If it feels like your tires have lost contact with the surface of the road, you should:
- Slow down by shifting into a lower gear.
- Ease your foot off the gas pedal. ✓
- Slow down by pumping the brakes quickly and firmly.
Answer: B. Ease your foot off the gas pedal.
Ease your foot off the gas pedal when the tires feel like they have lost contact with the road.
Why this is the answer
The handbook describes a skid as one or more tires losing traction, so the vehicle may be hard to control. For a skid, it gives a clear order: slowly remove your foot from the accelerator, do not use the brakes, and steer in the direction of the skid. Easing off the gas fits that first step. Sudden braking or abruptly removing your foot can also cost you control, so the response should be smooth.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Slow down by shifting into a lower gear. — The handbook does not list shifting to a lower gear as the response to losing tire contact; it mentions low gear for steep hills and downshifting in brake-failure situations.
- C. Slow down by pumping the brakes quickly and firmly. — The handbook's general skid steps say not to use the brakes, so quickly and firmly pumping them is not the recommended response here.
Remember it
When grip feels gone, lift off the gas smoothly and leave the brake alone.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 8: Safe Driving, p. 60