Special Circumstances and Emergencies: Work Zones, Railroad Crossings, Sharing the Road, School Buses, Emergency Vehicles, Road Rage and Emergencies

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Pennsylvania non-commercial Class C knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Pennsylvania Driver's Manual (PUB 95), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, chapter 3 "Learning to Drive", "Special Circumstances and Emergencies" (pp. 54–64).

Check 511PA.com before a trip for closures, special events and hazards.

Work zones

Work zones are marked by orange channelizing devices, sometimes a flagger in reflective clothing, and warning signs, advance warning vehicles or message boards at least 200 feet ahead; some have State Police present. Moving operations such as line painting and mowing use shadow vehicles at the rear; do not pass a moving operation unless directed. An active work zone has workers on or near the road; expect narrow, rough, uneven lanes and abrupt shifts. About 40,000 people a year are hurt or killed in U.S. work-zone crashes, mostly from carelessness and speeding. Drivers must yield to workers and construction vehicles, and must turn on the headlights (not just daytime running lights) in a work zone, with a fine for failing to in an active zone; fines double for certain violations there, including speeding, and some bring a license suspension. Plan an alternate route; no cruise control; double your following distance (rear-end collisions are the commonest work-zone crash); change lanes as soon as a sign says yours is closing; never cross a solid white line in a work zone; keep moving at a safe speed without gawking or stopping to ask directions; and obey flaggers, whose authority overrides conventional traffic controls and who can report unsafe drivers to police.

Railroad crossings

Most crossings have only an advance warning sign and a crossbuck, with no gates, and familiar quiet crossings are the most dangerous. Always look left, right and left again, even at active crossings whose signals are not flashing, since they may be broken. With more than one track, do not start as soon as a train passes; wait for a clear view down both tracks, and even at one track check again for a second train. Never pass at a crossing, never follow another vehicle blindly onto the tracks, and never start across without room to clear them completely; if traffic slows ahead, wait. If you are trapped on the tracks with a train coming, leave the vehicle at once and get far away. A train hits a vehicle or a pedestrian every hour and a half in the U.S., and you are 40 times more likely to die in a crash with a train than with another vehicle.

Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and moped riders

Pedestrians: yield at intersections and crosswalks; a right turn on red means stop, look everywhere and let pedestrians clear; slow down around children, who may run out without looking; obey school zone limits and stop for school buses with flashing red lights; be patient with elderly and disabled pedestrians; check behind before backing; yield to blind pedestrians with a cane, a guide dog or a guide; slow behind a stopped vehicle and do not pass until you know no one is crossing in front of it; and never wave a pedestrian into traffic.

Bicyclists: slow to a safe speed when approaching or passing; do not slow or stop suddenly after passing, which could make the cyclist hit you; and do not sound the horn near them unless needed to avoid a crash. See the Pennsylvania Bicycle Driver's Manual (PUB 380).

Motorcyclists and moped riders: the law entitles them to one complete lane. Most of their crashes with cars happen at intersections when a car turns left in front of them. Do not assume a flashing signal means a turn, since their signals may not cancel; wait until they actually turn. Small road hazards are deadly to them, so expect sudden lane or speed changes. Keep the same 4-second following distance or more, longer in bad conditions.

Trucks and buses

Know the No-Zone, the blind spots around trucks and buses where crashes happen. Passing a truck takes 3 to 5 seconds longer on level ground, and up to 30 seconds at highway speed; a truck slows on an upgrade (easier to pass) and speeds up on a downgrade. Do not cut in too soon and slow abruptly; keep space from the vehicle ahead in the passing lane so you are not trapped; pass quickly without hanging in the blind spot, keep both hands on the wheel against turbulence, perhaps toward the left of the passing lane, and move back only when you see the truck's headlights or grill in your rearview mirror; think twice about passing on curves. When a truck passes you, keep to the far side of your lane, slow slightly and hold a steady speed, never speeding up; if you are in its blind spot and it moves over, stay calm, judge your position and speed up or slow down, using the shoulder as an escape. Meeting a truck head-on, keep far to your side: turbulence pushes vehicles apart. Following a truck, stay out of the No-Zone where the driver can see you in the side mirrors: if you cannot see the truck's mirrors, the driver cannot see you; a 4-second count keeps you out of the rear blind spot; leave room when stopped behind one on a hill, since it may roll back; and dim your headlights behind a truck at night. Trucks make wide turns, often using other lanes and looking as if they are going straight or left when turning right; never squeeze between a turning truck and the curb, and do not pass until the turn is complete. Oversized loads travel with pilot vehicles bearing special signs and lights; treat them like trucks and expect them to cross lines. Never cross behind a truck that is backing into a loading area; wait. Trucks and buses may have air brakes: a loaded truck at 65 mph needs at least 600 feet to stop, against 400 feet for a car, so never enter the road or change lanes just ahead of one. Escape or runaway ramps on long downgrades are only for out-of-control large vehicles; never stop or park near them. Share the road with buses as with trucks.

School buses

Amber flashing lights mean the bus is about to stop. When it stops with red lights flashing and the stop arm out, you must stop at least 10 feet away whether you are behind it, meeting it on the same road, or approaching an intersection where it is stopped, and stay stopped until the red lights stop, the arm is withdrawn and the children are safe. Failing to stop brings a 60-day suspension, five points and a fine. The only exception: you are on the opposite side of a divided highway with a physical barrier or median (barrier, guide rail, trees, rocks, a stream or grass); then slow down and continue with caution.

Emergency vehicles and the Move Over law

Fire, police, ambulances, blood delivery and rescue vehicles use sirens and red, or red and blue, flashing lights. When one approaches from any direction, pull to the curb or roadside and stop, parallel and as near the curb as possible (toward the nearest roadside on a one-way street), stay clear of intersections, make sure another is not coming, and resume only after it passes, staying at least 500 feet behind it. In an emergency every driver obeys a uniformed police officer, sheriff, constable or properly attired person including fire police.

Move Over: approaching an emergency response area (police, sheriffs, coroners, firefighters, fire police, rescue and medical personnel, towing and recovery, hazmat teams, or highway construction and maintenance crews at work) or a disabled vehicle marked with at least two signal lamps, flares, caution signs or other devices, move into a lane not adjacent to it; if you cannot, slow to at least 20 mph below the limit. Responders and road workers may report violators for citation. Penalties: a fine up to $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second and $2,000 for a third, doubled in a work zone, plus two points; causing serious injury or death brings a 90-day suspension and up to $1,000; seriously injuring a responder or someone at a disabled vehicle brings a six-month suspension and up to $5,000; killing one brings a one-year suspension and up to $10,000.

Horses, open truck beds and snow plows

Horse-drawn vehicles are often dark and hard to see at dawn, dusk and night; leave plenty of room behind them, since they roll back after stopping and the driver cannot see you when you are close; pass slowly without blowing the horn, and leave space before pulling back in so the horse is not spooked. An open-bed pickup or flatbed may not exceed 35 mph with anyone in the bed, and may not carry a child under 18 in the bed at all, except a farmer's child or a hired child moving between parts of a farm, a licensed young hunter moving between camp and hunting sites in season, or a participant in a sanctioned parade. Snow plows have very limited mirror visibility and often turn around; their wing plows stick out several feet and cause sideswipes; follow at a distance and never pass a plow on either side.

Road rage

About 60 percent of Pennsylvania's roughly 1,500 yearly highway deaths, around 900, are attributed to aggressive driving. Never take out anger on the road or take another driver's move personally; many incidents are misunderstandings. Do not retaliate or try to teach a lesson: a contest with another driver is a serious distraction, and being right can get you "dead right." With an aggressive driver: get out of the way, avoid eye contact, ignore gestures, do not block the passing lane, do not challenge by speeding up, and call 911 hands-free or have a passenger call. If pursued, do not go home; drive to a police station, convenience store or other place with help and witnesses.

Driving emergencies

In a review of 12,000 crashes, 37 percent of drivers took no action to avoid the crash. Knowing what to do matters.

Steering out of an emergency: above 25 mph it is usually better to steer around a hazard than brake, because you react faster by swerving, but you need control: hold the wheel with both hands at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 o'clock, thumbs along the rim, which prevents overcorrecting and keeps the air bag from throwing your arms into your face (10 and 2 is legal but risks air-bag injury). An evasive swerve is about a half turn one way, then almost a full turn back, then center. Turn with hand-over-hand or push-pull steering. If a crash is unavoidable, survival depends on the seat belt worn properly, the head restraint adjusted, an air bag, and sitting at least 10 inches from it.

Braking suddenly: without ABS, pump the brakes; slamming them locks the wheels and skids. With ABS, keep firm, continuous pressure and ignore the noise and pulsing; never pump. Learn which you have before an emergency.

Skid: look and steer where you want to go: rear sliding left, steer left; rear sliding right, steer right; expect a smaller second skid the other way and correct it the same way. Do not brake in a skid, which worsens it and locks the wheels.

Flooded roads: six inches of water can cause loss of control and float small cars; twelve inches of moving water floats many cars; two feet carries away most vehicles including SUVs and pickups, and a floating car can roll and fill. Water hides missing pavement and weakens the road; night hides the flood. Nearly half of Pennsylvania flood deaths since 2006 involved vehicles. Turn Around, Don't Drown: find another route, and never pass a flood barrier or drive around signs that close a road, which is illegal. If stuck, get out and climb to higher ground.

Stuck accelerator: eyes on the road; tap the pedal or lift it with your toe, never your hand; shift to neutral and brake (the engine races but the wheels lose power); steer off the road, stop, turn off the engine and put on the flashers. If you must stop quickly, turn the ignition to OFF, never LOCK, which locks the steering; steering and braking will take more effort.

Brake failure: modern split systems usually leave two of four wheels braking; the pedal goes farther and needs more force, stopping distance grows, and a lower gear helps. In an older car with total failure: shift to low gear and look for a place to stop; pump the pedal quickly to build pressure; use the parking brake, holding the release so you can let off if the rear wheels lock; keep looking for an escape, such as an uphill road; and as a last resort turn the ignition OFF (not LOCK) and shift to the lowest gear, which may damage the transmission. Then call for help; do not drive on.

Blowout: a front blowout vibrates the wheel and pulls to one side; a rear one drops a corner and wobbles the rear. Hold the wheel tightly, stay off the brake, ease off the gas slowly, and steer smoothly where you want to go; ride the flat as far as needed to a safe spot, braking gently if you must. To change a tire: park on flat ground far off the road, set the parking brake and chock a good wheel front and back, pry off the wheel cover, loosen the lug nuts while the car is on the ground, jack the car at the point the manual specifies until the tire is about six inches up, remove the nuts and tire, fit the spare and thread the nuts by hand, tighten lightly, lower the car, then torque the nuts in the manual's sequence, and stow everything.

Drifting off the pavement (drop-off): common on rural roads and at resurfacing ledges. Do not steer sharply and do not brake suddenly, or the car whips into oncoming traffic or skids. Ease off the gas, grip the wheel and steer parallel with two wheels on and two off, keeping the tires off the pavement edge (a soft or wet shoulder pulls right); slow gradually to under 25 mph, ideally near 10; check behind, signal left; gently steer left to bring the wheels up, then gently right to straighten; then resume traffic speed.

Head-on in your lane: honk; if the driver does not move, escape to the right, never left, since a last-second correction would still collide; if a crash is unavoidable, brake firmly and steadily, because every mph lost reduces the impact.

Funeral processions: yield to the procession; once the lead vehicle clears an intersection the rest may follow through and other traffic yields; do not cut in and out unless directed by police or the funeral director's staff. Procession vehicles show headlights and flashers and a flag or insignia, sometimes a purple flashing light, and may pass a red light or stop sign if the lead vehicle entered on green (or stopped first at the sign); processions yield to emergency vehicles.

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