How can you help prevent rear-end collisions?

1. Avoid sudden stops.
2. Before stopping, check your mirrors and blind spots for traffic.
3. Release the gas pedal and let your vehicle slow before applying the brakes.
4. All of the above. ✓

Answer: D. All of the above.

All of the above: avoid sudden stops, check your mirrors and blind spots for traffic before you stop, and release the gas pedal to let the vehicle slow before you brake.

Why this is the answer

The handbook says sudden stops are dangerous because they make it hard for drivers behind you to avoid hitting you. It then describes a smooth stop: look in all the mirrors and blind spots for traffic to the rear, ease off the accelerator so the vehicle slows on its own, then press the brake with steady pressure to light the brake lights. A second section repeats the same advice, telling drivers to avoid sudden stops and slow down gradually.

Why the other answers are wrong

• A. Avoid sudden stops. — Avoiding sudden stops is only one part of the handbook's smooth-stopping advice, so picking it alone leaves out checking for traffic behind you and easing off the gas first.
• B. Before stopping, check your mirrors and blind spots for traffic. — Checking your mirrors and blind spots is just the first step of the smooth stop the handbook describes, so it does not cover avoiding sudden stops or slowing gradually.
• C. Release the gas pedal and let your vehicle slow before applying the brakes. — Releasing the gas and letting the vehicle slow is only the middle step, and it leaves out looking for traffic to the rear and the reason sudden stops are risky.

Remember it

Think of a smooth stop as three moves in order: look behind, lift off the gas, then brake gently.