Which of the following is true about driving on a wet roadway?
- As you drive faster, your tires become less effective. ✓
- Water does not affect cars with good tires.
- Deep water is less dangerous than shallow water.
- As you decrease your speed, the roadway becomes more slippery.
Answer: A. As you drive faster, your tires become less effective.
As you drive faster, your tires become less effective.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's rain section warns that wet roads get slick and that speeding raises the risk of hydroplaning. It explains that hydroplaning is when your vehicle slides on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, so the tires are not touching the road and you can lose control. Because speeding is listed as something that increases that risk, going faster means your tires are less able to do their job. The same section also says low air pressure or bad tread makes hydroplaning more likely.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Water does not affect cars with good tires. — Good tires do not make a car immune to wet-road trouble; the handbook says hydroplaning can happen on a thin layer of water and that speeding raises the risk.
- C. Deep water is less dangerous than shallow water. — The handbook treats flooded roads as dangerous and says not to drive through water because you cannot tell its depth or current and the vehicle could become submerged or swept away, so deep water is not portrayed as safer than shallow water.
- D. As you decrease your speed, the roadway becomes more slippery. — Slowing down is what the handbook recommends in rain, and speeding is what increases hydroplaning risk, so reducing speed does not make the roadway more slippery.
Remember it
Think grip first: the faster you go on a wet road, the less chance your tires have to stay in contact.