A yellow diamond warning sign shows a truck on a downward slope. What does the Florida manual tell you to do?
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A.
Slow down and be ready to shift into a lower gear. Correct
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B.
Coast in neutral down the slope to save the brakes.
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C.
Turn on your hazard lights before the descent begins.
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D.
Move into the left lane to pass slower trucks.
The answer is "Slow down and be ready to shift into a lower gear."
The road ahead descends, so the driver slows down and prepares to shift into a lower gear to hold speed with the engine rather than the brakes. The tempting wrong answer is coasting in neutral, because drivers pass along the shop-lot rule of thumb that neutral saves fuel on a downhill without knowing the manual calls for engine braking.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Coast in neutral down the slope to save the brakes.
Neutral removes engine braking and leaves service brakes to hold the vehicle, the opposite of the manual's advice. This answer repeats the shop-lot rule that neutral saves fuel on a downhill instead of using engine braking.
C. Turn on your hazard lights before the descent begins.
Hazard lights are for stopped or disabled vehicles, not for driving a downgrade at normal speed. This answer applies the disabled-vehicle hazard-light habit to any warning of a change ahead.
D. Move into the left lane to pass slower trucks.
The sign is a warning of the grade, not a passing zone; passing on a downgrade increases risk rather than reducing it. This answer reads the truck picture as a passing invitation instead of a downgrade warning.
This question tests your knowledge of Warning Signs in Florida. Source: Florida Driver Manual, "Warning Signs: Hill/Downgrade," p.50..
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