Incidents, accidents and emergencies: car theory test questions

1. Switch on your hazard warning lights ✓
2. Pull injured people out of their cars straight away
3. Ask the drivers involved to switch off their engines ✓
4. Give the casualties a hot drink to calm them

Answer: Switch on your hazard warning lights; Ask the drivers involved to switch off their engines. Make the scene safer first: use your hazard warning lights to warn traffic and ask drivers to switch off their engines to reduce the risk of fire. Don't move injured people unless they're in immediate danger.

Highway Code rule 283; Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. Help them out of the car so they can lie down on the verge
2. Ask them to get out and walk around to see how badly hurt they are
3. Drive them to the nearest hospital A&E department yourself
4. Keep them still in the car and reassure them until help arrives ✓

Answer: Keep them still in the car and reassure them until help arrives. Don't move injured people from their vehicles unless they're in immediate danger, such as from fire. Moving them could make an injury worse.

Highway Code rule 283

1. Yes – always, so they can breathe more easily
2. Yes – so you can give them a drink
3. No – not unless it's essential ✓
4. Only if they ask you to

Answer: No – not unless it's essential. Don't remove a motorcyclist's helmet unless it's essential. Taking it off could make a head or neck injury worse.

Highway Code rule 283; Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. Drive off to find help quickly
2. Check for danger before you approach ✓
3. Dress any wounds you can see
4. Give the casualty a drink of water

Answer: Check for danger before you approach. D stands for danger: check that it's safe to approach before you help. Further collisions and fire are the main dangers after a crash.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. Put them in the recovery position until help arrives ✓
2. Start chest compressions on them straight away
3. Sit them upright and support their head
4. Leave them on their own while you go to find help

Answer: Put them in the recovery position until help arrives. If the casualty is unconscious and breathing, place them in the recovery position until medical help arrives, and keep checking their breathing.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. Wash the wound with water and leave it uncovered
2. Tie a tight cord around the arm above the elbow
3. Give them something sweet to eat for the shock
4. Press firmly on the wound, then bandage a pad over it ✓

Answer: Press firmly on the wound, then bandage a pad over it. Apply firm pressure over the wound to stem the bleeding, then fasten a pad to it with a bandage or clean cloth as soon as you can. Protect yourself from contact with blood.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. Pull it out quickly, then press on the wound
2. Press directly down on the glass to stop the bleeding
3. Leave it in place and build up padding on either side of it ✓
4. Pour water over it until it comes loose

Answer: Leave it in place and build up padding on either side of it. Don't remove anything that's stuck in a wound. Build up padding on either side of the object, taking care not to press on it.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. About 2 minutes
2. About 5 minutes
3. About 10 minutes
4. At least 20 minutes ✓

Answer: At least 20 minutes. Cool a burn for at least 20 minutes with plenty of clean, cool water, then cover it with cling film if you have some. Don't try to remove anything that's stuck to the burn.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. Don't give them anything to eat or drink ✓
2. Give them a small sip only
3. Give them a sugary drink for the shock
4. Give them water once they've stood up

Answer: Don't give them anything to eat or drink. Don't give casualties anything to eat or drink. Instead keep them warm, dry and as comfortable as you can, and reassure them.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road

1. The insurance details of everyone involved
2. The exact location, including the direction of traffic ✓
3. The make and colour of your own car
4. How many vehicles are involved and the condition of any casualties ✓

Answer: The exact location, including the direction of traffic; How many vehicles are involved and the condition of any casualties. Give the exact location, including which direction (for example northbound), the number of vehicles and details of casualties – such as anyone trapped, bleeding heavily or not responding.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road; rule 283

1. Go close to read the plates, then use your mobile phone beside it
2. Try to rescue the driver as quickly as possible
3. Keep well away, call 999 and give details of the labels and markings ✓
4. Move the lorry's load to the roadside

Answer: Keep well away, call 999 and give details of the labels and markings. With dangerous goods involved, switch off engines, don't smoke and keep well away. Call the emergency services with as much information about the plates and labels as you can, and don't use a phone close to a vehicle with a flammable load.

Highway Code rules 284 and 285

1. Report it to the police as soon as possible, and within 24 hours ✓
2. Leave a note with your phone number – nothing else is needed
3. Drive on, as nobody was injured
4. Tell the DVLA within seven days

Answer: Report it to the police as soon as possible, and within 24 hours. If you're in a collision that damages another vehicle, you must stop. If you can't give your details to someone with reasonable grounds to ask for them, you must report it to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours.

Highway Code rule 286

1. At least 20 metres behind your car
2. At least 45 metres behind your car ✓
3. At least 75 metres behind your car
4. At least 150 metres behind your car

Answer: At least 45 metres behind your car. Place a warning triangle at least 45 metres (147 feet) behind your broken-down vehicle, on the same side of the road. Take great care when placing and collecting it, and never use one on a motorway.

Highway Code rule 276

1. Get out and stand behind the car to wave down other traffic
2. Stay in it with your seat belt and hazard lights on, and call 999 ✓
3. Put a warning triangle in the lane a short way behind you
4. Try to push the car to the side of the road by yourself

Answer: Stay in it with your seat belt and hazard lights on, and call 999. If you can't get to a place of relative safety or get out safely, stay in your vehicle with your seat belt and hazard warning lights on, and call 999 straight away and ask for the police (or press your SOS button).

Highway Code rule 277

1. Back inside your car with the doors locked
2. Between your car and the moving traffic, so drivers see you
3. On the hard shoulder in front of your car
4. Well away from your car, behind the safety barrier if there is one ✓

Answer: Well away from your car, behind the safety barrier if there is one. Wait well away from your vehicle and moving traffic, behind the safety barrier if there is one. Don't return to your vehicle even if it's raining, cold or dark.

Highway Code rule 277

1. The colour of the reflective road studs nearby
2. The numbers and letters on the nearest marker post ✓
3. The name of the last town you drove through
4. The number of lanes on that part of the motorway

Answer: The numbers and letters on the nearest marker post. Quote the numbers and letters on marker posts or driver location signs at the edge of the road. You can also use your vehicle's SOS button or a mobile mapping app.

Highway Code rule 277

1. Keep trying to restart the engine
2. Push the car off the crossing before anyone gets out
3. Get everyone out of the car and clear of the crossing ✓
4. Switch on your hazard lights and wait in the car for help

Answer: Get everyone out of the car and clear of the crossing. Get everyone out and clear of the crossing immediately, then use the railway telephone, if there is one, to tell the signal operator. Only try to move the car if there's time before a train arrives.

Highway Code rule 299

1. Grip the wheel firmly and let the car roll to a stop ✓
2. Brake as hard as you can to stop quickly
3. Steer sharply onto the verge or hard shoulder
4. Accelerate gently to keep the car stable

Answer: Grip the wheel firmly and let the car roll to a stop. If a tyre bursts, try to keep control by gripping the steering wheel firmly, and allow the vehicle to roll to a stop at the side of the road.

Highway Code Annex 6: Vehicle maintenance, safety and security

1. Open the bonnet wide to see where the fire is coming from
2. Pour water from your washer bottle over the engine to cool it
3. Keep driving slowly to the nearest garage for help
4. Get everyone out and call the fire service – don't open the bonnet ✓

Answer: Get everyone out and call the fire service – don't open the bonnet. Get the occupants out quickly to a safe place and call the fire brigade. Don't try to put out a fire in the engine compartment – opening the bonnet will make the fire flare up.

Highway Code Annex 6: Vehicle maintenance, safety and security

1. Slow right down so you can see what has happened
2. Watch the road ahead and don't slow down unnecessarily ✓
3. Take a photo on your phone to send to the police
4. Stop on the verge to find out whether you can help

Answer: Watch the road ahead and don't slow down unnecessarily. When passing an incident, stay alert for hazards but don't slow down unnecessarily. Looking at the incident instead of the road can cause another collision or congestion.

Highway Code rule 282

1. Wait a few minutes to see if they start breathing again
2. Put them in the recovery position and go for help
3. Call 999 or 112 on speaker and start chest compressions ✓
4. Give them sips of water and loosen their clothing

Answer: Call 999 or 112 on speaker and start chest compressions. Someone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally may be in cardiac arrest. Call 999 or 112 straight away – on speaker so your hands are free – and start CPR. Ask anyone nearby to fetch a defibrillator.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road; Resuscitation Council UK

1. In the centre of the chest, at about 100 to 120 compressions a minute ✓
2. On the left side of the chest, at about 30 compressions a minute
3. On the stomach, just below the ribs, at about 60 compressions a minute
4. On the lower neck, at about 200 compressions a minute

Answer: In the centre of the chest, at about 100 to 120 compressions a minute. Interlock your fingers and push in the centre of the chest, hard and fast – about 100 to 120 times a minute, or roughly twice a second. Keep going without long pauses.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road; Resuscitation Council UK

1. Pressing gently by about 1 cm so you don't cause any injury
2. Stopping after every few compressions to check for a pulse
3. Pressing as deep as possible with long pauses in between
4. Pressing down about 5 to 6 cm, letting the chest rise after each one ✓

Answer: Pressing down about 5 to 6 cm, letting the chest rise after each one. Press down hard by about 5 to 6 centimetres, letting the chest rise fully between compressions, and avoid stopping. Don't worry about hurting them – effective CPR is their best chance.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road; Resuscitation Council UK

1. Wait for a paramedic, as only trained staff should touch it
2. Read the full manual before opening it
3. Switch it on and follow its spoken instructions ✓
4. Use it only if the casualty is still breathing normally

Answer: Switch it on and follow its spoken instructions. AEDs are designed for anyone to use. Switch it on and follow the spoken (and often visual) instructions – it checks the heart rhythm and only allows a shock if one is needed. Keep CPR going whenever it tells you to.

Resuscitation Council UK guidance; GOV.UK (DVSA, 2025)

1. Stop CPR and wait to see whether the casualty wakes up
2. Restart CPR and follow the AED's prompts until help takes over ✓
3. Remove the pads and put the casualty in the recovery position
4. Leave the casualty alone while you call for help again

Answer: Restart CPR and follow the AED's prompts until help takes over. After a shock, restart chest compressions straight away and keep following the AED's prompts. Make sure nobody touches the casualty while it analyses or shocks, and keep going until a medical professional takes over or the person starts breathing normally.

Highway Code Annex 7: First aid on the road; Resuscitation Council UK