Your vehicle begins to hydroplane on a wet road. What does the manual tell you to do?
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A.
Pump the brakes until the tires grip the road
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B.
Take your foot off the gas and keep the steering wheel straight Correct
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C.
Steer sharply toward the shoulder to shed the water
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D.
Shift into neutral and apply the parking brake
The answer is "Take your foot off the gas and keep the steering wheel straight"
Hydroplaning calls for easing your foot off the gas and holding the steering wheel straight until the tires catch the pavement again. Choice A is the pull drivers feel when braking is their default response to any skid or slide, which is the exact move the manual tells you to resist.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Pump the brakes until the tires grip the road
The manual tells you to resist your instinct to brake while hydroplaning; sudden braking can send the vehicle into a skid. This answer falls back on hitting the pedal to slow down, treating hydroplaning like any other skid.
C. Steer sharply toward the shoulder to shed the water
Any sudden jerk of the steering wheel while hydroplaning can send the car into an uncontrollable skid, per the manual. This answer treats a hard steering move as the way to break through the water film, when the manual says that same move triggers a worse skid.
D. Shift into neutral and apply the parking brake
The manual does not list neutral or the parking brake as the hydroplaning response; it names easing off the gas instead. This answer borrows the stuck-gas-pedal trick, where shifting to neutral belongs, and applies it to the wrong emergency.
This question tests your knowledge of Adverse Conditions in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Hydroplaning," p.72..
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