How To Complete An Emergency Stop In Your Test

During your driving lessons, there are several manoeuvres that you will practice with your driving instructor. This is to prepare you for your practical driving test, where you will be asked to demonstrate your knowledge of the highway code and demonstrate safe driving.

Not knowing what you may be asked to do in your driving test can cause a little anxiety. You could be asked to parallel park, perform a hill start, and even an emergency stop. This is something that can feel a little unnerving – being asked to stop the car suddenly can feel worrying at first.

In this article, we’re going to review what an emergency stop involves and how to perform one safely, whilst staying in control of the car. 

What is an emergency stop

So, what exactly is an emergency stop? An emergency stop is a controlled stop in a car in response to a hazard on the road.

Hopefully, you won’t need to perform an emergency stop once you’ve passed your test, as your hazard perception skills will be so that you can see any potential hazards that could occur. For example, a child riding their bike on the pavement could move into the road, or a pedestrian who is waiting to cross the road where there isn’t a zebra crossing could step into the road. These situations would mean you would adjust your driving accordingly, such as slowing down or stopping. But, as we know, emergencies can happen from time to time.

If you’re asked to perform an emergency stop during your driving test, the examiner will be checking that you’re able to stop quickly and safely, without losing control of the car.

How to complete an emergency stop 

An emergency stop is something that you can talk to your instructor about and will be able to practice during your lessons.

If you are asked to perform an emergency stop during your test, don’t worry. Your examiner will give you plenty of warning and will begin by asking you to pull up on the left, stop safely at the side of the road, and put the car into neutral.

Your examiner will tell you that when you set off again, they will shortly ask you to carry out an emergency stop. They will indicate this by holding up their hand and saying ‘STOP.’ After telling you this, they will ask you to drive on again, as normal, until they tell you to ‘STOP.’

To complete an emergency stop:

• in a car with an ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) – press the brake and clutch pedals at the same time. The ABS will stop your wheels from locking, meaning that you will be less likely to skid.
• in a car without ABS – press the brake firmly first and the clutch at the last moment, before stopping. If you press the clutch too early, this increases your chances of coasting.

How we can help

If you hold a driving licence but feel that you would benefit from some refresher emergency stop lessons, we can help.

Each of our refresher courses is bespoke so we can focus on how we can help you feel more confident in your driving skills.Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for more information.