You hear a loud thump and a tire blows out at highway speed. What does the manual say to do?
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A.
Brake hard and steer onto the shoulder at once
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B.
Ease off the gas and hold the wheel firmly Correct
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C.
Accelerate briefly to pull past the blown tire's drag
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D.
Turn off the engine and coast to a stop
The answer is "Ease off the gas and hold the wheel firmly"
Ease your foot off the gas pedal, keep a firm grasp on the wheel, and pull safely off the roadway. The manual says not to brake suddenly, because a failing tire needs steering control more than quick deceleration. Choice A is the trap. Hard braking is the reflex most drivers rely on in a highway emergency, and the blowout entry is the one place that reflex makes control harder, not easier.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Brake hard and steer onto the shoulder at once
The manual says not to brake suddenly during a blowout. A failed tire needs steering control before it needs a quick stop, so ease off the gas and grip the wheel first, then pull off the road. This answer applies the general-emergency reflex that every mishap starts with hard braking, which is the one instinct the blowout entry singles out to warn against.
C. Accelerate briefly to pull past the blown tire's drag
The manual says to ease off the gas, not to add throttle. Adding power to a failed tire lengthens the loss of control and delays pulling off to the shoulder. This answer applies the highway habit that adding power muscles the car through a problem, which does not hold on a tire that has already failed.
D. Turn off the engine and coast to a stop
Turning off the engine can kill power steering and cost you the wheel control the blowout procedure depends on. The manual says to keep a firm grasp on the wheel while pulling safely off the roadway. This answer applies the fire-procedure step of shutting off the engine to a situation where the vehicle still needs its power steering to reach the shoulder.
This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in Illinois. Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, "Equipment Failure - Blowouts," p.88..
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