Stopping distance — Florida Permit Test

Stopping distance on the Florida permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

At 50 MPH a vehicle travels a minimum of 268 feet in total before stopping, which is nearly the length of a football field.

The whole distance is already used up before you finish reading this sentence.

At 50 MPH, you will travel a minimum of 268 feet...nearly the length of a football field.

Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.60

Perception distance is how far you travel from the moment your eyes see a hazard until your brain recognizes it, and for an alert driver that takes three quarters of a second to a second.

Even before you have decided anything, the car has already covered ground.

The average perception time for an alert driver is ¾ second to 1 second.

Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.60

Reaction distance is how far you travel after seeing a hazard until you physically hit the brakes, and at 50 MPH that accounts for 55 feet.

Fifty-five feet is about four cars, spent doing nothing but moving your foot.

The average driver has a reaction time of ¾ second to 1 second. At 50 MPH, this accounts for 55 feet traveled.

Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.60

Braking distance at 50 MPH on dry pavement with good brakes can take about 158 feet.

That is the part that needs dry road, and it is the part that grows most in the rain.

At 50 MPH, on dry pavement and with good brakes, it can take about 158 feet.

Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.60

Doubling your speed makes the braking distance and the impact 4 times greater, and tripling it makes them 9 times greater.

Speed does not add to the danger. It multiplies it, and it multiplies it by itself.

Doubling the speed means the braking distance and impact are 4 times greater.

Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.60

On the test

What is the total stopping distance at 50 mph?

268 feet, nearly a football field. The whole distance is already used up before you finish reading this sentence. Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.60: “At 50 MPH, you will travel a minimum of 268 feet...nearly the length of a football field.”

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Official Florida Driver License Handbook, published by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-20.