Continuous hard braking on ice and snow often:
- Helps you stop faster.
- Locks the front wheels of a vehicle, causing a loss of steering. ✓
- Keeps the brakes from freezing.
Answer: B. Locks the front wheels of a vehicle, causing a loss of steering.
Continuous hard braking on ice and snow locks the front wheels, and once they stop rolling you lose your steering.
Why this is the answer
The handbook explains that a locked wheel skid usually comes from braking too hard, and when it happens the vehicle skids no matter which way you turn the steering wheel. On ice and packed snow, traction is already low, so a hard, steady brake application is exactly the kind of quick stop the handbook tells you to avoid on slippery surfaces. With the front wheels locked and sliding, turning the wheel no longer changes your direction, which is why you lose steering control.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Helps you stop faster. — Hard braking does not shorten your stop on ice and snow; the handbook warns against quick stops on slippery surfaces and links braking too hard to locked wheel skids.
- C. Keeps the brakes from freezing. — The handbook only mentions drying wet brakes with light pressure on the accelerator and brake together, and says nothing about hard braking keeping brakes from freezing.
Remember it
If the wheels stop turning, the steering stops working, so a wheel that is sliding cannot take you where you point it.