A 3-minute lesson from the Arkansas course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
You must be able to stop within the distance you can see. Darkness, rain, fog, hills and parked cars all shrink that distance, so your safe speed shrinks too, even below the limit.
Total stopping distance (good tires, brakes, dry road)
Total stopping distance (good tires, brakes, dry road)
You can't know what's over a hill or around a curve, so adjust your speed to be able to stop. Near parked cars, expect people getting out or stepping out, and give them as much room as possible.
Speed limits are based on road design, the vehicles using it and its location, and are set for ideal conditions. Even at the speed limit you can be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions.
Fog rolls in and you can only see about 200 feet ahead on a 55 mph highway. Slow to 30 mph or less. If the fog thickens until you can't see the road, pull off in a safe place and wait.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
At 40 mph, about what total stopping distance does the handbook cite?
75 feet
124 feet
225 feet
300 feet
Answer: 124 feet
The handbook lists about 124 feet of total stopping distance at 40 mph.