When driving in traffic, it is safest to:
- Fluctuate your speed to keep alert.
- Drive faster than the flow of traffic.
- Drive slower than the flow of traffic.
- Drive with the flow of traffic. ✓
Answer: D. Drive with the flow of traffic.
The safest choice is to drive with the flow of traffic.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says that to keep traffic moving smoothly, some highways set minimum speed limits, and that driving below the minimum can halt traffic and create a dangerous condition. It adds that even where no minimum is posted, drivers going too slowly can be as dangerous as those going too fast. Driving with the flow keeps you in line with other traffic instead of blocking it, so it fits what the manual describes as safe.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Fluctuate your speed to keep alert. — Changing your speed up and down on purpose is not something the manual recommends; it says to obey the speed limit and to slow down when conditions call for it, not to vary speed for alertness.
- B. Drive faster than the flow of traffic. — Going faster than the traffic around you is not supported anywhere in the passages, which only warn about driving too fast for conditions.
- C. Drive slower than the flow of traffic. — Driving slower than the flow of traffic is the exact problem the manual warns about, since going too slowly can halt traffic flow and be as dangerous as speeding.
Remember it
Picture yourself as one car in a moving line: matching the pace of the cars around you keeps the line from bunching up or breaking apart.
Official handbook: New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), Chapter 8: Defensive Driving – Speed