A tire blows out while you are driving. What does the manual say about applying the brakes?
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A.
Wait to brake until the engine has slowed the vehicle enough that you can keep control. Correct
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B.
Pump the brakes gently to bring the vehicle down to a safe speed.
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C.
Press the brake pedal firmly to stop the vehicle as fast as you can.
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D.
Shift into neutral, then put firm pressure on the brakes without locking the wheels.
The answer is "Wait to brake until the engine has slowed the vehicle enough that you can keep control."
The North Carolina manual's blowout procedure says not to apply the brakes until the engine has slowed the vehicle enough that you can maintain control. Braking too soon on a vehicle with a blown tire can cause loss of control. A learner commonly picks the gentle-pump answer because that line sits one page later under Skids, where pumping is the non-ABS technique for slowing on slippery roads, not the blowout procedure.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Pump the brakes gently to bring the vehicle down to a safe speed.
Gentle pumping is the manual's non-ABS technique for slowing on slippery roads to avoid skidding, not the blowout procedure. For a blowout, let the engine slow the vehicle before braking. This answer pulls the non-ABS pumping technique from the Skids section one page later and applies it to a blowout because gentle pumping sounds like the cautious way to bleed off speed in any emergency.
C. Press the brake pedal firmly to stop the vehicle as fast as you can.
Hard braking before the vehicle has slowed can cause loss of control. Let the engine slow the vehicle until you can maintain control before applying the brakes. This answer falls back on the normal panic-stop habit most drivers use for any sudden roadway surprise, ignoring that a blown tire makes a hard stop unsafe.
D. Shift into neutral, then put firm pressure on the brakes without locking the wheels.
That sequence is the manual's procedure for a stuck gas pedal on page 75, not for a blown tire. The blowout rule is to lift off the accelerator and let the engine slow the vehicle before braking. This answer grabs the stuck gas pedal procedure from the page before because both feel like loss-of-control events that call for neutral and firm brakes.
This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Emergencies, Blowouts," p.76..
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