I always heard “2 seconds of space” which is a lot more than a few car lengths, to give yourself time to react to both what’s in front of you and to the sides, and account for if their brakes perform better than yours. Two seconds of distance is a lot, though, and kind of impractical in traffic.
Should be at least 5 car lengths on the highway
Lord I hate those fucking cunts who see two car lengths of space as an invitation. I’m going 85, you’re going 75, don’t suddenly hop in front of me because the clown in front of you is going 70.
You can’t do this in LA, but LA fucking sucks so fuck 'em haha.
yeah me too. i get a lot of rollerskaters squeezing into the space so i keep backing off til theyre all jammed ass to mouth like a human centipede. gotta keep my distance for when the chain binds. and it will
Intelligent people leave a space of about two cars ahead of them on the freeway.
Stupid people think that space must be for them.
Two car lengths isn’t even remotely enough space if you’re traveling at high speeds.
Yeah, I follow the 3 second rule and try to keep 3 seconds of travel distance between me and the car in front of me
This is it. Absolute minimum two seconds in perfect conditions, four if it’s raining/dark/whatever.
It depends.
On a well developed well maintained “freeway” with multiple lanes, shoulders for break downs, gentle curves, et cetera it’s common. 3 car lengths is more common here I think.
That said, on a “highway” (interstate?) without everything listed above I aim for 2 seconds, which is about 60 metres at highway speed.
Intelligent people leave a whole fucking lot more than just two car lengths.
Back when i drove. I was taught 3 car lengths, or 3 seconds. Whichever is greater.
I think they’re saying 2 car lengths when in heavy traffic going 20 mph. I hope…
When i was 13 bill Clinton told me 1 car length per every 10mph i was traveling at. Ive been following that advice ever since
And I know it’s state dependent, but the highways by me, each white line is about one car and each gap is one car, so if you’re doing 50, having two to three white dashed lines between you and the car in front of you is probably good.
Fun fact: In most states, this length is 40ft, but there are some exceptions, like CA, where it’s 24ft or 48ft depending on the road.
What better place to keep em guessing than while behind the wheel on the highway!
3 seconds is the minimum safe distance, regardless of speed
This is just plain untrue.
In all cases you need to drive to the conditions. Observe your circumstances and adapt your behavior accordingly.
3s is a good yard stick, but there’s plenty of situations in which it is not the ideal safe distance.
At 110km/h that’s about 90 metres. Every idiot around is going to try to move around you to take up that spot. Being overtaken by idiots is unsafe. This is just one example, there’s plenty of others.
If you see people weaving like crazy you just slow down even more.
What is this in imperial? How many bullets per square-child?
Depends, African or European?
Yes
3 seconds from you to get to where the other car was previously.
I leave enough room for me to have time to react and give the person behind me enough time to react to my breaking. Because most people drive way too close to avoid a rear-end collision if I have to slam my breaks for an emergency. Sometimes that means I’m 4, 5 or 6 car lengths away from the car in front of me, but that has the added benefit of pissing off tailgators who will almost immediately choose to pass me which works out great for me. The less space the person behind gives, the more space I leave between me and the person in front.
Spoken like a true left lane hogger
They never said they’re in the left lane, and in fact specifically specified against it. Sounds like you’re both defensive and an aggressive driver.
The vast majority of roads that allow legal passing are 2 lanes. Safe assumption to make. They didn’t clarify otherwise until a later comment. This thread is also days old and a settled conversation you are now interjecting into… why?
If they’re matching the pace of the car ahead, explain the offense.
Left lane is for passing. The vehicle ahead of them could very well be just as in the wrong if not worse.
If you’re pacing the car in front of you, you’re already wrong.
Never. Pace. Strangers.
You pass them or let them pass.
Spoken like a true entitled bad driver
Nope, I stay in the slow lane, unless my exit is in the left lane of course.
I just moved to Michigan
I have never seen a group of drivers so committed to Tail Gateing … Like it’s the state sport
I was driving in slowish freeway traffic in Detroit and the guy behind me plowed right into me, didn’t even slow down, didn’t even look away. He sort of bounced off of me, pulled onto the shoulder, and squeeled off while I had to find some sketchy spot to stop and make sure my bumper wasn’t dragging too much.
A person I was visiting there in Detroit told me that insurance wasn’t required so many people run off rather than risk getting blamed and the cops wouldn’t even bother with a report.
Insurance is required in all of Michigan, with fines, license suspension, and jail all possible for not having it. With Michigan’s no-fault insurance we have some of the highest rates in the country in Detroit—especially relative to income—and almost no viable alternative to owning a car.
That said, as a native Detroiter I feel safer in Detroit driving around other Detroiters, the suburbanites and out of state folks are always in the way.
I thought I heard that insurance laws changed maybe since then or around that time and there was a reason for a lot of hit and runs. I don’t know, but that was my experience a while ago. The weird part was mostly how the dude had no visible reaction at all except to take off, which probably could’ve been anywhere.
As an out of towner I did have trouble with the short on ramps. I wasn’t sure how to get into a rhythm because there was no place to get up to speed. I didn’t like feeling like I had to shove my way in and it was hard to tell how to let others in safely. I suppose you just know those things when you live there long enough.
Those are some of the first below-grade expressways built in the country, so the shorter on ramps are from an era with fewer and slower cars, and there isn’t space to lengthen them. The law only changed to stop the insurance companies from using zip codes to determine rates, and reduced the maximum payout for healthcare related costs from a crash, with the aim of lowering costs, but of course the insurance companies worked around it.
Visit Tennessee and get back to me. Moving from Tennessee to Michigan I noticed a distinct uptick in the quality of driving.
cries in Houston TX
I swear Texas license plates are like warning signs for bad drivers
Wait till u get to DC, MD, and VA. that’ll make u cry even more.
It’s a nice thought, but it has so many modifiers it’s pretty much worthless. Everything from road conditions, to time of day or night, to the size and weight and type of vehicle you are driving, to how old you are affects stopping distance and the interval you should be leaving.
Remember children - Driving should never be “relaxing.” It’s real work and demands your total concentration to protect yourself and everyone around you. So put the phone down and even turn off the radio. Put your head on a swivel like a fighter pilot. And have an escape plan for every inch you drive.
I don’t know why you are being downvoted since the distance from other cars should absolutely reflect the current conditions. I also agree that to drivers need to proactively look for possible collisions in mirrors and blind spots, though they should be generally calm and patient when driving.
Driving isn’t supposed to be as stressful as this comment put it. If it is then you shouldnt be allowed to drive.
I’ve always followed the rule of 1 car length for every 10 miles per hour you’re going.
How am I supposed to leave 10 car lengths while speeding through a school zone? Explain!
If it’s a school zone you leave 10 school bus lengths.
I always (sometimes) do three seconds between me and the car in front of me. That automatically adjusts for increased speed.
3 seconds when under 65. 5 seconds when it’s raining or I’m moving faster than posted highway speeds. It pisses people off but I’m hauling a ton of steel and plastic around, I’m not going to risk my life and everyone’s around me just because some guy is late for work or can’t be patient and needs to get where he’s going a few seconds before me. People tend to lose the reality of the situation when driving their super fast metal explosion machines.
When I did driver’s training, they recommended about 2 seconds of distance. I find it to be a reasonable distance most of the time.
2 seconds is not enough. Average human reaction time takes more than half that time. I was also taught to keep 3 seconds minimum distance on average 80 km/h zone. Faster driving, more distance should be kept.
I have a two lane road for most of commute every morning. What hate is when you pick up a buttplug. A buttplug is some dipshit who crawls up your ass and refuses to pass. They wont leave enough gap for the person behind them to pass without passing both of us and they wont pass themselves.
What is crazy about this is that person will usually stay there until every car behind them has passed. After that they usually pass almost immediately.
In my experience, slowing down to just below the speed limit will usually irritate these tailgators enough to shake them off. Your mileage may vary though.
This is the way. Though I’ve had to come to a full stop and pull off the road a couple times…
I think my biggest pet peeve about driving is when you come to a stop and the car behind you tries to shove their nose up your ass. Like bruh you don’t need to ever be that close
Maybe they just really love the smell of exhaust and are trying to get high off of your emissions
Then get out and suck my tailpipe but stay off my ass lmao
At a stop? Who cares? Can’t being closer together at a stop light at least help with intersections? I guess it depends on the city.
If you’re driving a manual and you roll back on a stop, you shouldn’t be driving a manual. Unless you live in like San Francisco I guess? In the Appalachian region, cops will stop you for rolling back.
Especially annoying if you’re driving a manual and are stopped on an incline.
I drive a 6 speed. This is where my rage for this comes from.
But even in automatics rollback isn’t uncommon on an incline.
I can usually set off on an incline with no rollback but I’ll be damn if it doesn’t slightly stress me out every time someone pulls that shit.
I feel like it really isn’t your fault if you role back 6 inches and hit them. If you were to roll back 4 feet it would be different but in this case you can’t control something so small.
In court it won’t be your fault if they’re that close, but it’s still the hassle of dealing with people who don’t understand basic driving etiquette.
My driving instructor taught me that I should still be able to see the other car’s back wheels when I stop. I actually don’t know how close that looks from the other driver’s perspective.
Terrible, terrible advice. That leaves a full car-length of empty pavement with the driver sight-lines of modern SUV and crossover designs. Pickup trucks are worse; I’ve seen pickup truck drivers stop a full 30 feet back. It wastes huge amounts of space on the street, and causes traffic congestion. On the other side of the coin, van and bus drivers can still get right up on your ass when following this advice.
What it looks like:
Not actually as the “see the tires” rule is fairly good advise. Keep in mind sometimes it is smarter to give a little more space depending on the situation. Think of it as more of a minimum. Also lose most of your speed farther back and then role forward. This allows for recovery time in case of failure or loss of traction.
if they are following the two second rule they should be less than a foot from your car. If your car is stopped you are always more than two seconds from the car in front of you.
I can’t believe this comedy gold is not upvoted more. Maybe it needs /s?
Never heard of that rule. I was always taught to leave enough space that you can see the bottom of their back tires.
The two second rule is for following distance. Applying it to stopped cars makes no sense at all, but it is funny . You have it right.
Id get that close if I want to give the phone enjoyer behind me plenty of time to stop
So you can hit the car in front of you too?
It’s not only a safety hazard but it leads to slower traffic. If you maintain the right distance at a stop the whole line of cars can accelerate faster because you don’t have to wait as long for the car ahead of you to move. There are zero actual benefits of sniffing my ass at a stop.
phone enjoyer is ungovernable
That doesn’t mean you should be acting like an asshat yourself.
It takes two to tango
calm down
Weird guy is right though. Best practice is to leave enough space so that in the event you get rear ended you don’t get shoved into the car in front of you.
fair point
I leave 2-3 seconds following distance minimum on interstate highways.
I think you mean a 1/10 of a second. (Local drivers, apparently)
“Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule.”
I was taught to repeat that phrase, at a normal steady pace, when I saw the back of their car go past something, to use as a marker (a signpost, the end of one of the lines on the road, whatever).
If you finish the phrase after the front of your car has gone past the same marker, then you don’t have a big enough braking distance and need to ease off a bit.
