A car traveling 60 MPH can take longer than ___ to stop.

• A. two football fields
• B. a football field
• C. one mile
• D. three car lengths

Answer: (B)

Stopping distance is made up of two parts: the distance you travel while you react, and the distance your car needs to brake to a stop. At 60 mph, a typical driver takes about a second to react, which means roughly 88 feet of travel before braking starts. The braking distance from 60 mph to a full stop on dry pavement is commonly around 250–270 feet, depending on the car and conditions. Add those together and you’re looking at about 340–360 feet of total stopping distance, which is about the length of a football field. If road conditions are wet, icy, or your reaction time is longer, that total can easily exceed a football field. So it’s reasonable to say it can take longer than a football field to stop at 60 mph.