New York Beta · Rules
Fog, rain, ice, a blown tire: emergencies are rare, so the right moves have to be learned before you need them. These rules give you the order of actions, not just a warning.
Roadfeel’s road-sense principles
Tags show the kind of rule and whether it’s a written-test point or matters on the drive test (our tagging). Each rule links to its official source.
About 90% of driving decisions depend on what you see, and darkness shortens how far you can see ahead and to the sides. Drive slower than by day, especially on unfamiliar, narrow or winding roads.
Your headlights light the road about 350 feet ahead. Drive within the range of your headlights, at a speed that lets you stop inside that distance.
If an oncoming driver won’t dim, flick to high beam for a second and back to low. To escape the glare, shift your eyes right and follow the road’s edge until the car passes.
California differs: California’s handbook says not to react by keeping your own high beams on; New York’s manual says to flash to high beam for a second, then go back to low. California rule
Cut glare at night: flip the inside mirror to its night setting, keep the dome light off, dim the dashboard, use your visors, and keep the windshield and lights clean.
A little rain, snow or ice, or even wet leaves, makes pavement slippery. Slow down, increase your following distance, and be especially careful on curves, at turns and on expressway ramps.
In heavy rain your tires can ride on a film of water and lose grip and steering: hydroplaning. High speed and worn or underinflated tires make it likelier. Slow down, and slow further if traction fades.
In rain, fog or falling snow, keep your headlights on low beam: high beams reflect off the precipitation and make it harder to see.
In bad weather, signal turns earlier than usual, and brake earlier when slowing behind another vehicle or approaching a stop.
Get your car ready before winter: fit good snow tires before the first storm, and never combine radial tires with non-radial ones on one vehicle.
In New York, studded tires may be used only between October 16 and April 30.
Before driving in snow or ice, clear it from every window, the headlights and taillights, the wipers, the hood and the roof, and fill the washer reservoir with fluid that won’t freeze.
In an ice or snow storm, stay off the road unless you must drive. If you go, drive slowly, but don’t break the traffic flow by going faster than everyone else.
Front- and four-wheel drive handle better on snow but can still skid without warning, so don’t let them tempt you to speed. Rear-wheel-drive cars usually give some warning before a slide.
When sleet, freezing rain or snow starts, bridges, ramps and overpasses freeze first, and slippery patches can remain even after plows have cleared the road.
On snow and ice, avoid skids by braking early and gently, in slow, steady presses that keep the wheels turning. If they start locking, let up a little, and shift down as you slow.
With anti-lock brakes (ABS), hold steady, even pressure on the pedal. Without ABS, pump the brake carefully, faster only as the car slows; hard braking with regular brakes makes a skid worse.
If the rear wheels skid, steer the way the car is trying to go: rear sliding left, steer left; sliding right, steer right. Be ready to correct again, possibly several times, as it swings back.
Front wheels skidding? Lift your foot off the accelerator, select neutral or push in the clutch, and hold off on steering. When grip returns, steer where you want to go, shift back and accelerate gently.
About two-thirds of deer-vehicle crashes happen in October, November and December, the breeding season. Deer are most active at dawn and dusk, just when visibility is poor and commuters are out.
Deer travel in groups, so when one crosses, slow down and expect others. Deer by the roadside can bolt or turn at the last second; slow down near them and wherever deer-crossing signs are posted.
When you see deer on or near the road, warn other drivers with your hazard lights or by flashing your headlights.
In any driving emergency, the most important rule is not to panic. Usually you still have a moment or two to decide what to do.
A thumping noise can warn of a blowout. If a tire blows, grip the wheel, ease off the gas and hold off braking until you have control, then pull off safely. Treat a lost wheel the same way.
If the steering stops responding, ease off the gas, switch on your hazards and avoid braking while it’s safe; a sudden speed change could send you out of control. Once the car slows, brake very gently.
If the brake pedal suddenly sinks to the floor, first pump it to build pressure. If that fails, apply the parking (emergency) brake gradually and gently, and shift to a lower gear to help slow down.
If your headlights die, try the hazards, parking lights and turn signals, which may give enough light to get off the road. If headlights start dimming, get to a garage or pull over and find help.
If the gas pedal sticks, hook your toe under it to try to free it. Still stuck? Shift to neutral, brake and pull off. Don’t switch off the ignition; you could lose steering or lock the wheel.
If your wheels drop off the pavement, don’t jerk back onto it. Ease off the gas and brake gently; once you’ve slowed, check traffic behind you and steer carefully back on.
If a vehicle comes at you head-on in your lane, slow down, steer toward the right and honk to warn the driver. Don’t swerve left: the other driver may suddenly correct back into that lane.
Stalled on the tracks with no train coming? Only when you’re completely sure, open a window to listen and try restarting. If it won’t start, shift to neutral and push the car off the tracks.
A car in water usually floats briefly: unbuckle and climb out a window, since an open door lets water pour in. If it sinks first, move to the back seat, where air gathers, then leave by a window.
If smoke pours from under the hood, pull off and park, switch off the engine, get well clear of the vehicle and phone the fire department. Never fight an engine fire yourself.
If the hood flies up or failed wipers leave you unable to see through the windshield, look out the side window, turn on your hazard lights, and carefully pull off the road and park.
3 of our 64 practice questions for this chapter, with explanations. The rest are in the app.
Answer: D. About 90%
About 90% of driving decisions depend on vision. That’s why darkness, which shortens how far you can see ahead and to the sides, calls for slower speeds than daytime driving.
Answer: C. Flick your high beams once, then go back to low beams
If an oncoming driver doesn’t dim, New York’s manual lets you flick to high beam for about a second as a reminder. Then go back to low. Keeping your own high beams on just blinds the other driver too. To handle the glare, look toward the right edge of the road until the car passes.
Answer: D. Going slow enough to stop in the distance you can see
It means choosing a speed that lets you stop inside the stretch of road your headlights light up, about 350 feet. If you can’t stop in that distance, you could reach a hazard before you can avoid it. Dimming for oncoming cars is a separate rule.
61 more practice questions for this chapterKeep practicing in Roadfeel
Restated in our own words from the New York State Driver’s Manual (MV-21) and other official pages, mostly dmv.ny.gov. The manual is © NYS DMV with all rights reserved, so we don’t reproduce it; we quote short phrases and link to it.