What type of mark is created when a tire is locked and slides over the surface?

When a tire locks and begins to slide across the surface, it creates a distinct mark known as a skid mark. This phenomenon occurs when the friction between the tire and the roadway is exceeded, causing the tire to lose traction and slide in a straight line. The resultant skid mark is characterized by its width and the length it spans, which can provide important information about the vehicle’s speed and braking distance at the time of the incident.

Skid marks are typically dark and can appear as straight or curved lines, depending on the circumstances of the vehicle's motion. They are often used in accident reconstruction to analyze the dynamics of a crash, helping investigators understand how the vehicle was behaving prior to the collision.

In contrast, scuff marks often arise from the lateral movement of tires during cornering and are different in nature from skid marks. Gap skids are not a standard term used in the context of tire marks, while scrub marks generally refer to marks created when a tire maintains some level of traction but still experiences friction during a turn, resulting in a different type of mark compared to skid marks. Thus, the type of mark that specifically results from a tire that is locked and sliding over the surface is indeed a skid mark.