If you experience a tire blowout:
- Take your foot of the gas.
- Do not immediately use your brakes.
- Gradually slow down and pull off the side of the road.
- All of the above. ✓
Answer: D. All of the above.
The correct choice is all of the above: take your foot off the gas, do not brake immediately, and gradually slow down while pulling off the side of the road.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook's blowout instructions say not to hit the brakes suddenly and hard. It tells you to take your foot off the gas and apply the brakes gently, steering straight ahead to a stop. A separate section says a car with a flat tire or blowout can be driven slowly off the road. Taking your foot off the gas, not braking immediately, and slowing gradually to pull off are all parts of that guidance, so the choice that includes every step is correct.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Take your foot of the gas. — Taking your foot off the gas is a real blowout step, but choosing only that leaves out the warning against sudden braking and the need to slow and pull off.
- B. Do not immediately use your brakes. — Avoiding immediate brakes is a real blowout step, but by itself it ignores taking your foot off the gas and gradually slowing off the road.
- C. Gradually slow down and pull off the side of the road. — Gradually slowing and pulling off is a real blowout step, but alone it skips taking your foot off the gas and not braking suddenly.
Remember it
Picture the car coasting straight before you let it drift to the shoulder.