roadwise.Open study app

New Jersey driving lesson · Defensive Driving

Avoiding crashes and what to do after one

A 4-minute lesson from the New Jersey course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
4 minutes
Course unit
Defensive Driving
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
110, 111, 112, 113

When a crash is coming, you usually have three choices: stop, turn, or speed up. If impact can't be avoided, choose what to hit and how. Afterward, New Jersey law says who must be notified and when.

Know the rule

Stop quickly: with conventional brakes, pump them to keep steering control; holding them down hard locks the wheels. With ABS, apply maximum pressure without pumping and keep steering.

Handbook p. 110 ↗

Know the rule

Turn quickly: if you can't stop in time, turn away, even off the road. Avoid braking while turning, and don't brake hard on a soft shoulder.

Handbook p. 110 ↗

Know the rule

Speed up: if you're about to be hit from the side or behind and there's room ahead, push the gas to the floor, then slow once the danger passes.

Handbook p. 111 ↗

Last-second choices

  • Turn away from oncoming traffic, even if it means leaving the road
  • Hit something that gives way (bushes) rather than something hard
  • Hit something moving your way rather than something stopped
  • Hit something stopped rather than something coming head-on
  • Make it a glancing blow (a sideswipe slows you); never hit head-on
Handbook p. 111 ↗

Know the rule

Every inch you steer away from a center-to-center crash dissipates energy and reduces injury and damage.

Handbook p. 111 ↗

Bracing for impact

Bracing for impact
CrashWhat to do
RearBe ready to brake; brace, head firmly against headrest
SideGrip the wheel tightly; be ready to turn if you spin
Head-on, belted with air bagsUse your arms and hands to protect your face
Head-on, no shoulder strap or air bagThrow yourself across the seat
Handbook p. 112 ↗

Know the rule

If you hit a parked vehicle, notify the police and try to find the owner.

Handbook p. 112 ↗

At a crash scene

  • Stop the vehicle and remain calm
  • Assume the worst and get help: notify police, call an ambulance
  • Wait at the scene but try not to block traffic
  • Ask passing motorists, bikers or joggers for help if needed
  • Warn oncoming traffic
Handbook p. 112 ↗

Know the rule

New Jersey law requires notifying police of crashes involving injury, death, or vehicle or property damage. If someone is killed, don't move the body or let anyone else move it until police or an ambulance arrive.

Handbook p. 113 ↗

When damage is over $500 or anyone is hurt

  • Send a written report to the MVC within 10 days if no police report is filed
  • Notify your insurance company at once with complete information
  • If you're shaken up, see a doctor as soon as possible
Handbook p. 113 ↗

Put it into practice

A car drifts into your lane head-on and a hedge lines the right side. Steer right into the hedge: something that gives way is better than a head-on hit, and leaving the road gives you more control than skidding.

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.

If a vehicle is about to be hit from behind, what should the motorist do?
  1. Duck down below the dashboard
  2. Brace and press your head against the headrest
  3. Grip the wheel tightly and be ready to turn fast
  4. Accelerate forward immediately

Answer: Brace and press your head against the headrest

In an impending rear crash, the motorist should brace their body and press the back of the head firmly against the headrest.

Handbook p. 111 ↗
If a crash appears unavoidable and a motorist must choose what to hit, which is the safest option?
  1. A tree or utility pole
  2. Bushes or shrubs that give way
  3. A car coming straight at you
  4. A parked vehicle

Answer: Bushes or shrubs that give way

A motorist should choose to hit something that will give way, such as bushes, rather than something hard or something coming straight on.

Handbook p. 111 ↗
When damage to property exceeds $500 or there is personal injury and no police report was filed, a motorist must send a written report to the MVC within how many days?
  1. 30 days
  2. 5 days
  3. 60 days
  4. 10 days

Answer: 10 days

A written report must be sent to the MVC within 10 days when damage exceeds $500 or there is personal injury and no police report was filed.

Handbook p. 113 ↗
If a vehicle is about to be hit from the side, what should the motorist do?
  1. Grip the wheel tightly; be ready to turn
  2. Press your head against the headrest
  3. Throw yourself across the seat
  4. Duck below the dashboard

Answer: Grip the wheel tightly; be ready to turn

In an impending side crash, the motorist should keep a tight grip on the wheel and be ready to turn quickly if the vehicle spins.

Handbook p. 112 ↗
After a crash, when must a motorist notify their insurance company?
  1. Only if police were not called
  2. Within 30 days
  3. At once, with complete information
  4. Only if the other driver asks

Answer: At once, with complete information

A motorist involved in a crash should notify their insurance company at once with complete information.

Handbook p. 113 ↗
If someone is killed in a crash, a motorist should move the body to a safer location before police arrive.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

If someone has been killed, the body should not be moved until police or ambulance personnel arrive.

Handbook p. 113 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Defensive Driving

All New Jersey lessons