On a Texas highway in normal conditions, what minimum following interval does the manual recommend behind the vehicle ahead of you?
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A.
Two seconds Correct
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B.
Ten seconds
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C.
One car length per 10 mph
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D.
Four seconds
The answer is "Two seconds"
The Texas highway chapter sets a minimum of at least two seconds behind the vehicle ahead in normal conditions and at least four seconds in bad weather. Answer D catches the reader who treats the bad-weather figure as the everyday rule, on the reasoning that the safer number must be the tested standard.
The traps in the wrong answers
B. Ten seconds
Ten seconds is not the highway-section minimum for normal passenger-car following distance. The Texas highway rule names at least two seconds in normal conditions and at least four seconds in bad weather. This answer applies the long-gap rule commercial drivers use for large trucks, mistaking a heavy-vehicle figure for the passenger-car standard.
C. One car length per 10 mph
The Texas manual uses time gaps in the highway chapter, not counted car lengths. This answer uses the older car-length rule of thumb from driver's-ed, which the Texas manual has replaced with a time-based measure.
D. Four seconds
Four seconds is the bad-weather figure in the highway chapter, not the normal-conditions minimum. This answer reads the four-second bad-weather increase as the everyday highway rule, on the reasoning that the safer figure must be the tested standard.
This question tests your knowledge of Lane Changes & Merging in Texas. Source: Texas Driver Manual, "Once You are in the Proper Lane," p.48..
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