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Driving Tips > The 60-Second Driver
Safe Following Distance
The most common type of collision is a rear-end collision. The reason is often that the driver was not maintaining a safe following distance.
A danger zone is present both in front and behind your vehicle. In front of you, it is the space in which it is impossible to stop; likewise behind you, the vehicle trailing yours has a certain distance in which it cannot stop. The length of these is related to many factors: speed, road conditions, the vehicle’s mechanical condition, the tires, as well as the driver’s physical condition.
You should always maintain a following distance, which provides you with sufficient time to stop in an emergency, regardless of conditions.
Generally, you are automatically at fault if your vehicle “rear-ends” another vehicle. This type of collision can be avoided if you take care to keep a safe following distance. To calculate a safe following distance you should be able to count four seconds in the city and six seconds on the highway between the time that the vehicle ahead passes a certain point on the road and the time you cross that same point. Allow more time under adverse conditions.
Different sized vehicles require different following distances. Motorcycles, for example, should be given more space--because they're lighter, and they can stop in a shorter distance.
And because it takes heavier vehicles a lot longer to stop, you don't want to pull in too quickly after passing a transport truck.
Calculating safe following distance:
Pick a fixed reference point – in this example, the traffic sign on the right.
As the vehicle ahead passes the benchmark, count "one thousand and one", "one thousand and two", "one thousand and three", and "one thousand and four".
If it takes less than four seconds for the front of your vehicle to reach your benchmark, you are too close.
Adjust your space gap so you are not following less than four seconds behind. If you are being followed to closely, ease off the accelerator gently. Allow your space in front to increase. Now, you have space in front to allow you to brake gently even in a sudden stop situation.
This will give your “tailgater” more time and space to stop without hitting you. Moreover, with this large space in front, the “tailgater” will be encouraged to pass you. On a multi-lane roadway, a change of lane would be an appropriate way to reduce the risk from a “tailgater”.
Tailgating is especially dangerous at night. It's harder to judge distances, and headlights in a rear view mirror can be blinding.
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