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Florida driving lesson · Special Situations and Emergencies

After a crash: your duties, first aid and shock

A 3-minute lesson from the Florida course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Special Situations and Emergencies
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
85, 86

If you're in a crash involving death, injury or property damage, the law requires you to stay, give information and help. What you do in the first minutes, and the report you file later, both matter.

After a crash:

  • 1. Stop and call 911, *FHP (*347) or local law enforcement
  • 2. Turn on hazard lights
  • 3. If anyone is hurt, get help immediately
  • 4. If the crash is minor and your car blocks traffic, move it or have it moved
  • 5. Exchange vehicle, witness and driver information (name, address, phone, plate, license, insurance)
  • 6. Take photos or sketch the scene, showing where the vehicles were
Handbook p. 85 ↗

Know the rule

Police file a written report if the crash involves a DUI charge, or death, injury, or damage bad enough that a vehicle must be towed.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
10 days

To send FLHSMV a written report of a damage crash that needs no police report

Handbook p. 85 ↗

Know the rule

If you hit an unattended vehicle or property, try to find the owner and notify police. If you can't find the owner, leave a note with your name, contact information and license plate number.

Handbook p. 85 ↗

Leaving the scene (hit and run)

Leaving the scene (hit and run)
ResultPenalty
Death1st-degree felony, minimum 4-year prison term
Serious bodily injury2nd-degree felony
Injury3rd-degree felony
Damage to attended vehicle/property2nd-degree misdemeanor
Handbook p. 85 ↗

Know the rule

Leaving the scene of a crash with death, serious bodily injury or injury also costs you your license for a minimum of 3 years.

Handbook p. 85 ↗

Know the rule

If you come upon a crash, call 911 or *FHP (*347), or send someone for help. Don't assume someone else called. Pull well off the road, turn on hazards, and stay out of traffic.

Handbook p. 85 ↗

Know the rule

Don't move an injured person who may have a neck or spinal injury. Don't try to remove an injured motorcyclist's or bicyclist's helmet.

Handbook p. 86 ↗

Treat for shock, even if the person doesn't seem to be in shock:

  • Keep the injured person calm
  • Don't give them anything to drink
  • Have them lie flat and raise their legs
  • Cover them with blankets to hold body heat
  • Keep the airway open
Handbook p. 86 ↗

Put it into practice

You back into a parked car in a lot and no one is around. Look for the owner and notify police. If you can't find the owner, leave a note with your name, contact information and license plate number. Driving off is illegal.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

After being involved in a crash resulting in injury, what is your first step?
  1. Drive to the nearest hospital
  2. Exchange information only
  3. Wait for a witness to call for help
  4. Stop and call 911, *FHP (*347), or local law enforcement

Answer: Stop and call 911, *FHP (*347), or local law enforcement

Your first step after a crash is to stop and call 911, *FHP, or local law enforcement.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
If your vehicle is blocking traffic after a minor crash, what must you do?
  1. Move it or have it moved
  2. Leave it for the insurance photos
  3. Leave it exactly where it stopped until police arrive
  4. Wait for a tow truck no matter what

Answer: Move it or have it moved

If the crash is minor and your vehicle is blocking traffic flow, you must move it or have it moved.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
If you hit an unattended vehicle and cannot locate the owner, what must you do?
  1. Leave a note with only your phone number
  2. Leave a note with your name, contact information, and license plate number
  3. Call your insurance company only
  4. Wait at the scene for 24 hours

Answer: Leave a note with your name, contact information, and license plate number

If you can't locate the owner, leave a note including your name, contact information, and license plate number.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
If a crash results in only property damage and doesn't require a law enforcement report, what must you do?
  1. File a police report within 24 hours
  2. Nothing further is required
  3. Report it in writing to FLHSMV within 10 days
  4. Report it within 30 days to your insurer only

Answer: Report it in writing to FLHSMV within 10 days

If the crash results in property damage and doesn't require a law enforcement report, you must file a written report to FLHSMV within 10 days.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
Leaving the scene of a crash that results in death is classified as what level of offense?
  1. A traffic infraction
  2. A second-degree misdemeanor
  3. A first-degree misdemeanor
  4. A first-degree felony with a minimum 4-year prison term

Answer: A first-degree felony with a minimum 4-year prison term

Leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death is a first-degree felony with a minimum 4-year prison term.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
When treating a crash victim for shock, what should you do?
  1. Give them water to keep them hydrated
  2. Lay them flat, raise their legs, keep them warm
  3. Sit them upright to ease breathing
  4. Treat only if they look in shock

Answer: Lay them flat, raise their legs, keep them warm

Treat for shock by keeping the person calm, having them lie flat with legs elevated, and covering them with blankets to hold body heat.

Handbook p. 86 ↗
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