondary skid the other way, turn again toward your path, then straighten. To prevent a skid with standard brakes, use steady pressure without locking the wheels so you keep steering; with ABS, hold the pressure and steer. Braking: normally a steady, firm push; in extreme conditions, with ABS brake hard from the start and hold it through the vibration or pulsing, which is normal; without ABS, brake just short of locking and if the wheels lock, release and reapply (threshold or controlled braking).
Stopping distance and night driving
Stopping distance depends on fatigue, attention, vehicle type and weight, tires, brakes, surface and weather. Keep a 3- to 4-second following distance, counting "one-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand three" from the moment the vehicle ahead passes a fixed point; you are too close if you reach it first, and at higher speeds or in bad conditions extend the gap to 6 seconds or more. Wet pavement needs more time; for a smooth stop, increase brake pressure gradually and ease off just before stopping. Look 20 to 30 seconds down the road to spot hazards early.
Headlights must be on from one half-hour after sunset to one half-hour before sunrise, whenever visibility is reduced, and whenever you cannot see people and vehicles clearly at 500 feet; use low beams in daytime fog, rain and snow, turn them on whenever in doubt, and never drive on parking lights alone. Drive within the range of your headlights. It is illegal to use or flash high beams within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle; dim for pedestrians and cyclists and do not use high beams behind other vehicles. If an oncoming driver will not dim, look at the right edge of the road, never into the lights; a dirty windshield makes glare worse.
Roadside emergencies, crashes and deer
About 10 percent of pedestrian deaths from 2014 to 2018 involved a roadside emergency; generally the safest choice is to stay in your car, belted, until help arrives. If your car is disabled, pull as far off the traveled roadway as possible, turn on the four-way flashers and stay inside belted; if you must leave, watch traffic and walk directly to a safe spot, remembering that walking on a freeway is illegal.
In a crash, never drive away: leaving the scene brings fines and jail, more if alcohol, injuries or deaths are involved. Help secure medical aid. Drivable vehicles in a crash without serious injury or death must be moved off the main roadway to a shoulder, median or parking lot by the driver or a licensed passenger when safe. Exchange names, addresses, license numbers, registration and insurance, and notify police when there are injuries or damage over $1,000.
Michigan sees about 60,000 vehicle-deer crashes a year, perhaps half unreported, averaging $2,100 in damage and $130 million statewide. Be alert in fall and spring, at dawn and dusk, and at deer crossing signs; slow when you see one, since they travel in groups; and ignore gimmicks such as deer whistles, flashing high beams and honking. If a hit is unavoidable, do not veer: stay in your lane, brake firmly, hold the wheel with both hands, come to a controlled stop and steer well off the road. Report the crash to local police, the sheriff, the State Police or the DNR, who can issue a permit to keep the deer. Stay aware, alert and sober, and always wear your belt.
Planning, security and police stops
Keep the vehicle in good condition with enough fuel, tell people your route and arrival time, check that headlights, taillights, brake lights and signals work (defective equipment is ticketable), clean the glass, check tire pressure and wear, and look around and under the vehicle before moving. Before starting, sit comfortably, buckle everyone, and set the mirrors: the inside mirror to show the center of the road behind, and the outside mirrors to just show the vehicle's edges, or with the head-against-the-window method so each barely shows the rear corner. Never turn the ignition to lock while moving, or the steering locks. Keep doors and windows locked, prefer freeways through high-crime areas, know where help is, never hitchhike or pick up hitchhikers, consider alarms and VIN etching, close the sunroof at night, never leave keys in the car, drive slowly to a lit station rather than changing a flat alone, park close to your destination, have keys ready and check the interior before getting in. If approached suspiciously, drive away or sound the horn and stay inside the locked car; calling for help while driving is allowed for emergencies; a carjacker who wants the car gets it without a fight, and you get a description.
If an officer signals you, pull to the right as soon as it is safe and stop (the officer may move you somewhere safer). Stay calm, stay in the car with the belt on, turn on the interior lights at dusk or dark, open the window, keep both hands empty on the wheel, have passengers keep quiet with hands visible, speak respectfully, and take out your license, registration and insurance only when asked, saying where they are first. Do not argue about the stop or a ticket; take complaints about conduct to the officer's supervisor and disputes about the ticket to the court. Afterward, buckle up, check traffic, signal and pull out lawfully. In conclusion: drive defensively, obey devices and laws, obey officers (whose directions override devices), be courteous, signal, never stare at one thing for more than a few seconds, increase following distance at night, in bad weather, in rush hour and during lane changes and intersections, and never drive tired.
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Operator's, chauffeur's and commercial licenses and endorsements, REAL ID, converting an out-of-state license, GDL Segments 1 and 2 and Levels 1, 2 and 3 with their hours, curfew and passenger limits, the 180-day TIP and 30-day practice rule for adults, required documents, vision and knowledge tests, the driving skills test, health restrictions, probation, name and address changes, four-year renewals, voter registration and state ID cards.
How long convictions stay on the record, the 6-, 4-, 3- and 2-point violations, the 12-point reexamination, standard drinks, drug-conviction suspensions of six months and one year, marijuana transport and driving rules, implied consent, OWI penalties of 93 days, $500 and six points, and driver reexaminations.
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