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    Your vehicle has broken down on the motorway and you need to call the for help. It is better to use an emergency telephone rather than a mobile phone. Why is this?

    DVSA-style practice question · Motorway Rules

    The answer options

    • A mobile phone may distract you
    • You can easily be located by emergency servicesCorrect
    • It connects directly to a local garage
    • Mobile phones will not work on motorways

    Why the other options are wrong

    • “A mobile phone may distract you” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which you can easily be located by emergency services does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
    • “It connects directly to a local garage” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which you can easily be located by emergency services does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.
    • “Mobile phones will not work on motorways” is a distractor. It does not meet the standard the question is testing, which you can easily be located by emergency services does. Picking it in the real test costs a mark you cannot get back, and with a pass mark of 43 out of 50 you only have seven to spare.

    Why that is the answer

    Emergency telephones connect directly to the police or motorway control centres, automatically pinpointing your exact location. This ensures emergency services know precisely where you are without delay. Although mobile phones work on motorways, describing your exact position can be difficult, especially when stressed. Using the emergency roadside phone removes any guesswork, helping recovery teams and emergency services reach you as quickly as possible.

    What motorway rules covers

    • · Joining and leaving via slip roads and matching traffic speed
    • · Lane discipline and who may not use the right-hand lane
    • · Red X signals, variable limits and emergency refuge areas
    • · Breakdowns, hard shoulder use and where to wait

    Mistakes learners repeat on this topic

    • · Treating the right-hand lane as a permanent fast lane rather than for overtaking
    • · Stopping on the hard shoulder for a phone call or a rest
    • · Driving in a lane marked with a red X because it looks clear
    • · Reversing back along a slip road after missing an exit

    Instructor tip: Every breakdown answer follows the same order: get left, get out on the nearside, get behind the barrier, then call.

    How this comes up in the real test

    Questions from motorway rules appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.

    The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.

    Practise Motorway RulesSit a full mock test

    More motorway rules questions

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