Keep pace with traffic — South Dakota Permit Test

Keep pace with traffic on the South Dakota permit test — 5 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

On roads with several lanes going the same way, crashes often happen when drivers go faster or slower than other vehicles, so slow down and keep pace with traffic.

Every car you pass is one more chance that it drifts into you or that you misjudge the gap.

On a roadway with multiple lanes going in the same direction, crashes involving two or more vehicles often happen when drivers go faster or slower than other vehicles.

South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.45

If you drive faster than other traffic, you keep passing other drivers, and each time you pass someone there is a greater chance of a collision.

The car you are passing may change lanes into you, or a car may appear head-on on a two-lane road.

Each time you pass someone, there is a greater chance of a collision.

South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.45

Speeding does not save more than a few minutes for each hour of driving.

Drivers who speed to save time take every risk of the extra passes for almost no time back.

Speeding does not save more than a few minutes for each hour of driving.

South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.45

Going much slower than other vehicles can be as bad as speeding; it is dangerous and you can be ticketed for impeding traffic.

Cars bunch up behind a very slow driver and start passing in places where they cannot see.

It is dangerous and you can be ticketed for impeding traffic.

South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.45

If vehicles are lined up behind you, pull over when it is safe and let them pass; otherwise drive faster or think about using a road with slower posted speeds.

A long line of cars stuck behind you breeds drivers who try to pass on a hill or curve.

If vehicles are lined up behind you, pull over when safe to do so and let them pass.

South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.45

On the test

On a multi-lane road, what is the safest speed choice?

Keep pace with the other traffic. Every car you pass is one more chance that it drifts into you or that you misjudge the gap. South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.45: “On a roadway with multiple lanes going in the same direction, crashes involving two or more vehicles often happen when drivers go faster or slower than other vehicles.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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  • Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
  • Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against South Dakota Driver License Manual, published by the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-04.