Speed Limits & Following Distance — Kansas
Kansas CDL practice test: 397 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: 12 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 | Kansas CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 12 (3% of 397 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 (12)
1. 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.
2. A driver should always:
- Stay in the right lane.
- Have an emergency plan. ✓
- Stay in the left lane.
- Drive faster than the posted speed limit.
Answer: B. Have an emergency plan.
A driver should always have an emergency plan. The handbook's defensive driving section tells you to keep scanning for hazards, but it also explains the reason you scan: hazards can turn into emergencies, and spotting them early gives you time to plan a way out. When you see a hazard, you should think about what could develop and decide what you would do, then be ready to act on that plan. The book calls this being a prepared, defensive driver who improves safety for yourself and everyone else on the road.
3. When driving through a work zone, you should:
- Slow down. ✓
- Speed up.
- Use a cell phone.
- Steer with one hand to keep the other hand free.
Answer: A. Slow down.
When you drive through a work zone, you should slow down. The handbook's work-zone section says speeding is the leading cause of injury and death there, so you must watch the posted limit when you approach and pass through a work zone. It also tells you to keep checking your speedometer so your speed does not creep up in a long construction section. You should reduce speed further for bad weather or road conditions, and even more when a worker is near the roadway. That guidance points to slowing down, not doing anything that makes the vehicle harder to control.
4. How does doubling your speed from 20 mph to 40 mph affect your vehicle's braking distance?
- It stays about the same.
- It increases slightly.
- It doubles.
- It quadruples. ✓
Answer: D. It quadruples.
Doubling your speed from 20 mph to 40 mph makes the braking distance four times longer. The handbook's stopping-distance figure says that when you go from 20 to 40 mph, the impact is four times greater and the braking distance is also four times longer. So the increase is not a small change or just double; it is four times the distance. The same passage shows the pattern continues at higher speeds, which reinforces that speed has a strong effect on braking distance.
5. 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.
6. What is reaction distance?
- The distance traveled between seeing a hazard and physically hitting the brakes ✓
- The distance traveled between a hazard becoming visible and a driver seeing the hazard
- The distance traveled before a driver realizes they must brake
- The distance traveled between physically hitting the brake and coming to a complete stop
Answer: A. The distance traveled between seeing a hazard and physically hitting the brakes
Reaction distance is the distance you keep traveling from seeing a hazard until you physically hit the brakes. The handbook defines reaction distance as the distance you continue to travel in ideal conditions before you physically hit the brakes in response to a hazard seen ahead. It also gives an average reaction time of ¾ second to 1 second, and says that at 55 mph this accounts for 61 feet. That definition places reaction distance after the hazard is seen and before the brakes are applied, which matches the answer.
7. What is the number one cause of death and injury in work zones?
- Speeding drivers ✓
- Careless behavior by construction workers
- Drivers driving too slowly
- Equipment placed in the roadway
Answer: A. Speeding drivers
Speeding drivers are the number one cause of death and injury in work zones. The handbook states plainly that speeding traffic is the leading cause of injury and death in roadway work zones. That is why it tells you to watch the posted limits when you approach and drive through a work zone, to keep an eye on your speedometer so it does not creep up through long construction sections, and to slow further in bad weather or when a worker is close to the road.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook