Driver's License Test Prep
Oregon Practice Parking

Your vehicle has broken down on the shoulder of an Oregon highway. Visibility is limited and you cannot be seen from 200 feet in each direction. What does the handbook tell you to do?

  1. A.
    Place a single warning flag behind your vehicle, facing approaching traffic.
  2. B.
    Turn on your hazard lights and wait inside the vehicle until help arrives.
  3. C.
    Place flares at least 100 feet from your vehicle in each direction.
  4. D.
    Place flags, flares, signs, signals, or flaggers at least 200 feet from your vehicle in each direction. Correct
The Why

The answer is "Place flags, flares, signs, signals, or flaggers at least 200 feet from your vehicle in each direction."

If your vehicle cannot be seen from 200 feet in each direction, warn approaching traffic with flags, flares, signs, signals, or flaggers placed at least 200 feet from your vehicle in each direction. Turn on your hazard lights as well. If you must leave the vehicle unattended, turn off the engine, remove the key, set the brakes, and leave the hazards on. The pull toward C comes from recalling a shorter placement distance and cutting the 200-foot requirement in half.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Place a single warning flag behind your vehicle, facing approaching traffic.

The manual requires warning devices placed in each direction, not just behind the vehicle. This answer limits the warning to one device behind the vehicle, ignoring the manual's requirement to place devices 200 feet out in each direction.

B. Turn on your hazard lights and wait inside the vehicle until help arrives.

Hazards alone are not enough when your vehicle cannot be seen from 200 feet; the manual requires fixed warning devices placed 200 feet out in each direction. This answer treats hazard lights alone as sufficient warning when visibility is under 200 feet, ignoring the requirement to place flags, flares, signs, signals, or flaggers 200 feet out in each direction.

C. Place flares at least 100 feet from your vehicle in each direction.

The manual specifies at least 200 feet from your vehicle in each direction, not 100. This answer halves the required distance, substituting 100 feet for the manual's 200-foot placement requirement.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Parking in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Emergency Parking," p.71..

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