Stopping on snow and ice — Maine Permit Test
Stopping on snow and ice on the Maine permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
When stopping on icy or snow-covered roads without anti-lock brakes, pump the brakes on and off very gently, releasing at the first hint that the wheels are starting to slip.
Steady hard pressure on ice locks the wheels, and a locked car slides straight on.
When stopping on icy or snow-covered roads, pump brakes on and off very gently.
On snow or ice it takes three to twelve times as much distance to stop as it does on dry pavement.
A gap that is enough on a dry road leaves you sliding into the car ahead on ice.
Remember that on snow or ice it takes three to twelve times as much distance to stop your car as it does on dry pavement.
If you get stuck in snow, do not spin your wheels; keep them straight, shovel around them and use traction mats, sand or cat litter.
Spinning tires polish the snow into ice and dig the car in deeper.
If you should get stuck, don't spin your wheels.
If you still cannot pull out of snow, rock the vehicle by shifting back and forth between reverse and drive.
Each small roll back and forth packs the snow and builds up enough motion to climb out of the rut.
If you still can't pull out, rock the vehicle by going back and forth from reverse to drive and you should be able to roll out.
On the test
How should you brake to stop on an icy road in a car without anti-lock brakes?
Pump the brakes on and off very gently. Steady hard pressure on ice locks the wheels, and a locked car slides straight on. Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.116: “When stopping on icy or snow-covered roads, pump brakes on and off very gently.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.
Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.
What it costs
- One payment, once — not a subscription. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel, for an exam you sit one time.
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- Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Maine Driver’s License Manual, published by the Maine Secretary of State, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/ME.pdf (Maine Driver’s License Manual, Rev 4/24, Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-10-04; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/ME.pages.txt (scripts/me-text.sh: plain pdftotext except physical 82, which is -layout; the fixture every citation here was cut from and verified against; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/ME-exam.html (Maine BMV, Drivers License Exam page, https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/driver-licenses-and-ids/car-license/drivers-license-exam, read 2026-10-04; states both exam figures; sha256 pinned under examSource)
- https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/driver-licenses-and-ids/car-license/driver-license-manual-and-Maine-motorist-handbook-and-study-guide (read 2026-10-04; links the manual)