Drivers should allow a following distance of at least ____ seconds when driving behind a motorcycle.
- Four to six ✓
- Two
- Ten
- Eight
Answer: A. Four to six
Allow at least four to six seconds of following distance when you are driving behind a motorcycle.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook's special driving situations chapter says to give a motorcycle more room than you might give other vehicles. It sets the following distance at four to six seconds when you are behind a motorcycle. The reason it gives is that even slight contact can cause the rider to spill or get hurt, and the larger gap gives the motorcyclist time to maneuver or stop in an emergency. That matches the four-to-six-second choice.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Two — Two seconds is the general gap described elsewhere for staying behind the vehicle ahead in good conditions, but the motorcycle-specific rule requires at least four to six seconds.
- C. Ten — Ten seconds is not the motorcycle following distance given in the handbook; the passage states at least four to six seconds.
- D. Eight — Eight seconds is not the motorcycle following distance stated in the handbook; the passage says at least four to six seconds.
Remember it
When you see a motorcycle ahead, give the rider more room than you would give a car.