You are driving in high winds and pass from a protected area into an open area. What does the manual say to do?
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A.
Reduce your speed and make steering corrections. Correct
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B.
Turn on your hazard lights and continue at cruising speed.
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C.
Increase your speed to reduce time spent in the crosswind.
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D.
Steer with one hand while gripping the door with the other.
The answer is "Reduce your speed and make steering corrections."
In high winds, reduce speed and make steering corrections when moving from a protected stretch into an open one. Choice C is the highway reflex to blow through an exposed section fast, but the manual treats the gust itself as the hazard, not the seconds you spend inside it.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Turn on your hazard lights and continue at cruising speed.
Hazard lights do not compensate for the gust, and cruise speed makes correction harder. This answer treats a wind gust as a message to send to other drivers rather than a control problem in your own vehicle.
C. Increase your speed to reduce time spent in the crosswind.
Higher speed cuts your steering-correction margin the moment the gust catches the vehicle. This answer uses the get-through-it-fast reflex drivers apply to bad weather generally.
D. Steer with one hand while gripping the door with the other.
One-handed steering is not the response the manual sets for a crosswind. This answer borrows a bracing idea from rough-road driving rather than the speed-and-steering fix the manual names.
This question tests your knowledge of Adverse Conditions in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Weather Conditions: High Winds," p.85..
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