You are driving on a freeway posted for 65 MPH. The traffic is traveling at 70 MPH. You may legally drive:
- 70 mph or faster to keep up with the speed of traffic.
- etween 65 mph and 70 mph.
- No faster than 65 mph. ✓
Answer: C. No faster than 65 mph.
You may drive no faster than 65 mph, the posted limit on that freeway.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says you may never drive faster than is safe for the road conditions, and that unless a sign says otherwise, the maximum speed limit on most California highways is 65 mph. Other vehicles around you are one of the things that shape a safe speed, so heavy, fast traffic is a reason to adjust, not a license to exceed the limit. The posted number stays your ceiling, and if conditions are poor you should be under it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. 70 mph or faster to keep up with the speed of traffic. — Matching or beating the flow of traffic does not override the posted limit, so chasing 70 mph or more is still speeding.
- B. etween 65 mph and 70 mph. — Anything above 65 mph is over the limit, so treating 65 to 70 as your legal range gets the rule backwards.
Remember it
Read the sign as a ceiling, not a target, and let the traffic around you pull you lower rather than higher.
Official handbook: California Driver Handbook (DL 600), Section 8: Safe Driving, p. 67