15.2 Emergencies, Breakdowns & Accidents

15.2 Emergencies, Breakdowns & Accidents

Quick Answer: In a breakdown, get the vehicle and people as safe as possible, warn other drivers, and avoid creating a second crash. After a traffic accident, stop, protect the scene and injured, exchange particulars, and report as required — never leave to finish a hire first. In any emergency, prioritise life and further-collision prevention. Without first-aid training, focus on scene safety and getting help, not advanced treatment. For taxis: passenger safety, minimise obstruction, and understand that emergency/breakdown can justify a necessary stop even where normal stopping is banned.

Road Users’ Code Chapter 10 style material (breakdowns and emergencies, warning other drivers, traffic accident duties, what to do in an emergency, and first aid basics) appears on Part B because professional drivers face these situations under stress. The exam rewards calm, ordered priorities — not panic speed or “I will sort it later.”

Priority Ladder in Any Emergency

Memorise a fixed order. Almost every correct multi-step answer follows it:

1. Prevent further harm — stop safely if still moving, keep clear of fire/fuel/oncoming traffic when possible, switch off engine if appropriate, do not leave the vehicle as a surprise obstacle without warning.
2. Protect people — passengers, yourself, other road users, and casualties.
3. Warn others — hazard lights and other lawful warnings so following traffic does not pile into you.
4. Call for help — police / emergency services as needed; give location clearly.
5. Exchange information / report when an accident requires it.
6. Only then think about tow, meter disputes, or completing the original journey.

Passenger destination urgency never jumps above items 1–3.

Breakdowns: Make Yourself Visible and Out of the Way

A broken-down taxi is a stationary hazard, especially on fast roads, bends, and tunnels (see Section 15.4).

Core breakdown actions

Do not

• Stand in the live lane to flag traffic casually
• Open doors into the path of vehicles
• Leave passengers wandering across an expressway or tunnel carriageway
• Reverse long distances on a fast road to reach an exit you missed (link to expressway discipline)
• Rely only on the roof TAXI sign instead of hazard warning lights

Taxi-specific breakdown professionalism

• Explain calmly what is happening; keep passengers informed without creating panic
• Protect elderly, child, or mobility-impaired passengers first when deciding whether anyone leaves the vehicle
• Arrange alternative transport or assistance through lawful channels when needed — do not abandon vulnerable passengers on a dark roadside
• Avoid obstructing junctions, bus stops, tram tracks, or tunnel running lanes more than the emergency forces you to

Warning Other Drivers

Warning is a duty, not a courtesy.

Tools and principles

1. Hazard warning lights — primary, immediate signal that something is wrong or you are stopped in an unusual way.
2. Position — where possible, stop where approaching drivers can see you early (not just over a blind crest if you can still roll further safely).
3. Human signals — only if safe; never step into a path where high-speed traffic cannot avoid you.
4. Do not create false urgency that causes others to swerve into pedestrians or opposite traffic.

If you are still moving but have an emergency (for example, sudden vehicle fault), signal, slow progressively if control allows, and leave the main flow when you can do so without losing control.

Traffic Accidents: Driver Duties

Leaving the scene to “drop the passenger first” or to avoid paperwork is both unprofessional and legally dangerous. Exam and real-world duties cluster around:

After a collision involving your vehicle

1. Stop — do not drive on as if nothing happened when you know (or ought to know) you were involved.
2. Make the scene safer — hazards on, engine management as appropriate, warn other traffic, keep people out of live lanes if possible.
3. Check for injury — your passengers, other parties, pedestrians.
4. Call emergency services when anyone is injured, when the road is blocked, when vehicles are hazards, or when police attendance is required by law/circumstance.
5. Exchange particulars as required (identity, vehicle, insurance/contact information as the rules require).
6. Report to police when the situation requires reporting (injury, identity disputes, damage circumstances that trigger reporting duties, hit-and-run by another party, etc.). Learn the duty themes, not a private “I will only report if I feel like it” standard.
7. Do not move seriously injured people casually unless they are in immediate further danger (fire, traffic about to hit them).

Particulars and honesty

Give accurate details. Fake numbers, false names, or driving away destroy professional standing and create separate offences. Taxi identity plates, registration marks, and journey records (JRS themes from Part A) support accountability — they do not replace your on-scene duties.

“In an Emergency” Decision Themes

The RUC emergency mindset for drivers:

If you must stop in a place where normal stopping is banned (tunnel, expressway lane, clearway-type restriction), the justifying idea is genuine emergency or breakdown that makes continued driving more dangerous than a controlled stop with full warning. That is not a loophole for chatting, waiting for a booking, or sorting luggage at leisure.

First Aid Basics When You Have No Training

The Code’s “if no training” spirit is humility plus usefulness:

Do

• Ensure your own safety first so you do not become another casualty
• Call professional help early
• Keep the casualty still if spinal or serious injury is possible, unless immediate danger forces movement
• Control obvious severe bleeding with firm pressure using clean material if you can do so safely
• Keep the person warm, calm, and monitored for breathing/consciousness changes
• Give accurate information to emergency services when they arrive

Do not

• Attempt advanced procedures you have never been taught
• Give food or drink to a seriously injured or possibly surgical patient casually
• “Pull people about” to make the scene look tidy for photos
• Leave a critically injured person alone in a live lane while you argue about whose fault the crash was

If you do have recognised first-aid training, use it within that training — but Part B still expects every driver to know the untrained baseline: scene safety + get help + do no further harm.

Professional Taxi Overlay

Combine Chapter 10 themes with public-service duty:

1. Passenger safety first — including verbal calm, seat belts still on when the vehicle can still move to a safer place, controlled exits.
2. Not obstructing — after a minor incident on a minor road, move to a safe roadside position if vehicles are still drivable and moving them is lawful and safer; do not block a whole junction for a mirror-scrape argument if it is safe to clear the live path.
3. When you may stop despite bans — emergency, breakdown, police/tunnel staff direction, or other lawful necessity. Not for ordinary hire convenience.
4. Aftercare — help passengers contact alternatives; do not strand them without information in a dangerous place.
5. Records and honesty — support later reporting; do not coach passengers to lie about injury or location.

Common Exam Traps

Closing Checklist for Section 15.2

1. Emergency order: further harm → people → warn → help → report.
2. Breakdown: safest place, hazard lights, controlled exits, assistance.
3. Accident: stop, protect, particulars, report as required.
4. Untrained first aid: safety, help, do not worsen injuries.
5. Taxi: passenger safety, minimise obstruction, emergency/breakdown may justify otherwise banned stops.
6. Never prioritise meter completion over scene duties.

Next, Section 15.3 expands professional expectations using RUC commercial-driver themes and taxi public-service standards (including fatigue, courtesy, and quality of service).