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Driver's view · Road conditions

Loose gravel spread across a bend

On loose gravel, slow down, leave more stopping room and steer gently.

Asked in road safetyShown in one practice question

What it means

Loose gravel spread across a bend: what should you do?

From behind your yellow bonnet, the road swings right into a bend, and loose brown stones are scattered across it. Gravel like this gives the tyres much less grip than clean bitumen, so the car takes longer to stop and can slide if you brake or turn sharply. The safe answer is to arrive with your speed already down and to make every movement of the wheel and pedals smooth.

What to do

  1. 1

    Get your speed down before the gravel, while the tyres are on clean road.

  2. 2

    Steer smoothly through the bend without sudden moves.

  3. 3

    Leave a much bigger gap to anything ahead.

A practice question with this scene

You turn off a sealed road onto loose gravel. How should you change your driving?

Right.Not quite. The answer is A.

Gravel gives much less grip than bitumen. A lower speed, more room to stop and gentle steering stop the car from sliding.

Source: Safe driving practice

Common questions

How should you drive when a sealed road turns to gravel?
Slow down, leave more room to stop and steer gently, because gravel gives much less grip.
Why is hard braking on gravel risky?
Loose stones roll under the tyres, so hard braking or sharp steering can send the car sliding.
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A practice question in NSW Learner answered correctly, with the explanation card
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