Driver's License Test Prep
Texas Practice Defensive Driving

What space does the manual recommend leaving between your car and a motorcycle when stopped at an intersection?

  1. A.
    Roughly ten feet at all times
  2. B.
    The same close spacing you leave behind a car
  3. C.
    About four feet of buffer space
  4. D.
    A full vehicle length Correct
The Why

The answer is "A full vehicle length"

Page 53 tells drivers that a full vehicle length is recommended behind a motorcycle at intersections, signals, or crossings, because a rear-end hit from behind can otherwise push your car into the rider. Drivers who never think about the third-party push apply their normal car-to-car gap, which is the trap in choice B.

Why the others miss

The traps in the wrong answers

A. Roughly ten feet at all times

The manual does not give a foot count for stopping behind a motorcycle. This answer invents a fixed measurement in place of the vehicle-length wording the manual actually uses.

B. The same close spacing you leave behind a car

The manual asks for extra space behind a motorcycle to absorb a rear-end push. This answer treats the motorcycle like a small car, missing the reason for the extra buffer: a rear-end hit could push your car into the rider.

C. About four feet of buffer space

The manual measures the recommended gap by vehicle length, not by feet. This answer swaps the vehicle-length rule for a foot count borrowed from the fifteen-foot fireplug and thirty-foot stop-sign rules elsewhere in the book.

The Rule

This question tests your knowledge of Defensive Driving in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Allow Plenty of Space When Following a Motorcycle," p.53..

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