Speed Limits & Following Distance — Missouri
Missouri CDL practice test: 413 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: 11 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 | Missouri CDL permit (CLP) knowledge tests |
| Topic questions | 11 (3% of 413 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 (11)
1. On a curve, the posted speed limit:
- Is safe to be driven in any vehicle.
- Can still permit a vehicle to tip over. ✓
- Is understood to be the minimum legal speed limit.
Answer: B. Can still permit a vehicle to tip over.
The posted speed limit on a curve can still permit a vehicle to tip over. The handbook says drivers must adjust their speed for curves. If you enter too fast, either the tires lose grip and you skid off the road, or they keep grip and the vehicle rolls over. It notes that tests showed a truck with a high center of gravity may roll over even when traveling at the curve's posted limit. So the posted number is not a guarantee that every vehicle can take the curve safely; slow to a safe speed before entering and do not exceed the posted limit.
2. Scan the road ____ ahead of your vehicle.
- Two to three seconds
- Five to six seconds
- 12 to 15 seconds ✓
Answer: C. 12 to 15 seconds
Scan the road 12 to 15 seconds ahead of your vehicle. The handbook says most good drivers look far enough ahead to cover the distance they will travel in 12 to 15 seconds. At lower speeds that is roughly one block, and at highway speeds it is about a quarter mile. Looking that far gives you room to stop or change lanes without sudden moves. It also says you should not ignore nearby traffic; good drivers move their attention between near and far. A two-to-three-second or five-to-six-second scan is shorter than the handbook's guideline.
3. How does doubling your speed from 20 mph to 40 mph affect your vehicle's braking distance?
- It stays about the same.
- It doubles.
- It quadruples. ✓
Answer: C. It quadruples.
Doubling your speed from 20 mph to 40 mph makes your braking distance four times longer, so it quadruples. The handbook's stopping-distance figure states that when you double speed from 20 to 40 mph, the impact is four times greater and the braking distance is also four times longer. It gives the same pattern for higher speeds, and it says slowing down can reduce braking distance. So the change from 20 to 40 mph is not a small increase or a doubling; the distance needed to stop grows to four times its earlier length.
4. If you are being tailgated, you should:
- Drive on the shoulder.
- Allow the vehicle to pass. ✓
- Drive faster.
Answer: B. Allow the vehicle to pass.
If you are being tailgated, allow the vehicle to pass. The handbook's response to a tailgater is to make the situation calmer and give the other driver room. It says to increase your following distance so you have more room ahead, which helps you avoid sudden speed or direction changes and makes it easier for the tailgater to get around you. It also says not to speed up. Allowing the vehicle to pass matches that guidance: you are not making abrupt moves or racing the tailgater; you are opening space so it can go by.
5. When in heavy traffic, the safest driving speed is:
- Slower than the speed being driven by surrounding traffic.
- The same speed being driven by surrounding traffic. ✓
- Faster than the speed being driven by surrounding traffic.
Answer: B. The same speed being driven by surrounding traffic.
In heavy traffic, the safest speed is the same speed the surrounding traffic is driving. The handbook says directly that when traffic is heavy you should travel at the speed of other vehicles, because vehicles moving the same direction at the same speed are not likely to run into one another. It adds that you should drive with the flow of traffic if you can do so without going at an illegal or unsafe speed. That is why matching surrounding traffic is the correct choice, not picking a speed above or below the pack.
6. What is reaction distance?
- The distance you will travel between realizing you must brake and when you physically hit the brakes ✓
- The distance you will travel between a hazard becoming visible and you seeing the hazard
- The distance you will travel between seeing a hazard and realizing you must brake
Answer: A. The distance you will travel between realizing you must brake and when you physically hit the brakes
Reaction distance is the distance you travel after you realize you must brake until you physically hit the brakes. The handbook separates total stopping distance into perception, reaction, and braking parts. Reaction distance is the ground you cover after you have seen and recognized a hazard and decided to brake, up until the brakes actually take hold. The perception part is already over by then. That matches the choice about traveling between realizing you must brake and physically hitting the brakes.
7. Maintain a following distance of at least ____ for every 10 feet of your vehicle if you are traveling at a speed under 40 mph.
- One second ✓
- Two seconds
- Three seconds
Answer: A. One second
8. If you are being tailgated while driving a large vehicle, do all of the following, except:
- Reduce your speed gradually.
- Increase your following distance.
- Increase your speed. ✓
Answer: C. Increase your speed.
Increase your speed is the one thing you should not do when a vehicle is tailgating you. The handbook's advice for a tailgater starts with avoiding quick changes: signal early and bring your speed down gradually rather than suddenly. It also says to open up the room in front of you, because that extra space means you won't have to make abrupt speed or direction changes and it gives the tailgater an easier chance to pass. On speeding up, the handbook is direct: don't. Being followed closely is safer at a low speed than at a high speed. So the item that does not belong on the list is increasing your speed.
9. If you are driving at a reduced speed in a construction zone when you spot a construction worker near the road, you should:
- Speed up.
- Stay at your current speed.
- Further reduce your speed. ✓
Answer: C. Further reduce your speed.
You should further reduce your speed when a construction worker is near the road. The handbook says speeding traffic is the leading cause of injury and death in roadway work zones. It tells you to observe posted limits, watch your speedometer so it does not creep up through long construction sections, and slow for bad weather or road conditions. It then says to decrease your speed even further when a worker is close to the roadway. Since you are already driving at a reduced speed in a construction zone, seeing a worker near the road calls for one more reduction, not holding steady or speeding up.
10. If a worker is present in a work zone, you should:
- Continue driving at the posted speed limit.
- Slow to a speed under the posted speed limit. ✓
- Drive in the grass.
Answer: B. Slow to a speed under the posted speed limit.
You should slow to a speed under the posted speed limit when a worker is present in a work zone. The handbook's work-zone section says speeding traffic is the leading cause of injury and death there. It tells you to observe posted limits and watch that your speed does not creep up. It also says to decrease speed for bad weather or road conditions, and to decrease it even further when a worker is close to the roadway. That extra reduction means going below the posted limit around workers.
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Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook