Skids and braking — Pennsylvania Permit Test
Skids and braking on the Pennsylvania permit test — 7 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
Without antilock brakes, press and release the brakes repeatedly in an emergency stop; slamming them on can lock the wheels and make the vehicle skid.
A locked wheel slides, and a sliding wheel will not steer at all.
With antilock brakes, keep firm and continuous pressure on the pedal and do not pump it; mechanical noises and slight pulsing are normal.
The system is releasing and re-applying far faster than a foot can, and pumping fights it.
If your vehicle starts to skid, look and steer in the direction you want to go: if the rear is sliding left, turn the wheel left; if it is sliding right, turn right.
Steering where you want to go is what brings the back of the car in line again.
Do not use your brakes while skidding: braking makes the skid worse and risks locking the wheels and losing all steering control.
The brakes are what took the grip away in the first place.
When you correct a skid, a second skid may follow in the opposite direction, though it will not be as bad; stop it the same way, by steering where the rear of the vehicle is sliding.
Expecting the second one is what stops you from over-correcting into it.
When you have a choice between braking and steering to avoid a collision, it is usually better to steer, particularly above 25 miles an hour, because your reaction time to swerve is faster.
You can turn the wheel sooner than you can get your foot across.
Hold the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock or 8 and 4 o'clock, with your thumbs along the face of the wheel rather than gripping the inside of the rim.
If the air bag opens, hands inside the rim are thrown back into your face.
On the test
How should you brake hard in a vehicle without antilock brakes?
Press and release the brakes repeatedly. A locked wheel slides, and a sliding wheel will not steer at all.
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.
All Pennsylvania permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against PA Driver's Manual, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-06.