The answer options
- By using advisory speed limits
- By utilising variable speed limitsCorrect
- By utilising higher speed limits
- By enforcing minimum speed restrictions
Why that is the answer
Smart motorways use variable speed limits to manage traffic flow and prevent congestion. Displayed on overhead gantries, these mandatory limits slow traffic down smoothly before queues form, preventing the stop-start effect where vehicles cluster together. Advisory speed limits are only recommendations and cannot reliably control traffic, while higher speeds would worsen tailbacks. Following these variable limits keeps traffic moving continuously, as outlined in the Highway Code.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from motorway rules appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.
More motorway rules questions
- Before making a journey on the motorway it is important to check your vehicle fully. Why is this?
- Following a breakdown on the hard shoulder, how should you rejoin the motorway?
- How should you deal with traffic already on the motorway when joining from a slip road?
- In England and Wales, traffic officers work on motorways as well as some secondary routes. What powers do they have?
- On a motorway, how are the lanes to be used?
- On a three lane motorway, there are red reflective studs on your left and white ones on your right. Which lane are you in?