You're following a tractor-trailer on an Oregon highway. Approximately how does its stopping distance compare to a smaller vehicle traveling at the same speed?
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A.
About 10 times the distance.
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B.
About the same.
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C.
About 1.5 times the distance.
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D.
About 3 times the distance. Correct
The answer is "About 3 times the distance."
Large vehicles like tractor-trailers, RVs, and commercial buses take about three times the distance to stop than smaller vehicles traveling at the same speed. They also take longer to accelerate and need more room to maneuver, so leave extra following distance, don't cut in front sharply, and never assume a large vehicle can stop in a passenger-car distance. The pull toward C comes from halving the three-times benchmark rather than applying it as stated.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. About 10 times the distance.
The benchmark is 3x; 10x overstates it. This answer inflates the manual's three-times benchmark to ten times.
B. About the same.
Mass and brake-system inertia mean large vehicles need much more distance to stop. This answer ignores the manual's rule that large vehicles take about three times the distance to stop.
C. About 1.5 times the distance.
The handbook benchmark is 3x, not 1.5x. This answer halves the manual's three-times benchmark for large-vehicle stopping distance.
This question tests your knowledge of Sharing the Road in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Sharing the Road > Large Vehicles," p.53..
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