Driver's License Test Prep
Pennsylvania Practice Crash Procedures

You drive past a crash on the highway. You are not involved, and emergency responders have already arrived on the scene. What does the manual tell you to do?

  1. A.
    Park on the shoulder to serve as a warning to other drivers
  2. B.
    Keep moving and do not block the way for rescue vehicles Correct
  3. C.
    Turn on your hazard lights and slow to a stop behind the crash
  4. D.
    Stop to see if you can help identify witnesses
The Why

The answer is "Keep moving and do not block the way for rescue vehicles"

The manual tells you not to stop at a crash unless you are involved or emergency help has not yet arrived, and to keep moving so police, firefighters, ambulances, and tow trucks have a clear path. Choice D tempts drivers who pull in the manual's next section telling you to collect the names and addresses of witnesses, but that step applies only when you are involved in the crash, not when you are simply passing one.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Park on the shoulder to serve as a warning to other drivers

Warning duties belong to responders and their equipment, not passing motorists, and stopping on the shoulder can itself become a hazard. This answer borrows the disabled-vehicle habit of pulling to the shoulder and using the parked car as a warning marker, though responders and their emergency lights already fill that role at a managed scene.

C. Turn on your hazard lights and slow to a stop behind the crash

Slowing to a stop behind the crash is exactly what the manual warns against, since traffic that stops or slows for an initial crash is a common cause of secondary collisions. This answer applies the first-on-scene instinct to activate hazards and stop, when the manual reserves stopping for drivers who are involved or arriving before help does.

D. Stop to see if you can help identify witnesses

The manual specifically directs uninvolved drivers not to stop when help is already at the scene, and offering witness assistance is not one of the exceptions listed. This answer reads the manual's later instruction to get the names and addresses of witnesses as a duty for any passing driver, when that step applies only to drivers involved in the crash.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Crash Procedures in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "CRASHES," p.81..

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