The minimum following distance on the highway under good road conditions is

1. 3 seconds ✓
2. 8 seconds
3. 6 seconds
4. 10 seconds

Answer: A. 3 seconds

The minimum following distance on a highway in good road conditions is 3 seconds.

Why this is the answer

The handbook sets two seconds as the basic gap in good weather and road conditions, then says to stretch that to three seconds on high-speed roads. A highway is a high-speed road, so three seconds is the minimum there. The handbook also shows how to check it: pick a fixed object ahead, start counting when the vehicle in front passes it, and if you reach the object at "one thousand and three" you have the three-second space.

Why the other answers are wrong

• B. 8 seconds — Eight seconds is far longer than anything the handbook asks for and is not given as a following distance in these passages.
• C. 6 seconds — Six seconds is not a following distance the handbook lists; the highway figure it gives is three seconds.
• D. 10 seconds — Ten seconds does not appear in the handbook as a required gap on a highway in good conditions.

Remember it

Count "one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three" past a fixed object ahead; reaching it on "three" means your highway gap is right.