Required equipment — Texas Permit Test

The foot brake must stop the car within 25 feet at a speed of 20 mph.

A brake that works is not the same as a brake that stops you. Texas sets the distance the pedal has to deliver.

Foot Brake - Must stop car within a distance of 25 feet at a speed of 20 mph

A horn must be heard for a minimum distance of 200 feet.

A horn nobody can hear warns nobody. The distance is what makes it a warning device rather than a noise.

Horns must be heard for a minimum distance of 200 feet

A rearview mirror must reflect a view of the highway for at least 200 feet to the rear of the vehicle.

The mirror is how you see the car about to pass you. Two hundred feet is roughly how far back that car still matters.

A rearview mirror must be able to reflect a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the vehicle

All vehicles must have tires in proper and safe condition with a minimum tread depth of 2/32 of an inch.

Tread is what moves water out from under the tire. Below this depth the tire floats instead of gripping.

All vehicles are required to have tires in proper and safe condition with a minimum depth of 2/32 of an inch

Reflectors must be placed at a height of 15 to 60 inches and be visible up to 600 feet.

A reflector too low or too high is not in the beam of the headlights behind you. The height band is where it does its job.

Reflectors - Two red reflectors, one on each side of the car (may be combined with taillights) must be placed at a height of 15 to 60 inches and be visible up to 600 feet; visible up to 350 feet on vehicles manufactured before 1960

All vehicles must have two working brake lights, except cars made before 1960, which need one.

The car behind reads your brake lights before it reads anything else. Two is the rule for anything built in living memory.

Brake (Stop) Lights - All vehicles must have two (2) working brake lights

A vehicle with a third or high mounted stop lamp must have all three working.

Fitting a third lamp is not optional once it is there. A dead one reads as a car that is not braking.

Vehicles equipped with a third or high mounted stop lamp require all three to be operational

Farm tractors, road construction machinery, animal-drawn vehicles, and other vehicles designed to travel at 25 mph or less must display the slow-moving vehicle emblem.

Closing on something doing 15 mph at highway speed happens faster than anyone expects. The emblem is the warning.

Farm tractors and machinery, road construction machinery, animal-drawn vehicles and certain other motor vehicles assigned to travel at 25 mph or less must display the slow-moving vehicle emblem

A vehicle must have one valid license plate on the front and one at the rear, except dealer and commercial vehicles issued only one.

A plate only on the back leaves a car unidentifiable from the front. Texas asks for both.

Vehicles must have one valid plate affixed to the front and one at the rear of passenger and commercial vehicles, in the manner prescribed by law, except dealer and commercial vehicles that are only issued one license plate

Within what distance must a Texas foot brake stop a car traveling at 20 mph?

25 feet. A brake that works is not the same as a brake that stops you. Texas sets the distance the pedal has to deliver. Texas Driver Handbook, p.15: “Foot Brake - Must stop car within a distance of 25 feet at a speed of 20 mph”