How do you calculate your following distance?

Taxlady · 06-18-02, 01:39

Back in the 60s, when I lived in California, I was taught to stay one car length per 10 mph behind the car I was following. I never was any good at figuring that out. When I took driving lessons again in Quebec, I was taught to find something at the side of the road as a marker and count off two seconds of following distance. Now, that's easy.

2wheelsx2 · 06-18-02, 01:53

Two seconds in good weather. 4 seconds in the rain. More in snow.

Intel486 · 06-18-02, 02:41

When I started to drive I use to always do the two second rule but it left to big of a gap and you'd always get people cutting infront of you.

Now I just go with whatever traffic demands.

Rain doesn't really matter because I drive pretty slow in the rain and my acceleration is slow. I'm in a truck and in rain lightly tapping the gas from a stop will get my wheels spinning. I only have the 4.6L and I can't imagine what a 5.4L is like in the rain much less a supercharged one. Soon as these wheels are bad I'm going to get the widest ones that I can fit on my rims.

Lowejackson · 06-18-02, 02:57

Quote:

Two seconds in good weather. 4 seconds in the rain. More in snow

Yup, that what I use as well.

Steven

permalink · 06-18-02, 03:51

I never pay attention to this stuff, it is common sense imo. It is just like how do you judge that you are in the middle of the lane.

buldog · 06-18-02, 04:47

I can't remember where I heard it but I believe it's a 3 second rule.
But I don't follow that too closely cause if someones In front of me I kick in the boost & pass.

HellrotCi · 06-18-02, 04:49

Here in Nashville, if you leave a 2 second gap between you and the vehicle in front of you, someone will merge into it. Before you know you've got 20 new cars in front of you that weren't there 5 minutes earlier. Talk about 1 step foward and 2 steps back.

Taxlady · 06-18-02, 07:06

Quote:

Originally posted by AlBoston
I never pay attention to this stuff, it is common sense imo. It is just like how do you judge that you are in the middle of the lane.

As Samuel Clemens said, "The trouble with common sense is that it's just not common enough."

Some people need to learn how to judge when they are in the middle of the lane. Haven't you seen the guy who watches the white line. He keeps wandering towards the line and then suddenly moves to the right when he notices.

YoSteve · 06-18-02, 08:40

I stay pretty far away from the car in front of me (but I MAKE the car in back of me stay far away as well). Course I live in the country.

Taxlady · 06-18-02, 08:49

Quote:

Originally posted by buldog
I can't remember where I heard it but I believe it's a 3 second rule.
But I don't follow that too closely cause if someones In front of me I kick in the boost & pass.

Two seconds is plenty in good weather. At 60 kph, that's 33.3 m. Figuring five meters for an average car, that's over six car lengths. And the Yanks usually figure one car length for each mile per hour, not kilometer per hour.