Real-life driving situations
Passing your test teaches you to drive. It does not teach you what to do when someone pulls out and you hit them, when the car dies on a fast road or when the road ahead is under water. Each guide walks through the decisions in order, with the Highway Code rule or law behind every answer.
12situations
62decisions
3Dpractice versions
Crashes and breakdowns
- You have a collisionA car pulls out of a side road and you hit it. Work through what to do at the scene and afterwards.
- You come across a crashA car has just left the road ahead of you and nobody else has stopped. Make it safe, get help and look after the driver.
- Your car breaks downA warning light comes on and the car loses power on a fast country road. Get yourself and the car somewhere safe.
Bad weather
- A flooded roadAfter heavy rain the road ahead disappears under water. Decide whether to go on, and what to check if you have driven through water.
- An icy morningFrost on the windscreen and ice on the road. Get ready properly, keep a big gap and know what to do if the car slides.
- Thick fog on a country roadFog closes in and you can see about 60 metres. Choose the right lights and speed, keep back from the tail lights ahead and know when to switch your fog lights off.
Other road users
- Blue lights behind youAn ambulance comes up behind you on a busy street. Let it through without breaking the law or putting anyone at risk.
- Stuck behind a cyclistA cyclist is riding ahead of you on a 30 mph street with traffic coming the other way. Decide when and how to pass, and what to do at the junction.
- Horse riders on a country laneTwo riders are walking their horses ahead of you on a 60 mph lane. Slow down, stay calm when a horse is startled and pass wide and slowly once the road is clear.
- School crossing patrol and zebra crossingIt is home time at a primary school. Give way at a zebra crossing, stay behind the car in front and stop for the school crossing patrol.
Road works and level crossings
- Road worksYour side of the road is coned off with people working. Deal with the temporary limit, the queue and the workers.
- A level crossingThe lights at a level crossing start to flash as you approach. Decide when to stop, what the lights mean after a train passes and what to do if you break down on the tracks.
Based on the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988 on GOV.UK, in our own words. Not legal advice. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.