Roads are slippery after it first starts to rain. When the road is slippery, you should:
- Avoid making turns and stops while driving at high speeds. ✓
- Test your tires' traction while going uphill.
- Decrease the distance you look ahead of your vehicle.
Answer: A. Avoid making turns and stops while driving at high speeds.
The right choice is to avoid making turns and stops while driving at high speeds.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's slippery-surface skid section says to slow down before intersections and curves and to avoid fast turns and quick stops. It also says the pavement can be very slippery when rain first starts, so you should slow down at the first sign of rain. Putting those together, the safe response is to keep your speed down and not combine high speed with turning or stopping, which is what the correct choice describes.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Test your tires' traction while going uphill. — Trying out your tires' traction while going uphill is not something the handbook recommends for slippery roads; it tells you to slow down and avoid fast turns and quick stops instead.
- C. Decrease the distance you look ahead of your vehicle. — The handbook says to allow more space between your vehicle and the one ahead, not to shorten how far ahead you look; reducing your look-ahead distance is not the slippery-road advice given.
Remember it
When the first rain makes the road slick, ease off the speed and keep turns and stops gentle.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 8: Safe Driving, p. 60