When driving near heavy trucks, other drivers and highway users must make allowances for:
- The increased stopping distance required by large vehicles. ✓
- The decreased stopping distance required by large vehicles.
- The decreased noise of larger vehicles.
- The increased speed of larger vehicles.
Answer: A. The increased stopping distance required by large vehicles.
Make allowances for the increased stopping distance required by large vehicles.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says large vehicles take much longer to stop than smaller vehicles traveling at the same speed. For tractor trailers, it explains brake delay: air brakes send braking power from the tractor to the trailer, and this can add many feet to the stopping distance. That is why the manual tells you to leave plenty of space and not make sudden moves around a truck. The allowance other drivers must make is for that longer stopping distance.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. The decreased stopping distance required by large vehicles. — This reverses the manual's point: large vehicles need more room to stop, not a shorter stopping distance.
- C. The decreased noise of larger vehicles. — The passages do not say large vehicles are quieter, and noise is not given as a reason to make allowances.
- D. The increased speed of larger vehicles. — The passages do not say large vehicles travel faster; they say large vehicles are less maneuverable and take longer to stop and accelerate.
Remember it
When a truck is near, picture a long air-brake lag and give it extra room to stop.