Crash research repeatedly links highway collisions to speed differences between vehicles rather than to absolute speed. What practical choice follows from that?

Why C is correct

Wide speed differentials manufacture conflicts: somebody overtaking you generates lane changes and closing events, somebody approaching a slow car from behind may not perceive the difference in time, and traffic merging has to find a slot somewhere inside all of it. None of that argues for matching the fastest vehicle or exceeding the limit, both of which are plainly wrong and add energy to every outcome. The working position is to sit reasonably close to the prevailing flow while remaining lawful and keeping enough following distance to stop inside the road you can see.

Why the other options are wrong

A. Match the fastest vehicle so nobody needs to overtake you

Matching the fastest vehicle means breaking the limit and surrendering the margin that a slower following position had bought. It trades one problem for two worse ones.

B. Ignore the flow entirely and rely on the posted figures alone

Ignoring flow while holding the posted figures stays legal but still leaves large differentials where traffic moves substantially faster or slower. Both extremes need managing.

D. Always travel well below surrounding traffic whatever the flow

Travelling far below the flow places you at the centre of every overtaking conflict on that stretch. Safety is not improved by maximising the number of drivers who must deal with you.

On the road

One driver holds twenty below the flow because it feels careful, and spends the whole trip being overtaken. Another sits near the prevailing speed with clear space in front, and nobody has to work around them at all. Neither broke any limit. The difference between them is entirely about how many conflicts each created for the people sharing the road.

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