Many road traffic accidents are caused when cars are driving close together, and then
one car brakes suddenly and the car behind is too close to stop in time. This type of
unnecessary accident could easily be prevented if the cars kept a safe following distance
between each other. This video will help you to judge how much space to leave between your
car and the car in front, and what to do if the car behind you is tailgating your car.
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Imagine you are walking closely behind someone on a street and they suddenly stop. You would
probably bump into them, stop suddenly, or have to take a sideways step to avoid them.
If there had been more room between yourself and that person then there would have been
plenty of time to react and stop safely. The same principle applies in a vehicle - following
the vehicle in front too closely will give us less time to react whenever they brake.
This inevitably forces us to brake harshly or swerve to avoid a crash - causing unnecessary danger.
There is no benefit at all from following the car in front more closely - drivers that
do this won’t get to their destination any faster, and they probably get more damage
from stone chips on the front of their cars. In addition the closer they are to the car
in front, the more it blocks their view of the road ahead, further reducing their ability
to spot hazards, plan ahead, and brake smoothly.
So how much distance do we need to leave between us and the car in front to be safe? This will
depend on the speed we are driving at, and the current weather and road conditions. The
recommended following distance on a dry road in good condition is a gap of at least two
seconds, with a minimum of 2 car lengths gap at very low speeds. This gap will leave us
with enough distance to stop safely or take action to avoid a collision. It is much safer
for us, our passengers and the people in front. Remember, that if we hit the car in front,
we are considered to blame. Even if we don't hit the car in front, braking hard puts us
in danger of being hit by the car behind us. We should always brake as smoothly as possible,
as this gives the car behind more warning that we are slowing down or stopping.
If a 2 second gap seems more than is really needed, then it is worth remembering how long
it actually takes to stop a car. The Highway Code lists the overall stopping distances
from a range of speeds - but since it is hard to visualise these distances we have spaced
our cars apart to show how far this is. These distances are based on a well maintained car
on a dry road, with an alert driver. The overall stopping distance is made up of our thinking
distance, and the braking distance. The thinking distance is the time it takes us to see the
hazard, recognise that we need maximum braking, and then move our foot to the brake pedal
and press it hard. The braking distance is how long it then takes for the car to come
to a complete stop. We must consider this total stopping distance when following another
vehicle, and leave enough space to react and stop safely without causing a collision. As
we can see, at higher speeds it takes a surprisingly large distance to bring the car to a halt.
Whilst it is true that modern cars have much more powerful braking systems that can stop
the car in less distance than the figures in the Highway Code, most drivers would take
far longer to react than the 0.7 seconds calculated as the thinking distance - so the overall
stopping distance might be similar.
When following other cars at very low speed, such as in a traffic queue, we always leave
at least 2 car lengths gap to the car in front - just in case they stop suddenly. Then, as
our speed increases above 10mph we switch to the two second rule. We find using a marker
helps us to judge how far a 2 second gap is. When the vehicle in front passes a marker,
such as a lamp post, we start counting seconds. If we reach the same marker after we count
to 2 then our following distance is safe, but if we reach the marker before we count
to 2 then we are in danger and must drop back further. Remember that two seconds is the
just the minimum distance, and we can follow with a larger gap if we prefer. If we change
our speed, then we will also need to adjust our following distance - this is because we
travel further each second the faster we go. For example at 30mph we cover 13 metres every
second, so a 2 second gap should be around 26 metres - but at 70mph we cover 31 metres
every second, so we must leave at least 62 metres to be safe. If you find it hard to
estimate how long 2 seconds is, the phrase “Only a fool breaks the two second rule”
takes about 2 seconds to say.
The normal safe following distance of two seconds applies when the road is dry and conditions
are good. But what if the road is wet, icy, or has a loose surface? In these conditions
the cars grip on the road is reduced so we need to increase our following distance, to
allow more time and space for braking. The Highway Code recommends that in wet conditions
we should double our following distance, so that’s a 4 second gap. In icy or snowy conditions,
we need to increase the distance by 10 times, so that’s a really large gap in case we
find it difficult to stop our car. We are also free to extend the gap for any other
situation that would affect our reaction time or braking distance, such as when the road
has a loose surface or when we feel tired.
Sometimes we might find ourselves in a situation where we are keeping a correct following distance
but the vehicle behind us is too close. This is called tailgating and is very dangerous.
In this situation we would gently slow our car a little and allow the space in front
of us to increase. This extra gap allows us more time and space to react to anything in
front of us, so there is less chance of us having to brake suddenly. Ensuring that we
have space to brake smoothly will greatly reduce the chance of the car behind actually
hitting us. So, while we can’t control the space behind us, we can control the space
in front of us to stay as safe as possible. If the car behind is so close that we find
it distracting, then we have the option to pull over for a moment and allow them to pass
us. This lets the tailgater rush on and put someone else in danger, and we can continue
our journey in safety.
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