In traffic moving at 50 to 55 mph, you are least likely to have an accident if you:
- Drive a few miles per hour faster than most other vehicles.
- Stay within that speed range. ✓
- Drive a few miles per hour slower than most other vehicles.
Answer: B. Stay within that speed range.
Stay within the 50 to 55 mph range, matching the speed of the traffic around you.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says your speed should depend on the speed of the other vehicles on the road, along with the number of vehicles and how congested it is. It also tells you to avoid weaving in and out of freeway lanes. In traffic running 50 to 55 mph, keeping your car inside that same range keeps you moving with the flow instead of forcing you to work around other vehicles. Traffic engineers call this driving with the flow, and it means fewer passes, fewer lane changes, and less chance of a collision.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Drive a few miles per hour faster than most other vehicles. — Running a few miles per hour above what most vehicles are doing pushes you into repeated passing and lane changing, which the handbook warns against.
- C. Drive a few miles per hour slower than most other vehicles. — Running a few miles per hour below the traffic flow makes faster vehicles close on you from behind and go around you, so you get more conflicts, not fewer.
Remember it
Pick the speed the traffic around you is already using, and stay there instead of working your way through it.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 8: Safe Driving, p. 67