Topic 8 · Emergencies and Unforeseen Situations
If your brakes fail, you should first:
- Pump the brake pedal rapidly — correct answer
- Shift into reverse
- Immediately turn off the ignition
Why
Pump the pedal to try to build pressure, then downshift and use the parking brake to slow down. (Handbook, Section 8.)
Practise this in the real format
Reading one answer is not the same as sitting the test. The simulator runs the first-time adult form: 36 questions, 6 mistakes allowed, 83% to pass.
Source: California Driver's Handbook (DL 600, rev. 6/2025), the document the DMV writes the real test from. Edited by Fernando Aguilera. Aprobify is not affiliated with the California DMV.
More from Emergencies and Unforeseen Situations
- What must you do if police do not come to the scene of an injury accident?
- If you begin feeling pain hours after a crash, what should you do?
- What is the safest way to turn off a modern car with a push-button start in an emergency?
- If your car goes into water, what is the best way to escape?
- If your engine begins to overheat, you should:
- When using hazard lights after an incident, what is their main purpose?