Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardStopping and Following Distances

Evaluate whether the following statement is true or false:

If a vehicle is travelling at 70 mph70\text{ mph} in icy conditions, its overall stopping distance can increase to 960 metres960\text{ metres}, which requires the driver to maintain a minimum following time gap of 10 seconds10\text{ seconds} from the vehicle ahead.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is false because the required following time gap in icy conditions is 20 seconds, not 10 seconds.
The statement is false. In icy conditions, stopping distances can be up to 10 times greater than normal. While this correctly means a 70 mph stopping distance increases from 96 metres to 960 metres, the same 10x multiplier applies to the time gap. Therefore, the normal 2-second gap becomes a 20-second gap, making the 10-second claim incorrect.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Recall the dry weather stopping distance and time gap for a vehicle travelling at 70 mph.
The overall stopping distance is 96 metres, and the normal minimum time gap is 2 seconds.
These are the baseline Highway Code figures required before applying weather multipliers.
2
Apply the icy condition multiplier to the overall stopping distance.
96 metres multiplied by 10 equals 960 metres.
In icy conditions, stopping distances can be up to 10 times greater than on dry roads, making the first part of the statement correct.
3
Apply the icy condition multiplier to the following time gap.
2 seconds multiplied by 10 equals 20 seconds.
The same 10x multiplier must be applied to the normal 2-second following gap to ensure a safe distance is maintained.
4
Evaluate the full statement against the calculated values.
The statement claims a 10-second gap is required, which contradicts the calculated 20-second requirement.
For a statement to be true, all factual claims within it must be correct. Since the time gap is wrong, the entire statement is false.

Key Concept

Applying icy weather multipliers accurately to both stopping distances and time gaps.
Rate this question

Topics

Stopping and Following Distances

More questions from this topic