Driving slower than surrounding traffic is…?
- A hazard since other drivers may become frustrated or angry and try to pass you ✓
- Permitted if you are unaware of the speed limit
- Considered safe if there is bad weather
- A hazard only when your speed is less than 70% of all other freeway speed
Answer: A. A hazard since other drivers may become frustrated or angry and try to pass you
Driving slower than surrounding traffic is a hazard because other drivers may become frustrated or angry and try to pass you.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says the safest speed is not simply the slowest speed. When you travel much below the pace of the traffic around you, those drivers can become annoyed and may try to get past you, so the slow speed itself becomes a hazard. It also says to pick a speed that fits the conditions, with the posted limit being the maximum for ideal conditions. That is why the answer treats driving well below surrounding traffic as risky, not automatically safe.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Permitted if you are unaware of the speed limit — Not knowing the speed limit does not make a slower-than-traffic speed permitted; the handbook ties speed choice to conditions and posted limits.
- C. Considered safe if there is bad weather — Bad weather may call for a slower speed, but the handbook says the safest speed is not always the slowest, so weather alone does not make driving below surrounding traffic safe.
- D. A hazard only when your speed is less than 70% of all other freeway speed — The handbook gives no 70-percent freeway threshold; it describes the frustration and passing risk without setting that number.
Remember it
Don't confuse slow with safe: if you're far below the traffic around you, expect frustration behind you.