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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.
The recommendation changed from car lengths to seconds decades ago, but wasn't well communicated fwict. I learned car lengths from my dad and then seconds when I got my motorcycle endorsement.
If everyone were leaving 2 seconds of space, it also reduces stop and go traffic that is caused, or at least exacerbated, by the traffic wave phenomenon. But that's even less well socialized.
In Ontario, that space you just left will immediately get filled by tailgaters, meaning you have to slow down more, which lets in more tailgaters. You have to drive aggressively as fuck to get to where you want to go in Ontario because everyone else driving on the road barely has a drivers license and is also driving aggressive as fuck (we passed basically everyone who applied for a driving test during the pandemic and eliminated all manoevers and skill checks).
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.
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
What is this in imperial? How many bullets per square-child?
Depends, African or European?
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.
Robert Loggia and David Lynch have something to say about this:
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
I just moved to Michigan
I have never seen a group of drivers so committed to Tail Gateing .... Like it's the state sport
Brake check!
Visit Tennessee and get back to me. Moving from Tennessee to Michigan I noticed a distinct uptick in the quality of driving.
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.
Ever heard of clear distance? If you're at a stop and someone rear ends you and you hit the car in front of you you are at fault and will be held liable.
As for the rollback in my state they'll again look at distance. Because if I don't have enough space to back up because you're too close you're once again at fault for not having clear distance.
On top of all that it helps move traffic along faster. You don't have to wait as long to accelerate if you maintain distance because you don't have to wait for the car in front of you to move far enough to start accelerating.
Getting bumper to bumper has zero benefits outside of the false psychological feeling of forward progress.
Especially annoying if you're driving a manual and are stopped on an incline.