Speed Limits & Following Distance — Missouri
Missouri motorcycle permit practice test: 340 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: 13 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 Motorcycle permit test |
| Topic questions | 13 (4% of 340 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
Advertisement
Questions (13)
1. If a driver is tailgating you, you should:
- Speed up.
- Allow them to pass. ✓
- Prevent them from passing.
- Move to one side of your lane to allow them to share the lane.
Answer: B. Allow them to pass.
If a driver is tailgating you, let them pass. The manual's guidance on tailgaters is to make it easy for them to get by you. If you can't let them pass right away, you slow down and leave more room in front of you, which gives both of you room to stop in an emergency and also nudges the tailgater to go around. Leaving the road or pulling into a parking area and coming back later is another option the manual gives. Letting the tailgater get ahead is the point of all of this.
2. Usually, a good way to handle a tailgater is to:
- Move onto the shoulder to get out of their way.
- Speed up and put distance between you and the tailgater.
- Ignore them.
- Change lanes and let them pass. ✓
Answer: D. Change lanes and let them pass.
Change lanes and let the tailgater pass. The manual's tailgater guidance is to let the person behind you get by, and changing lanes is the clean way to do that. If letting them pass is not possible, it says to slow down and leave more room ahead so both you and the tailgater have space to stop; that also encourages them to pass. The point is to remove the close following and give yourself room to react if something develops ahead.
3. When may you not need to increase your following distance?
- When the road is slippery
- When there is a lot of traffic
- When you can see through the vehicle in front of you ✓
- When it is raining
Answer: C. When you can see through the vehicle in front of you
You may not need to increase your following distance when you can see through the vehicle in front of you. The manual says a motorcycle normally needs at least a two-second following distance. It then lists when to open up to three seconds or more: when the pavement is slippery, when you cannot see through the vehicle ahead, or when heavy traffic means someone may squeeze in front of you. Being able to see through the vehicle removes the visibility reason for a bigger gap, so that condition alone does not require you to increase it.
4. To reduce your reaction time, you should:
- Ride slower than the speed limit.
- Cover the clutch and the brakes. ✓
- Shift into neutral when slowing.
- Pull in the clutch when turning.
Answer: B. Cover the clutch and the brakes.
Cover the clutch and the brakes to shorten how long you take to react. The manual gives this exact question and marks covering the clutch lever and the brakes as the answer. Its later advice says that in high-risk places, such as intersections and shopping areas, you should cover the clutch and both brakes to cut the time you need to respond. It repeats the same idea for intersections, where covering the clutch lever and both brakes reduces reaction time. So the bank answer matches the handbook's own guidance.
5. Increase your following distance if:
- The pavement is dry.
- Riding conditions are normal.
- The roadway is wet. ✓
- You can see through the vehicle in front of you.
Answer: C. The roadway is wet.
Increase your following distance when the roadway is wet. The manual groups wet surfaces with mud, leaves, snow and ice as slippery conditions, and it says your motorcycle needs more distance to stop on them. It also tells you to slow down before you reach a slippery surface and before entering wet curves so you are less likely to skid. A wet road is exactly that kind of surface, so the safe response is to open up the gap in front of you rather than hold the normal spacing.
6. What can help reduce the risk of a head or neck injury in the event of a crash?
- Riding on the shoulder
- Riding under the speed limit
- Wearing a helmet ✓
- Not allowing a passenger on the motorcycle
Answer: C. Wearing a helmet
Wearing a helmet is what can help reduce the risk of a head or neck injury in a crash. The manual says one in five motorcycle crashes causes head or neck injuries, and those injuries account for most serious and fatal motorcyclist injuries. It also states that, with few exceptions, properly wearing a quality helmet reduces head and neck injuries, and that a helmet can cut their number and severity. That is why the helmet choice fits the question: the manual treats a securely fastened, quality helmet as the most important thing you can do to improve your chances in a crash.
7. When passing another vehicle:
- The pass may be completed in a no passing zone.
- The rider may travel up to 10 mph over the speed limit to complete the pass.
- The pass must be started and completed within a passing zone. ✓
- The pass must be completed on the shoulder, if one is present.
Answer: C. The pass must be started and completed within a passing zone.
The pass must be started and completed within a passing zone, because the manual says passes are allowed only where permitted. The manual's passing steps end with a plain rule: passes must be completed within posted speed limits and only where permitted, and it tells you to know your signs and roadway markings. A passing zone is exactly the place where the markings permit passing, so the whole maneuver, from pulling out to returning to your lane, has to fit inside that permitted stretch. If the zone ends before you are back in your lane, you were passing where it is not allowed.
8. To reduce your reaction time, you should:
- Ride under the speed limit.
- Cover the clutch and brakes. ✓
- Shift into neutral when slowing.
- Accelerate before turning.
Answer: B. Cover the clutch and brakes.
Cover the clutch and the brakes so you are ready to act the moment something develops. The manual names covering the clutch lever and both brakes as the way to cut the time you need to react. It points to high-risk spots in particular, such as intersections, shopping areas, school zones and construction zones. With your hands already on the controls, you are not spending a beat moving them into place before you can brake or pull in the clutch. The same habit is repeated for approaching an intersection where a driver may cross your path.
9. The best way to handle tailgaters is to:
- Change lanes and let them pass. ✓
- Use your horn and make obscene gestures.
- Speed up to put distance between you and the tailgater.
- Come to a complete stop.
Answer: A. Change lanes and let them pass.
Change lanes and let the tailgater pass, so the person following too closely ends up in front of you. The manual says that speeding up to lose a close follower can just leave you being tailgated at a higher speed, and that a better approach is to get that rider in front of you. Moving to another lane and letting them go by does exactly that. If you cannot let them pass, the manual suggests slowing down and leaving extra room ahead so both you and the tailgater have space to stop, which also nudges them to pass. Turning off the road or pulling into a parking area and coming back later are other options it lists.
10. How does the stopping distance for motorcycles compare to the stopping distance for cars?
- Cars need much longer to stop.
- Cars need a little longer to stop.
- Motorcycles need longer to stop.
- Both motorcycles and cars take about the same amount of time to stop. ✓
Answer: D. Both motorcycles and cars take about the same amount of time to stop.
Motorcycles and cars take about the same amount of time and distance to stop, so a rider should not count on stopping shorter than the car behind expects. The manual says plainly that in traffic, a motorcycle needs as much distance to stop as a car. That is why the same two-second following gap applies when you ride behind another vehicle: the space is measured for the stop you would actually need, not for a shorter one. So the idea that a bike can always pull up in a shorter distance than a car is wrong, and you should plan your following distance the same way a car driver would.
Advertisement
Source
Last checked: 2026-10-17 · Verified from official source
Updated: · Based on the official driver handbook