Under ideal driving conditions, passenger cars and light trucks should maintain a following distance of at least ________ behind the vehicle ahead.
- 3 seconds
- 5 seconds
- 4 seconds
- 2 seconds ✓
Answer: D. 2 seconds
Under ideal conditions, passenger cars and light trucks should keep at least a two-second following distance behind the vehicle ahead.
Why this is the answer
The handbook's basic driving skills section gives a two-second rule for drivers of passenger cars and light trucks. It tells you to watch the vehicle ahead pass a checkpoint, such as a sign post, and count “one thousand and one, one thousand and two.” If you reach the checkpoint before you finish counting, you are too close, so you drop back and try again. The same section separates heavy vehicles, which need more space, and says to lengthen the gap when road or weather conditions are poor. That makes two seconds the baseline for ideal conditions.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. 3 seconds — The handbook does not use three seconds as the passenger car or light truck rule; its stated rule for those vehicles is two seconds.
- B. 5 seconds — Five seconds is the minimum the handbook gives for buses, trucks and other large heavy vehicles, not for passenger cars and light trucks.
- C. 4 seconds — Four seconds is not the following-distance rule in these passages for passenger cars or light trucks; the handbook gives two seconds for them.
Remember it
Pick a signpost as your checkpoint and finish counting to two before you reach it.