What can result when you travel for long distances in neutral (known as coasting)?
- A Improvement in control
- B Easier steering
- C Reduction in control
- D Increased fuel consumption
Why this is the answer
Coasting is the term used when the clutch is held down, or the gear lever is in neutral, and the vehicle is allowed to freewheel. This reduces the driver's control of the vehicle. When you coast, the engine cannot drive the wheels to stabilise you through a corner, or give the assistance of engine braking to help slow the car.
Why the other answers don't fit
- A
- Improvement in control — Coasting takes away engine braking and the drive that steadies you through a corner — the opposite of control.
- B
- Easier steering — The steering is unchanged. What you lose is what the engine was doing for you.
- D
- Increased fuel consumption — Drivers often coast hoping to save fuel. The real cost is control, not consumption.
Where this comes from
- Driving: the essential skills — section 5
- The Highway Code — rule 122
Rule numbers link to The Highway Code on gov.uk.
Where this question comes from
The question, its options and the explanation are reproduced word for word from the DVSA revision question bank under licence. The licence requires them to appear unaltered, so we cannot reword them and neither can anyone else — that is why you will meet the same wording on other sites. Everything else on this page is written by Theory Hub: the explanation of why each wrong answer is wrong, the topic guide and the revision notes.
Asked in: Car
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