Speed Limits & Following Distance — Florida
Florida CDL practice test: 411 free practice questions (Based on the official driver handbook). The official format is not yet verified; check the official site before your test. Speed Limits & Following Distance: 10 questions.
Posted speed limits, school and construction zones, stopping and following distance.
This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines.
| Topic / Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Topic | Speed Limits & Following Distance |
| License test | Florida CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 10 (2% of 411 total) |
| Review status | This topic page is still being reviewed against the official handbook. Until review is finished it is hidden from search engines. |
Official handbook
Not yet verified
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Questions (10)
1. When traveling more slowly than 40 mph, maintain at least ____ of following distance per every 10 feet of your vehicle.
- One second ✓
- Two seconds
- Three seconds
- Four seconds
Answer: A. One second
2. If braking at a speed of 55 mph while driving on dry pavement, the brake lag can add ____ to your vehicle's total stopping distance.
- 32 feet ✓
- 15 feet
- 50 feet
- 10 feet
Answer: A. 32 feet
Brake lag at 55 mph on dry pavement adds about 32 feet to your total stopping distance. The handbook explains that with air brakes there is a delay called brake lag, the time it takes for air to move through the lines and reach the brakes after you push the pedal. Because of that delay, the vehicle keeps rolling a little before the brakes actually work. The handbook puts that added lag distance at roughly 32 feet when you are going 55 mph on dry pavement, and it lists brake lag distance as one of the four pieces of total stopping distance.
3. In poor weather, the driver of a double or triple should:
- Lead the way for other drivers.
- Drive on the shoulder of the road.
- Exceed the posted speed limit.
- Drive carefully, as the vehicle is prone to skidding. ✓
Answer: D. Drive carefully, as the vehicle is prone to skidding.
In poor weather, you should drive carefully, because a double or triple is more prone to skidding. The doubles and triples section of the handbook stresses how important it is to be very careful when you are pulling more than one trailer, and it says extra knowledge and skill are needed to pull multiple trailers safely in different traffic and driving environments. Poor weather is exactly the kind of condition that calls for that extra care, and a multiple-trailer rig is the last thing you want sliding around. Nothing in the handbook tells you to push the pace or use the shoulder instead.
4. When driving on the expressway during the skills test, you should:
- Switch lanes frequently.
- Use your mirrors to check traffic as needed. ✓
- Drive on the left side of the lane.
- Drive above the posted speed limit.
Answer: B. Use your mirrors to check traffic as needed.
You should use your mirrors to check traffic as needed while driving on the expressway during the skills test. The handbook's expressway instructions tell you to check traffic and your mirrors thoroughly in all directions when you resume, and its general driving section calls for regular mirror checks to stay aware of traffic around you. That makes mirror use the expected habit during the on-road test. The same expressway section also says to merge smoothly and keep your vehicle centered in the proper lane, so the test is not asking you to wander in the lane or change lanes for no reason.
5. Stopping distance can be affected by:
- Speed. ✓
- Temperature.
- Time of day.
- Traffic.
Answer: A. Speed.
Stopping distance can be affected by speed; as speed increases, the distance needed to stop increases. The handbook's stopping-distance figure shows that braking distance grows sharply with speed: doubling speed makes braking distance four times longer, and tripling it makes it nine times longer. It also says high speeds increase stopping distances, while slowing down reduces braking distance. The total stopping-distance formula is perception distance plus reaction distance plus braking distance, and the air-brake section adds brake lag for those systems. Temperature and time of day do not appear as parts of that formula or as factors in the speed discussion.
6. If an emergency vehicle is stopped on the side of a two-lane, two-way road, approaching drivers must:
- Move to the left half of the lane.
- Travel at a speed that is at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit. ✓
- Drive on the grass.
Answer: B. Travel at a speed that is at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit.
7. Avoid needing to make sudden lane changes by:
- Using your horn to encourage other drivers to move out of your lane.
- Only driving slower than the posted speed limit.
- Watching the road ahead while driving. ✓
- Pulling off the road and waiting when there is high traffic.
Answer: C. Watching the road ahead while driving.
8. A driver should always:
- Stay in the right lane.
- Have an emergency plan. ✓
- Stay in the left lane.
- Drive above the speed limit.
Answer: B. Have an emergency plan.
A driver should always have an emergency plan. The handbook tells drivers to always have a plan. It says you should keep looking for hazards because they may turn into emergencies. When you see a hazard, think about what emergencies could develop and decide what you would do. Then be ready to act on that plan. Doing this makes you a prepared, defensive driver and improves safety for you and others on the road.
9. Trailers with low underneath clearance may be difficult to drive:
- On interstate highways.
- Over railroad crossings. ✓
- On dirt roads.
- At the posted speed limit.
Answer: B. Over railroad crossings.
Trailers with low underneath clearance can be hard to drive over railroad crossings, where the trailer may get hung up on the tracks. The handbook points to railroad crossings as a special problem for trailers that sit low to the ground. It warns that you should not gamble on getting hung up halfway across the tracks. The clearance between the trailer's underside and the road surface is what matters at the raised rails and crossing surface, and that same warning appears both in the driving safely section and in the combination vehicles section, so the risk is tied to crossings rather than to open highway driving.
10. When traveling in heavy traffic, the safest driving speed is:
- The posted speed limit.
- The speed of surrounding traffic. ✓
- A speed much slower than the flow of surrounding traffic.
Answer: B. The speed of surrounding traffic.
In heavy traffic, the safest driving speed is the speed of surrounding traffic. The handbook's speed-and-traffic-flow rule says that in heavy traffic the safest speed is the speed of the other vehicles. Vehicles moving the same direction at the same speed are unlikely to run into each other. It also tells you to drive with the traffic flow if you can do so without going at an illegal or unsafe speed. That means matching surrounding traffic is the target, not simply holding the posted limit or crawling far below everyone else.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook