If you need to slow down while driving on a slippery road, the first thing you should do is:
- Firmly apply your brakes.
- Take your foot off the gas pedal. ✓
- Apply your parking brake.
- Pump your brakes.
Answer: B. Take your foot off the gas pedal.
Take your foot off the gas pedal first when you need to slow down on a slippery road.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's winter-driving and skid guidance says to lift off the gas and let the vehicle slow as traction returns. It also warns that heavy braking with regular brakes can make the situation worse. So the first move is to ease off the accelerator, then brake carefully and gently if you need more slowing. That is why taking your foot off the gas pedal fits the manual better than braking firmly right away.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Firmly apply your brakes. — Applying the brakes firmly is the wrong first move because the manual warns that hard braking with regular brakes can make things worse on a slippery surface.
- C. Apply your parking brake. — Using the parking brake is not the manual's slippery-road slowdown step; the guidance is to ease off the gas and, if braking is needed, brake carefully and gently.
- D. Pump your brakes. — Pumping the brakes is described for a brake failure or for non-ABS brakes, not as the first response for slowing on a slippery road; the skid guidance starts with easing off the gas.
Remember it
Let up on the gas before you touch the brake when traction is low.