Does San Antonio have the worst drivers in the US? (Blanco: restaurant, floors)

[Paul56]

Originally Posted by niembre

I agree, you should allow some distance between you and the car in front of you, but you also need to drive smart and not allow a huge cap between you and the car in front of you because all you are doing is allowing other people to get in front of you while you move back into your "safe following distance". All this does is slow down traffic. If there are 10-15 cars using the "safe following distance" of 5-10 car lengths in heavy traffic, think about how this effects traffic behind them and the flow. What they are doing is causing bottlenecks. They are just not smart enough to realize it.

That type of "bunching" also creates the huge multi-vehicle pileups
when something unexpected happens because there is no time to
react... due to not leaving enough space.

[niembre]

You can't seriously think you need 5-10 car lengths between you and the car in front of you when driving 20mph in traffic do you? If you need that much space to slow down before hitting the car in front of you, you should not be driving!
As long has you can see the car's bumper in front of you (at most, 1 car length), you should be alright, just pay attention to their tail lights and look in front of them to see what is going on, I can guarantee you will not start a huge muli-vehicle pileup.

Originally Posted by Paul56

That type of "bunching" also creates the huge multi-vehicle pileups
when something unexpected happens because there is no time to
react... due to not leaving enough space.

[Paul56]

Originally Posted by niembre

You can't seriously think you need 5-10 car lengths between you and the car in front of you when driving 20mph in traffic do you?

Uhm, no... as mentioned before following distance depends
on the road conditions and speed..

If you need that much space to slow down before hitting the car in front of you, you should not be driving!

I'm a former semi driver with over 1-million miles without
incident on my record.

Following distance also depends on the weight of the vehicle you are operating. Heavier vehicles take longer to slow down.

It isn't rocket science, just physics.

As long has you can see the car's bumper in front of you (at most, 1 car length), you should be alright, just pay attention to their tail lights and look in front of them to see what is going on, I can guarantee you will not start a huge muli-vehicle pileup.

Ok, so your rule is regardless of road conditions, speed or
weight if you are following 1-car length everything is fine.

Ok, I agree... you may not start the pileup but you may be
involved in it.

[stoneoak]

Originally Posted by niembre

You can't seriously think you need 5-10 car lengths between you and the car in front of you when driving 20mph in traffic do you? If you need that much space to slow down before hitting the car in front of you, you should not be driving!
As long has you can see the car's bumper in front of you (at most, 1 car length), you should be alright, just pay attention to their tail lights and look in front of them to see what is going on, I can guarantee you will not start a huge muli-vehicle pileup.

sigh. I really think they need to tighten the rules on who can and cannot get a driver's license. Sc-ary.

[badhornet]

I've been in dozens of major cities across the country. I would rate San Antonio second right behind Miami as the worst drivers

[L210]

IIRC, it is recommended that cars follow at a distance of two car lengths. For those who've gone through CDL training, they tell you to ride two seconds behind because it takes longer for buses and trucks to stop. I actually think the two second rule is safer for everyone. The faster you are going, the longer it'll take you to stop no matter how heavy your vehicle is. Staying two seconds behind someone requires more distance the faster you drive.

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by L210

The faster you are going, the longer it'll take you to stop no matter how heavy your vehicle is. Staying two seconds behind someone requires more distance the faster you drive.

......an' if you're in a loaded semi behind a compact sedan w/modern brakes, 2 seconds behind 'em is gonna give you *just* enough time to say some naughty words before you make 'em a permanent part of your front grill!

[spursfan]

Some day I'm just going to fashion a response for every month or so when a thread like this develops.

[L210]

LOL. Well, I drove a bus and they told us two seconds behind. They even made us do calculations on how many feet or car lengths that amounts to at certain speeds. When you're going 70, it amounts to several car lengths. You look at when the car in front of you passes some kind of marker such as a light pole and then you count how many seconds it takes for you to pass that same marker. I rarely see semi-trucks following several car lengths behind on the highway which means they aren't following the 2 second rule or any second rule.

The number of feet covered per second going 75mph is 110. The two second rule would require that you follow 220ft behind the car in front of you. The average vehicle is around 15ft, so you would end up driving 14 car lengths behind. I've seen some other rules that you should add a car length for each 10mph meaning that you would drive 7 car lengths behind someone when going 70mph. If a car were to suddenly stop in front of you, people have to take into account that the average reaction time is over a second. At 75mph, you would have already covered well over 110ft before you realize you have to stop. Your actual stopping distance once you've applied the brakes depends on the weight of your vehicle and the quality of your brakes.

So TexasRedneck, you're right in that 2 seconds is not enough for a semi to stop, but I doubt drivers are going to follow 20+ car lengths behind each other.

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by L210

I doubt drivers are going to follow 20+ car lengths behind each other.

Yer right there.....that ain't gonna happen!