A tire blows out while you are driving at highway speed. How does the manual tell you to hold the steering wheel?
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A.
With one hand while shifting to a lower gear
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B.
With both hands on the wheel Correct
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C.
Loosely with your palm at the top
The answer is "With both hands on the wheel"
The manual says to grip the wheel with both hands during a blowout so a sudden pull to the blown-tire side does not overpower a one-handed grip. Choice A mixes up blowout advice with the downshift-to-slow habit taught for brake failure, which is a different emergency altogether.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. With one hand while shifting to a lower gear
The manual's blowout procedure does not include downshifting; both hands stay on the wheel. This answer carries over the downshift-to-slow habit from brake-failure procedure into a blowout, where the manual asks for both hands instead.
C. Loosely with your palm at the top
A loose grip cannot hold the wheel when a blowout pulls the vehicle to one side. This answer assumes a light grip is enough because the wheel usually stays straight, ignoring the sideways pull a blowout adds.
This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Tire Blowouts," p.68..
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