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Difficulty: EasyAdjusting Margins in Ice and Snow

You are driving on a road covered with packed snow and ice. In normal dry conditions, you should leave a two-second time gap from the vehicle ahead. How much of a time gap should you leave in these icy conditions?

  1. A
    4 seconds
  2. 20 secondsAnswer
  3. C
    2 seconds
  4. D
    8 seconds

Answer

20 seconds
In icy or snowy conditions, tyre grip is drastically reduced and stopping distances can increase by up to ten times compared to dry road conditions. To maintain a safe safety margin, the normal two-second following distance must be increased up to twenty seconds.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the standard baseline following distance for dry road conditions.
The baseline separation gap is 2 seconds.
This provides adequate reaction and stopping time under normal dry conditions.
2
Apply the stopping distance multiplier for icy or snowy surfaces.
The stopping distance increases by up to 10 times, so the time gap becomes 2×10=202 \times 10 = 20 seconds.
Severe loss of tyre grip on ice requires ten times the normal separation margin.

Key Concept

Following distance time multiplier on ice and snow
Estimated Time:30s
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Topics

Adjusting Margins in Ice and Snow

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