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Defensive Driving Courses nowadays stress the importance of the Three Second Rule, but they also counsel that this is appropriate only on dry roads.
Once you are driving on a wet or wintery road surface, it is important to increase your following distance to at least Five Seconds.
That being said, there are an incredible number of...anal sphincters... driving nowadays who are apparently ignorant of all of this information.
It would be even more applicable now, because braking systems and tires are better than they were when the 2-second rule was formulated. A car at highway speed, even 75, can be brought to a stop in a shorter time lapse and space than in the 1950s at 65 mph, which was the speed limit then in quite a few states. There were no disc brakes then, no ABS, and bias-ply tires.
I say at the least you should be back far enough to see the ground under the car in front. I hate tailgaters the most. One guy I knew drove a jeep xj with a broken rear sprayer, if you were too close, youd get wiper fluid on your windshield until you backed off.
Yes, but I live the country. Down on the busy highways, if you leave a gap big enough for a car, a car WILL change lanes to occupy that space. Then you have to slow down to regain your 2 sec gap. When you slow down the driver behind you will get annoyed and pull out to pass you and then pull right back in front of you (right into the 2 sec gap). So then you have to slow down again... well you can tell where this is going.
Yes, but I live the country. Down on the busy highways, if you leave a gap big enough for a car, a car WILL change lanes to occupy that space. Then you have to slow down to regain your 2 sec gap. When you slow down the driver behind you will get annoyed and pull out to pass you and then pull right back in front of you (right into the 2 sec gap). So then you have to slow down again... well you can tell where this is going.
Agreed, I try to use 4 seconds. My father always said when teaching us to drive. Make believe your driving the car two cars ahead of you. He drove a tractor trailer for almost 25 years and never had a chargeable accident.
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