The answer options
- Steering will feel heavier
- Steering will feel lighterCorrect
- Engine noise will be increased
- The car may stall
Why that is the answer
When driving on wet roads, water can build up between your tyres and the road surface. This leads to aquaplaning, where the tyres float on a layer of water and lose traction. With no grip, resistance on the wheels drops, causing the steering to feel suddenly light and unresponsive. Heavy steering indicates good friction or a power steering fault. As advised in the Highway Code, ease off the accelerator gradually if this happens.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from safety margins appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.
More safety margins questions
- What circumstances will cause an increase in your total stopping distance?
- As you approach a right-hand bend, you should keep well to the left. Why is this?
- How can the engine of your car be used as a brake?
- How can you avoid wheelspin when you’re driving on an icy road?
- How should you make sure your brakes are working properly after passing through floodwater?
- In very hot weather the road surface can become soft. What will be affected by this?