Full📏 Following & lane control
Illinois teaches a three-second following distance, and the examiner watches your spacing and lane discipline the whole route: centered in the lane, signaled changes with head checks, no left-lane camping (on interstates the left lane is legally for passing), and extra room when conditions worsen.
What the examiner is watching for
- ✓A counted three-second gap behind the vehicle ahead
- ✓Lane changes with mirror, signal, and head check — one lane at a time
- ✓Steady centering, no straddling or drifting
- ✓Bigger gaps in rain, low light, or behind large vehicles
Step by step
- 1Pick a fixed object; count one-thousand-one to one-thousand-three — reach it early and you're too close.
- 2Before any lane change: mirror, signal, head check, then move.
- 3Keep right except to pass, especially on multi-lane roads.
- 4Stretch the count in bad weather and behind trucks.
Mistakes that cost points
- ✗Two-second habits — Illinois's manual says three
- ✗Signaling as you drift instead of before you move
- ✗Riding the left lane after a pass
- ✗Closing the gap in stop-and-go traffic
The other 5 skills IL grades
FullPass is an independent study aid. Road-test guidance is written from official ILSOS test requirements; your examiner and the Secretary of State remain the final authority.