According to the manual, how much space should you leave between yourself and the vehicle ahead when driving on ice-covered roads?
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A.
Leave about ten times more space than normal. Correct
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B.
Double your following distance to about four seconds.
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C.
Leave a five-second cushion, the same as on wet roads.
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D.
Keep your usual following distance and brake earlier.
The answer is "Leave about ten times more space than normal."
Traction on ice is so poor that the manual multiplies the usual following distance by ten to give you room to stop. Drivers who pick C are carrying the wet-pavement cushion straight onto ice, treating the two surfaces as if they demanded the same margin when the manual treats ice as far more slippery.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Double your following distance to about four seconds.
Doubling is closer to a rainy-day adjustment, not the ice rule. Applies a general wet-weather rule of thumb where the manual demands a much larger multiplier.
C. Leave a five-second cushion, the same as on wet roads.
Ice needs far more space than a wet road does. Carries the wet-pavement 5-to-6-second rule over to ice, which the manual treats as a much more slippery surface.
D. Keep your usual following distance and brake earlier.
The manual demands more space, not the same space with earlier braking. Reflects a driver who trusts their reaction time over the cushion the rule spells out.
This question tests your knowledge of Adverse Conditions in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "Snow and Ice," p.41..
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