Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardMotorway and High-Speed Road Emergencies

You are driving on a motorway with a hard shoulder when your vehicle suffers sudden electrical failure and loses power. You successfully guide the car onto the hard shoulder, stop as far to the left as possible, turn the front wheels towards the verge, and switch on the hazard warning lights. What must you and your passengers do immediately next?

  1. A
    Walk back along the hard shoulder to place a reflective warning triangle 45 metres behind the vehicle
  2. B
    Remain seated inside the vehicle with seatbelts fastened while inspecting the dashboard warning indicators
  3. Exit the vehicle using the left-hand doors and wait on the embankment behind the safety barrier, well away from the carriagewayAnswer
  4. D
    Keep the clutch depressed and coast forward along the hard shoulder until reaching the next service area

Answer

Exit the vehicle using the left-hand doors and wait on the embankment behind the safety barrier, well away from the carriageway.
Under UK Highway Code Rules 274 and 275, once a vehicle is safely brought to a halt on the hard shoulder with hazard warning lights on and front wheels turned left, all occupants must immediately leave the vehicle by the left-hand doors. They must wait on the embankment behind the safety barrier, well clear of the carriageway and hard shoulder.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Secure the vehicle on the hard shoulder
Vehicle is parked as far to the left as possible with front wheels steered to the verge and hazard lights active.
Ensures the disabled vehicle is maximally separated from live lanes and prevents it from rolling onto the carriageway if struck.
2
Evacuate all occupants safely
Driver and passengers exit exclusively via the left-hand doors onto the verge.
Prevents any occupant from stepping into or opening doors towards live motorway traffic.
3
Position occupants in a safe location
Everyone moves up the embankment and remains behind the steel crash barrier well away from the hard shoulder.
Provides physical protection from debris or errant high-speed vehicles striking the stationary car.

Key Concept

Motorway Hard Shoulder Evacuation and Safety Protocol (Highway Code Rules 274 and 275)
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Motorway and High-Speed Road Emergencies

More questions from this topic