Driver's License Test Prep
New York Practice Emergencies

Your vehicle stalls on railroad tracks, and you are completely sure no trains are coming. What does the manual say to try next?

  1. A.
    Wait inside the vehicle for a tow truck to arrive.
  2. B.
    Push the car forward across the tracks without restarting the engine.
  3. C.
    Open your window to listen for a train and try to start the engine. Correct
  4. D.
    Walk to the nearest crossing signal and flag down the next train.
The Why

The answer is "Open your window to listen for a train and try to start the engine."

Once you are completely sure no trains are coming, the manual's next step is to open your window to listen for a train and try to start the engine. Drivers who reach for pushing first treat "get it off the tracks" as the whole rule and skip the restart the manual asks you to try before the fallback.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Wait inside the vehicle for a tow truck to arrive.

The manual has you open the window, try the engine, and push if that fails; waiting for a tow is nowhere in the passage. This answer applies the general breakdown habit of staying in the car until help arrives, ignoring that on tracks the vehicle itself is the hazard.

B. Push the car forward across the tracks without restarting the engine.

The manual only turns to pushing after the restart attempt has failed. This answer skips the restart step and jumps to the fallback because pushing feels like the more decisive way off the tracks.

D. Walk to the nearest crossing signal and flag down the next train.

The passage says nothing about signaling trains at a crossing. This answer borrows the roadside habit of flagging down help and applies it to a train, which the manual never asks a stranded driver to do.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "Driving Emergencies: Stalling on Railroad Tracks," p.66..

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