Revision question · Band 2 traffic signs and signals, car control, pedestrians, mechanical knowledge

What does a differential do when a car is cornering?

Revision material from the imported DVSA bank includes source-checked Lanekind learning corrections. These corrections are not newly issued official examination questions, and practice does not reproduce a live test paper.

Answer options

It allows the driven wheels to turn at the same speed

It allows the outer driven wheel to turn more slowly than the inner wheel

It allows the inner driven wheel to turn more slowly than the outer wheel

It allows the driven wheels to rotate in opposite directions

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It allows the inner driven wheel to turn more slowly than the outer wheelThis was the right answer

The differential mechanism enables the inside wheel to turn at a slower rate than the outer wheel when the car is being driven on a curve. This helps both stability and grip while the car is cornering or turning.

Reviewed reading for this question

Why driven wheels need different cornering speedsReviewed guidance summary · The reviewed MIT mechanism explanation directly supports the original inner-slower-than-outer answer; no correction or generic control-source substitution is needed.

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