British Columbia handbook · chapter 8 · 24 min read

Emergency strategies

in this chapter

• Preparing for emergencies
• Emergency driving strategies
• Environmental hazards
• Night hazards
• Vehicle breakdowns
• Animals on the road
• Collision avoidance
• At the scene of a crash emergency strategies

Chapter 7 gave useful strategies to help you handle personal situations that can influence your driving in a negative way. This chapter describes two major strategies for handling driving emergencies and many practical tips for helping you control situations to prevent emergencies from developing.

Preparing for emergencies No one really expects to be involved in an emergency, but you can be sure that at some time you’ll face one while you’re driving. The best way to handle emergencies is to be prepared. One way you can prepare is by rehearsing what you would do. Try these steps:

1. As you drive, look ahead and scan the scene for potential hazards (a child running out in front of you, a cyclist swerving into your lane, a car stopping in front of you suddenly, etc.).

2. Ask yourself: What would I do? (brake, swerve, pull over, etc.)