Road Safety Quiz Questions and Answers: 40 for Work and Home

Most road safety quiz questions online come from one country's school syllabus, with answers nobody has checked since the PDF was made. That is a problem when a room full of adult drivers starts arguing about stopping distances.

Here are 40 questions in five rounds, built for workplaces, quiz nights and households with drivers and riders in them. Each answer says where it comes from: the World Health Organization, the UK Highway Code, the US National Weather Service and national drink-driving laws. Where a rule changes by country, the answer says which country. Rounds cover speed and space, distraction and alcohol, rain and potholes, the people most at risk, and the numbers behind it all. Answers last checked on 23 October 2026.

Key takeaways

• Speed is the multiplier behind everything else: WHO says each 1% rise in average speed raises fatal crash risk by about 4%.
• Leave at least two seconds to the vehicle ahead, double it in the wet and allow up to ten times as much on ice.
• Phones make a crash roughly four times more likely, and the risk from alcohol starts well below most legal limits.
• Moving water and hidden potholes are the rain hazards that catch people out. Treat every puddle as deep.
• Drink-drive limits differ widely: from zero in the UAE to 80 mg per 100 ml of blood in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• A quiz works best as a conversation starter, not a test. End each round by asking what people will do differently.

Contents

• How to use these road safety quiz questions
• Round 1: Speed and space
• Round 2: Phones, fatigue and alcohol
• Round 3: Rain, floods and potholes
• Round 4: The people most at risk
• Round 5: The numbers and the rules abroad
• Road safety in eight very different cities
• Which rounds for which group? A decision table
• Adapt the road safety quiz questions to your country
• Run it at work: a 20-minute format
• Turn the quiz into action
• Mistakes that make safety quizzes fall flat
• If this happens during the quiz
• FAQ
• Where to go next

How to use these road safety quiz questions

There are eight questions per round. Read each one, allow 20 to 30 seconds, and reveal answers at the end of the round so people can talk about them. One point each. Question 40 is the tiebreaker: closest number wins.

This is a road safety quiz for adults, written for people who drive, ride or walk to work. It also works at home with older family members who are learning to drive, as long as an adult reads out the answers and the "why".

Three ways to run it:

• Quiz night. All five rounds, teams of four, about 45 minutes with answers.
• Workplace session. Three rounds plus discussion. See the 20-minute format below.
• Self-check. Cover the answers and treat it as a drive safe quiz with driver safety quiz answers you mark yourself.

If you run quizzes often, our guide on how to host a regular quiz night covers marking, teams and disputes.

Round 1: Speed and space

Distances in this round come from the Highway Code's rules on stopping distances, which are a good worldwide rule of thumb even where they are not the law.

1. What is the minimum gap the UK Highway Code recommends behind the vehicle in front on high-speed roads?

Answer: At least two seconds. Pick a fixed point such as a sign, and count from when the vehicle ahead passes it.

2. How should that gap change on wet roads?

Answer: It should be at least doubled, so four seconds or more.

3. And on icy roads?

Answer: Up to ten times greater. That surprises most rooms.

4. In the Highway Code's typical stopping distances, how far does a car need to stop from 30 mph?

Answer: 23 metres, about six car lengths. That includes thinking distance and braking distance.

5. And from 70 mph?

Answer: 96 metres, about 24 car lengths. Speed more than doubles, and the distance roughly quadruples.

6. According to WHO, what happens to fatal crash risk with every 1% increase in average speed?

Answer: It rises by about 4%. Serious crash risk rises by about 3%.

7. By how much does a pedestrian's risk of death rise when the car hitting them goes from 50 km/h to 65 km/h?

Answer: About 4.5 times, per WHO. A modest rise in speed makes a very large difference to who survives.

8. What gap does the Highway Code recommend for a large vehicle in a tunnel?

Answer: Four seconds. Large vehicles and motorcycles need more distance to stop.

Round 2: Phones, fatigue and alcohol

This is the driving safety quiz round that tends to make people quiet. Global figures come from WHO's road traffic injuries fact sheet, dated 20 July 2026.

9. How much more likely is a driver using a mobile phone to be in a crash, according to WHO?

Answer: About four times more likely.

10. In the UK, is it legal to hold your phone while driving if mobile data and calls are switched off?

Answer: No. The ban covers any use of a hand-held interactive device, even when the connection is off. It also applies while supervising a learner driver.

11. How often does the Highway Code recommend a break on a long drive?

Answer: At least 15 minutes after every two hours of driving.

12. Between which hours does the Highway Code say natural alertness is at its lowest?

Answer: Midnight and 6 am. It advises avoiding long journeys then.

13. What is the blood alcohol limit for drivers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Answer: 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood. Bonus point: Scotland is lower, at 50.

14. India's limit is 30 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood. Is that stricter or looser than England's?

Answer: Stricter. India's 30 mg per 100 ml (0.03%) is set by section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.

15. Which is lower: Sweden's drink-drive limit or Australia's?

Answer: Sweden's, at 0.02%. Australia's general limit is 0.05%, with lower limits for some drivers.

16. Does crash risk only start at the legal limit?

Answer: No. WHO says risk starts at low blood alcohol levels and rises significantly from 0.04 g/dl, which is below the limit in many countries. The safe plan is none.

Round 3: Rain, floods and potholes

Rain changes everything: grip, visibility, and what you can see of the road surface. Flood figures come from the US National Weather Service.

17. How deep does fast-moving flood water need to be to knock over an adult?

Answer: About 6 inches, or 15 cm.

18. How much rushing water does it take to carry away most cars?

Answer: About 12 inches, or 30 cm.

19. And to carry away SUVs and trucks?

Answer: About 2 feet, or 60 cm. Bigger vehicles buy you very little.

20. What share of flood drownings happen when a vehicle is driven into flood water?

Answer: Over half, according to the National Weather Service citing the CDC. "Turn around, don't drown" is the whole lesson.

21. Your steering suddenly feels light and unresponsive on a wet road. What is happening and what do you do?

Answer: Water is stopping the tyres gripping the road. The Highway Code says ease off the accelerator and slow down gradually. No sudden braking or steering.

22. You have just driven through deep water. What should you check first?

Answer: Your brakes. Test them gently at the first safe chance. If they are weak, apply light pressure while driving slowly to dry them out.

23. A puddle covers part of your lane. How should you treat it?

Answer: As if it hides a pothole, because it may. Slow before it and avoid it if you can do so safely. On two wheels, brake before the water, not in it. Pune's monsoon guide has more on these pothole-safe monsoon riding habits for Pune two-wheeler riders.

24. You hit a pothole hard. What should you look at once you have stopped safely?

Answer: The tyre sidewall for bulges or cuts, the wheel rim for dents, and then, on the move, any vibration or pull in the steering. A bulge means the tyre needs replacing, not watching. In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad you can also pin a rain-hidden pothole on the Pune civic map so the next rider knows.

Round 4: The people most at risk

Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists carry most of the risk. This round doubles as a pedestrian safety quiz and a cyclist-awareness check for drivers.

25. Globally, what share of road deaths are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists?

Answer: More than half, per WHO.

26. By how much does correct helmet use cut a rider's risk of death?

Answer: By more than six times, per WHO. It also cuts the risk of brain injury by up to 74%.

27. By how much can a seat belt reduce the risk of death for vehicle occupants?

Answer: By up to 50%, per WHO.

28. What reduction in infant deaths does WHO link to child restraints?

Answer: 71%. This is the question to ask the parents in the room.

29. Under the UK Highway Code, how much space should you leave when overtaking a cyclist at up to 30 mph?

Answer: At least 1.5 metres, and more at higher speeds.

30. What is the "Dutch reach"?

Answer: Opening a car door with the hand on the opposite side, so you turn and look over your shoulder for cyclists. The Highway Code recommends it.

31. In the UK, a pedestrian is waiting to cross the side road you are turning into. Who has priority?

Answer: The pedestrian. The Highway Code says traffic should give way to people crossing or waiting to cross at a junction.

32. Under the Highway Code's hierarchy of road users, who bears the greatest responsibility?

Answer: Those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in a collision, such as lorries, buses, vans and cars.

Round 5: The numbers and the rules abroad

The last round is the road safety trivia that makes a good closing debate. Figures come from WHO's July 2026 fact sheet and national laws.

33. About how many people die on the world's roads each year?

Answer: About 1.16 million, per WHO. Give the point for anything between one and 1.3 million.

34. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for which age group?

Answer: Children and young adults aged 5 to 29.

35. What share of road deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries?

Answer: 92%.

36. What target has the UN General Assembly set for road deaths and injuries?

Answer: Halve them by 2030.

37. What is the drink-drive limit for ordinary drivers in the United Arab Emirates?

Answer: Zero.

38. Since 2008, what approach has Brazil taken to drinking and driving?

Answer: Zero tolerance. Any measurable alcohol brings penalties, and above 0.06% it becomes a criminal offence.

39. What is Canada's federal criminal blood alcohol limit?

Answer: 0.08%, though several provinces apply lower administrative limits.

40. Tiebreaker: what is the Highway Code's typical stopping distance from 50 mph, in metres?

Answer: 53 metres. Closest wins.

That is the full set of road safety quiz questions and answers. A score of 30 or more is strong; anyone under 20 has learned something useful today.

Road safety in eight very different cities

The same physics applies everywhere. The rules, the weather and the riskiest road users do not. Each point below states a national rule or a general fact, not a city bylaw.

• London. The Highway Code's hierarchy puts the most responsibility on drivers of the biggest vehicles, and drivers must give pedestrians waiting at side roads priority. The drink-drive limit is 80 mg per 100 ml of blood.
• Edinburgh. Cross the border and the limit drops to 50 mg, from 5 December 2014. An amount that keeps someone under the limit in England can put them over it in Scotland.
• Stockholm. Sweden's limit is 0.02%, lower than the 0.05% common in much of Europe, and winter roads put the "ten times the gap on ice" rule to work.
• Houston. Gulf Coast storms make flood questions real. The National Weather Service figure, 12 inches of rushing water carries away most cars, is the one to remember.
• São Paulo. Brazil's zero-tolerance law since 2008 means any measurable alcohol brings penalties.
• Dubai. The UAE limit is zero. Do not assume a home-country allowance travels with you.
• Tokyo. Japan's limit is 0.03% (a breath limit of 0.15 mg per litre), and traffic drives on the left, which catches out visitors used to driving on the right.
• Pune. Scooters and motorcycles are everywhere, India's limit is 0.03%, and the monsoon turns potholes into hidden water traps. Potholes.app, an independent hazard map for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, keeps a public record of them.

If your team travels for work, add a "rules abroad" question for each country on the travel list. It is the round people remember.

Which rounds for which group? A decision table

Forty questions is a lot for a team meeting. Use this table to choose the driving safety quiz questions and answers that match the people in the room.

Adapt the road safety quiz questions to your country

Rounds 1 to 4 travel well, because physics, water and human attention work the same everywhere. The legal details do not. Before you run this quiz outside the UK, swap or add a few local road safety quiz questions so nobody leaves with the wrong rule.

Where to check local rules

• Your national road rules handbook. Most countries publish one through the licensing authority or transport ministry. It is the source for speed limits, phone rules, helmet laws and right of way.
• Your licensing authority's test material. Learner question banks are dull but accurate, and they show which rules examiners care about.
• Police or transport ministry crash data. Use these for local road safety facts, such as which road users are most often hurt where you live. Quote the year.
• Your weather service. Flood, heat and ice warnings, plus what they mean for drivers.

Five questions to localise first

1. The drink-drive limit, and whether it is lower for new or professional drivers.
2. The default urban speed limit.
3. The rule on phones: hand-held only, or any use?
4. Who has priority at an unmarked junction or a zebra crossing.
5. Whether helmets are compulsory for every rider and passenger.

Mark each localised answer with its source and the date you checked. Laws change, and the person who argues with you will be someone who passed their test recently.

Keep the driving safety trivia honest

A good fact survives a quick check. If you cannot find a figure in an official source or a dated report, cut it, however often it appears on posters. A road safety quiz with answers you can defend is worth more than a dramatic one, because one wrong answer makes the room doubt all the others.

Run it at work: a 20-minute format

A road safety quiz for drivers works best as a short conversation with a scoreboard, not a lecture with a test at the end. This format fits a team meeting or a toolbox talk.

Minutes 0 to 2: set it up

Say it is anonymous, low stakes and about habits, not catching anyone out. Split into pairs.

Minutes 2 to 14: three rounds

Pick three rounds of road safety quiz questions from the decision table. Read questions aloud, give 20 seconds, and reveal answers after each round with the "why".

Minutes 14 to 18: one question each

Ask every pair: "Which answer will change what you do this week?" Write the answers up. This is the part that sticks.

Minutes 18 to 20: close with one rule

Pick the single habit most people named, such as four seconds in the rain or phones in the glovebox, and agree to it as a team.

For a lighter ending, play a round of faces: Compete runs a live quiz for up to 10 players on their phones, ten seconds a face, with a ranking explained in our guide to how Elo ratings work in quiz games. It is a celebrity parody game for adults, so keep it for the grown-ups' meeting.

Turn the quiz into action

Knowing the answers changes little unless the road itself gets safer. Potholes are a good example, because the quiz tells you how to survive them, not how to get rid of them.

Wherever you live, the useful habit is the same: when you meet a dangerous defect, report it to the road authority with a photo, an exact location and the date. In the UK that usually means the council; in many US cities it is a 311 line; elsewhere, a municipal app or helpline.

In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad there is a public layer on top of the official channels. Residents can compare Pune and PCMC ward scorecards for pothole repairs, which rank wards by how many reported hazards get resolved and how quickly. If the numbers look odd, read how to read a Pune ward scorecard before drawing conclusions. The About page explains how reporting and neighbour checks work on the Pune pothole map: a resident pins a photo, and neighbours mark it still there or fixed. It is independent and not a PMC or government app.

A workplace in Pune could end its quiz with a five-minute exercise: each person names one hazard on their commute and checks whether it is already on the map.

Mistakes that make safety quizzes fall flat

• Using answers you have not checked. Many free road safety questions and answers are copied from old PDFs. Use dated sources.
• Ignoring country differences. A drink-drive question needs a country. So does any speed limit.
• Making it a test. People switch off when a quiz feels like an assessment. Keep scores light and anonymous.
• Too many statistics in a row. Mix numbers with "what would you do" questions.
• No follow-up. End with one agreed habit, or the quiz is just trivia.
• Shock tactics. Graphic stories rarely change habits as well as a clear rule does.

If this happens during the quiz

• Someone challenges a figure. Show the source and the date. Global figures update, so WHO's July 2026 number may differ from older posters.
• A colleague shares a crash story. Let them, briefly, then bring it back to the habit that would have helped.
• The room is split by country. Turn it into a comparison: what is the rule where each person learned to drive?
• Nobody answers out loud. Switch to written answers in pairs, then reveal.
• You run out of time. Skip to the four-minute "what will you change" step. It matters more than the last round.

FAQ

What are the road safety rules everyone should know?

Keep your speed down, especially near people on foot. Leave at least a two-second gap, more in rain. Wear a seat belt or helmet every time. Never use a hand-held phone while driving. Do not drink and drive at all. Give pedestrians, cyclists and riders room. Never drive into flood water. Those cover most of the risk WHO describes.

Is there a road safety quiz questions and answers PDF?

You can print this page. The questions, answers and sources all appear in the text, so a browser's print or save-as-PDF option gives you a handout. Check the date at the top before you print, because figures such as WHO's global death toll are updated from time to time.

What is the two-second rule in driving?

Pick a fixed point such as a sign. When the vehicle ahead passes it, count two seconds. If you reach the point before you finish, you are too close. The UK Highway Code says to at least double the gap on wet roads and allow up to ten times on ice.

What are good road safety trivia questions for adults?

The best ones surprise people without tricking them: how much fast water carries a car away, how much a phone raises crash risk, how far a car travels before stopping from 70 mph. Rounds 1, 3 and 5 above are built for that. Add one country comparison for a debate.

How do you run a defensive driving quiz at work?

Keep it short, anonymous and practical. Three rounds of eight questions, answers revealed with the reason, then one question to each pair about what they will change. Match rounds to the work: field teams need rain and pothole questions, office commuters need speed and phone questions.

How deep does water have to be to sweep a car away?

The US National Weather Service says about 12 inches (30 cm) of rushing water can carry away most cars, and about 2 feet (60 cm) can carry away SUVs and trucks. Just 6 inches (15 cm) of fast-moving water can knock an adult over. You cannot judge depth or current from the driver's seat.

Is this quiz suitable for young learners?

The questions suit anyone old enough to be learning to drive, with an adult reading the answers. The game links on this page are a different matter: Guess the Celeb is a parody game for adults, not a kids' or classroom activity.

Where to go next

If the quiz went well, keep the room busy with faces instead of facts. Warm up with an easy 10-face round, push the confident team onto the hard round, or try the smile-only round, where the cards are edited parody composites and the reveal is the punchline. Regulars can play today's three-face daily with a free Google sign-in, or build a prank quiz from the library for the team chat. More host guides live on the Guess the Celeb blog.

And if you ride or drive in Pune, close the loop: see which Pune potholes neighbours have marked fixed and add the one on your commute that is not there yet.