A tire on your vehicle blows out at highway speed. What does the manual say about the brakes?
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A.
Pump the brakes hard until you stop.
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B.
Use the parking brake to slow down faster.
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C.
Apply the brakes firmly and quickly.
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D.
Stay off the brake pedal. Correct
The answer is "Stay off the brake pedal."
The manual tells you to stay off the brake because braking after a blowout will cause a skid and loss of control. Hold the wheel tightly, ease off the gas, let the vehicle coast down, and only if braking becomes necessary as it slows should you press the pedal gently. Choice C catches the stop-as-fast-as-possible reflex that works in most emergencies, but a firm pedal input right after a blown tire adds a skid on top of a vehicle already being pulled sideways.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Pump the brakes hard until you stop.
Pumping the pedal is a step in the older-vehicle brake-failure procedure, not the blowout response; a blowout calls for staying off the brake, then pressing gently only if braking becomes necessary as the vehicle slows. Grabs the pump-the-pedal step from the older-vehicle brake-failure procedure and applies it to a blowout, where the brake system still works and pressing the pedal is itself what causes the skid.
B. Use the parking brake to slow down faster.
The parking brake is a last-resort step in the brake-failure procedure, and locking the rear wheels can cause a skid, making it the wrong response to a blowout. Borrows the parking-brake step from the older-vehicle brake-failure procedure, forgetting that locking the rear wheels of a car already pulled sideways by a blown tire will put it into a skid.
C. Apply the brakes firmly and quickly.
Firm, quick braking is what the manual tells you to avoid after a blowout, because uneven tire drag will pull the vehicle sideways and put you into a skid. Reads across the ABS 'firm and continuous pressure' rule for sudden stops and applies it to a blowout, where the failure is a tire, not the brake system, and pedal input is what triggers the skid.
This question tests your knowledge of Emergencies in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "IF YOU HAVE A TIRE BLOWOUT," p.63..
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