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Speed limits

The road is wet from rain. By how much does the handbook say you should cut your speed?

  1. By 5 to 10 mph. Correct answer
  2. By half.
  3. To no more than 5 mph.

Why

The handbook gives three surfaces three different adjustments, and telling them apart is the whole of this question. A wet road costs you 5 to 10 mph. Packed snow costs you half your speed. Ice takes you down to no more than 5 mph, which is barely moving. Wet is the mildest of the three, and it is also the most common. Two warnings from the same section are worth carrying with it: the pavement can be very slippery when it first starts to rain, especially after a dry, hot spell, and shaded stretches, bridges and overpasses freeze before the rest of the road. On top of the speed change, turn on your windshield wipers, low-beam headlights and defroster.

Where this comes from

California Driver's Handbook, DL 600 ENGLISH (REV. 6/2025). The correct answer is By 5 to 10 mph..

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