roadwise.Open study app

South Dakota driving lesson · Emergencies and Crashes

At the crash scene

A 3-minute lesson from the South Dakota 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
3 minutes
Course unit
Emergencies and Crashes
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
56

If you're in a crash, you must stop. What you do next, protecting the scene and helping the injured, can prevent a second crash and save lives.

Know the rule

Don't stop at a crash unless you're involved or emergency help hasn't arrived, and never drive to a crash, fire or disaster just to look; you may block rescue vehicles.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

If you're involved in a crash, you must stop. If it involves a parked vehicle, try to locate the owner. If anyone is injured or killed, the police must be notified.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

It's a crime to leave a crash involving injury or death before police have talked to you and gotten the information they need.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Protecting yourself in a collision:

  • Hit from the rear: press back against the seat and head restraint; be ready to brake
  • Hit from the side: front air bags won't help; belts keep you behind the wheel
  • Hit from the front: turn for a glancing blow; the air bag inflates, then deflates
  • Most important of all: wear your lap and shoulder belts
Handbook p. 56 ↗

At the scene:

  • Stop at or near the site; if the car can move, get it off the road
  • Don't stand or walk in traffic lanes
  • Turn off wrecked vehicles' ignitions and don't smoke; spilled fuel can burn
  • Stay away from downed power lines in or on the road
  • Use flares or other warning devices to alert traffic
Handbook p. 56 ↗

If someone is injured:

  • Make sure police and EMS are called; mention any fire
  • Don't move the injured unless they're in a burning vehicle or about to be hit
  • First help anyone not walking and talking: check breathing, then bleeding
  • Stop bleeding with direct pressure from your hand or a cloth
  • Don't give the injured anything to drink, not even water
  • Cover them with a blanket or coat to help prevent shock
Handbook p. 56 ↗

Know the rule

Consider carrying a basic vehicle emergency kit with emergency flares, first aid supplies and basic tools.

Handbook p. 56 ↗

Put it into practice

You're first to arrive at a rollover. One driver is sitting up and talking; the other isn't responding. Make sure help is called, then check the unresponsive person's breathing and bleeding first, and don't move them unless the car is burning or they're in danger of being hit.

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 you are involved in a crash with a parked vehicle, what must you try to do?
  1. Locate the owner
  2. Only report it if the damage exceeds $500
  3. Leave the scene immediately if no one is around
  4. Wait for a witness to arrive

Answer: Locate the owner

If involved in an accident with a parked vehicle, you must try to locate the owner.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
If a crash involves injury or death, who must be notified?
  1. Only your insurance company
  2. Only the other driver's insurance company
  3. The Department of Revenue
  4. The police

Answer: The police

If any person is injured or killed, the police must be notified.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
When someone is injured after a crash, what should you generally avoid doing?
  1. Applying pressure to a bleeding wound
  2. Checking for breathing
  3. Moving the injured person needlessly
  4. Calling for emergency help

Answer: Moving the injured person needlessly

Do not move injured persons unless they are in a burning vehicle or in immediate danger; moving them can worsen injuries.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
How should you treat severe bleeding at a crash scene while waiting for help?
  1. Elevate the person's head only
  2. Apply direct pressure with your hand or a cloth
  3. Give the injured person water to keep them hydrated
  4. Wrap a tourniquet immediately without exception

Answer: Apply direct pressure with your hand or a cloth

Even severe bleeding can almost always be stopped or slowed by applying direct pressure to the wound.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
It is a crime to leave the scene of a crash involving injury or death before police have gathered the needed information from you.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

The handbook states it is a crime to leave a crash site involving injury or death before police have talked to you.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
What should you do at the scene of a crash regarding wrecked vehicles?
  1. Open the hoods to cool the engines
  2. Leave the engines running for heat
  3. Restart them to check for damage
  4. Turn off the ignition; do not smoke nearby

Answer: Turn off the ignition; do not smoke nearby

Turn off the ignition of wrecked vehicles and do not smoke around them, since spilled fuel is a fire risk.

Handbook p. 56 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Emergencies and Crashes

All South Dakota lessons