Speed & Space Management

Study questions with answers

12 sample Speed & Space Management questions with the correct answer, a short explanation, and the official handbook reference. Read through them, then take the quiz above.

1. 1. What does it mean to avoid 'overriding' your sight distance?

   Correct answer: Not going faster than you can react to hazards within your sight

   Keep your speed low enough that you can react to any hazard within the distance you are able to see.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Look Farther Down the Road

2. 2. At least how far down the road should a rider strive to look ahead?

   Correct answer: At least 12 seconds ahead

   On two or three wheels, aim to scan roughly 12 seconds' worth of road out in front of you.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Look Farther Down the Road

3. 3. How does riding side by side with another motorcycle affect your safety margin?

   Correct answer: It severely reduces your time and space cushion

   Riding side by side severely reduces your time and space cushion, leaving little room to maneuver around a hazard.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Give Each Other Space

4. 4. At 60 miles per hour, about how many feet do you cover each second?

   Correct answer: About 90 feet per second

   Sixty miles per hour works out to about 90 feet traveled every second.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Total Stopping Distance

5. 5. Riding at 60 mph, about how far will you travel while perceiving, reacting to, and braking for a hazard such as a deer?

   Correct answer: About 360 feet

   At 60 mph you will cover an average of roughly 360 feet while completing the perception, reaction, and braking process.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Total Stopping Distance

6. 6. In the manual's approach to creating time and space, what do 'time' and 'space' each give you?

   Correct answer: Time lets you see and plan; space lets you execute the plan

   Time lets you see a hazard and plan a response, while space gives you the room to carry that plan out.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Creating Time and Space

7. 7. Why does scanning as far ahead on the road as you can matter so much?

   Correct answer: Spotting hazards sooner gives you extra time and room to react

   Spotting a possible hazard sooner, by looking well ahead, gives you extra time and room to perceive it, react, and respond safely.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Look Farther Down the Road

8. 8. What should you always include as part of your time-and-space choices?

   Correct answer: An escape path

   Make assessing an escape route a standard part of how you manage time and room, so there is always somewhere to go if a hazard shows up.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Creating Time and Space

9. 9. Why should you increase your following distance at night?

   Correct answer: Because distances and hazards are harder to judge in the dark

   At night it is tougher to gauge how far away things are, since contrast and shadows become distorted, so a bigger following gap adds safety.

   Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Riding at Night

10. 10. What is the recommended minimum following distance for both two- and three-wheeled motorcycles?

    Correct answer: Three seconds

    For two-wheelers and three-wheelers alike, the manual advises keeping a following gap of no less than three seconds.

    Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Following Distance

11. 11. The three-second following distance is meant for which conditions?

    Correct answer: Ideal conditions, and you should add more in poor conditions

    Three seconds is the absolute minimum for ideal conditions; you should increase it for weather, fatigue, poor surfaces, and traffic.

    Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Following Distance

12. 12. Which three factors make up total stopping distance?

    Correct answer: Perception, reaction, and execution

    Total stopping distance is made up of perception time, reaction time, and execution (carrying out the braking or maneuver).

    Source: Washington Motorcycle Operator's Manual — Strategies for the Street: Total Stopping Distance