Speed Control, Following Distance, and Sharing the Road
Speed must always be reasonable for conditions, even below the posted limit. The NJ exam pairs the basic speed law with following distance and vulnerable-road-user rules.
Speed control
- Obey the posted limit; if none, use NJ statutory defaults (for example, 25 mph in school, business, and residential districts unless posted).
- The basic speed law requires a speed that lets you stop within the assured clear distance ahead.
- Reduce speed in rain, fog, snow, darkness, work zones, and near schools.
Following distance
Use at least a three-second gap in ideal conditions. Increase to four or more seconds when following a truck, in rain, or at night. At highway speed, a truck's stopping distance is much longer than a car's.
Sharing the road
- Motorcycles: give a full lane; never share a lane.
- Bicycles: NJ requires at least four feet when passing, and a safe speed; do not squeeze.
- Trucks and buses: avoid blind spots, especially alongside and behind; expect wide right turns.
- School buses: stop for flashing red lights and extended stop arm; yellow means prepare to stop.
- Pedestrians: stop and stay stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Worked example
You are behind a tractor-trailer at 60 mph in light rain. The three-second gap is a dry-weather minimum, and the truck blocks your view. Drop back to five seconds. That gives you time to see around the trailer and room to stop if it brakes suddenly.
Traps
Using the three-second rule in rain; passing a bicyclist with two feet of clearance; driving alongside a truck's right-turn path; and treating a school bus's yellow lights as permission to pass.