A 3-minute lesson from the Kentucky course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Following the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual greatly reduces the chance of a vehicle problem. Still, you need to know exactly what to do if your brakes fail or a tire blows out while you're moving.
Know the rule
Check your warning lights. A brake warning light means your brakes aren't working properly—don't drive if you see it.
At highway speed your right front tire bangs and the car jerks right. Hold the wheel firmly and keep it straight, lift off the gas without braking, let the car slow down, then pull well off the road and turn on your flashers.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
If your brakes fail while driving, you should first try:
Turning off the engine immediately
Shifting into neutral and coasting
The parking brake, applied slowly
Swerving onto the shoulder at speed
Answer: The parking brake, applied slowly
Use the parking brake, pulling or pressing it slowly to avoid locking the rear wheels and causing a skid.