When you double your speed, your braking distance
- increases by a few inches.
- increases by thirty times.
- increases by four times, ✓
- doesn't increase.
Answer: C. increases by four times,
When you double your speed, your braking distance increases by four times.
Why this is the answer
The handbook ties stopping distance directly to speed: double your speed and the braking distance grows four times, and at triple the speed it grows nine times. The same passage adds that higher speeds greatly increase stopping distance and how severe a crash can be, which is why you should keep plenty of space and pick a speed that lets you stop safely. Since braking distance is part of total stopping distance, the jump from your original speed to twice that speed means four times the distance to pull up.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. increases by a few inches. — A few inches is far too small; the handbook describes the increase as a multiple of your braking distance, not a tiny addition.
- B. increases by thirty times. — Thirty times is not what the handbook gives; doubling speed means four times the distance, and only tripling speed reaches nine times.
- D. doesn't increase. — The handbook says braking distance grows as speed rises, so it does not stay the same when you double your speed.
Remember it
Square the speed factor to get the distance factor: double the speed means two squared, or four times the braking distance.
Official handbook: ICBC Learn to Ride Smart, Chapter 6: see-think-do – do, p. 82