Driver's License Test Prep
Oregon Practice Emergencies

According to the Oregon handbook, what THREE actions can a driver take to avoid or minimize the impact of a collision?

  1. A.
    Stop quickly, turn quickly, speed up. Correct
  2. B.
    Speed up, honk, change lanes.
  3. C.
    Brake firmly, signal a turn, and pull onto the shoulder.
  4. D.
    Slow down, check mirrors, stop.
The Why

The answer is "Stop quickly, turn quickly, speed up."

The manual names three actions on page 74: stop quickly if you have room to brake, turn quickly (in most cases you can turn faster than you can stop, so turn away from the collision), and speed up when another vehicle is about to hit you from the side or behind and there is room ahead. Choice D is the trap: "slow down, check mirrors, stop" sounds like textbook defensive driving, but drivers who learned the rule as brake-mirror-stop miss that speeding out of danger, not slowing, is the manual's third option.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

B. Speed up, honk, change lanes.

Honking is listed under Communicating With Other Drivers, not as one of the three avoidance actions. The three actions are stopping quickly, turning quickly, and speeding up. This answer pulls the horn bullet from the Communicating With Other Drivers list into the avoidance trio because both sections sit on the same page and both discuss preventing collisions.

C. Brake firmly, signal a turn, and pull onto the shoulder.

The manual's three actions are stop quickly, turn quickly, and speed up. Signaling belongs to the communicating section, and steering to the shoulder belongs to the oncoming-traffic paragraph on page 75. This answer substitutes general defensive-driving habits (signal your turn, use the shoulder) for the three specific avoidance actions, likely because these behaviors feel like collision-prevention moves in their own right.

D. Slow down, check mirrors, stop.

The manual's three avoidance actions are stopping quickly, turning quickly, and speeding up, not slowing and scanning. This answer substitutes the general brake-mirror-stop defensive-scanning habit drilled in driver's ed for the three specific actions on page 74, missing that speeding up out of danger is sometimes the safest option.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Avoiding a Collision," p.74..

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