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That is why you should always leave enough space in front of you so that you can react and safely come to a stop if the car in front were to suddenly hit a pile

That is why you should always leave enough space in front of you so that you can react and safely come to a stop if the car in front were to suddenly hit a pileup.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago
The braking distance at 70mph is a huge 75m, which is about 9 London buses. Add your reaction time, and do you aee why distances of over 100m between cars are slightly unrealistic?
- cecilpl2 4y ago
  No, at 70mph (31m/s) you travel 100 metres in 3.2 seconds. I was always taught 3 seconds on the highway is a safe following distance, and 4 seconds in adverse weather conditions like rain. It's not at all unrealistic - it's safe.
  - runnerup 4y ago
    Where do you live/drive?
    - cecilpl2 4y ago
      BC: https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/crashes-happen/speed/Pages/Default.aspx https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/crashes-happen/speed/Pages/... > Allow at least two seconds' following distance behind other vehicles in good weather and road conditions (three seconds on a highway). > Slow down for poor weather conditions or uneven roads and increase your following distance to at least four seconds. Remember that the distance required to stop increases in wet or slippery conditions.
- mbreese 4y ago
  In the event of a pileup, it doesn’t really matter how much distance you’ve left. If you end up hitting the car in front of you, you get cited for failure to maintain distance. Because, if you had left enough distance, you wouldn’t have hit the car in front of you. It doesn’t matter if you left 50, 75, or 100m. If you hit the car in front, you didn’t leave enough space. And the risk of someone else swerving into that gap doesn’t mean you’re not at fault, it just means you’re both wrong now.
  - InitialLastName 4y ago
    > In the event of a pileup, it doesn’t really matter how much distance you’ve left. For legal liability, that might be true. In reality, if you've left yourself a safe amount of distance, you have more opportunity to react to events in front of you in such a way that you minimize damage and loss of life (thus mattering).
    - mbreese 4y ago
      If you’ve left enough room, you’re not part of the pile up. Kind of by definition…
      - InitialLastName 4y ago
        Even if you still crash, the extra second of braking time can take off ~10-15 mph [0], which at 60 mph V(t=0) is ~40% of the energy that would otherwise dissipate into your car and the cars you hit. [0] https://copradar.com/chapts/references/acceleration.html https://copradar.com/chapts/references/acceleration.html
  - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
    > And the risk of someone else swerving into that gap doesn’t mean you’re not at fault, it just means you’re both wrong now. Sounds a lot like 'climate change is your fault', because there is nothong I can personally do, you are just shifting the blame
outworlder 4y ago
Right. Other people will see the gap and will insert themselves in it. What then? I try to keep a healthy distance, but I've never been able to reserve enough distance to account the car in front of me hitting a brick wall.
- cecilpl2 4y ago
  Then I just maintain the gap to account for them. I have never been unable to do this. It does mean sometimes I drive 1-2 kph slower than the average speed.

That is why you should always leave enough space in front of you so that you can react and safely come to a stop if the car in front were to suddenly hit a pileup.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago

The braking distance at 70mph is a huge 75m, which is about 9 London buses. Add your reaction time, and do you aee why distances of over 100m between cars are slightly unrealistic?

cecilpl2 4y ago
No, at 70mph (31m/s) you travel 100 metres in 3.2 seconds. I was always taught 3 seconds on the highway is a safe following distance, and 4 seconds in adverse weather conditions like rain. It's not at all unrealistic - it's safe.
- runnerup 4y ago
  Where do you live/drive?
  - cecilpl2 4y ago
    BC: https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/crashes-happen/speed/Pages/Default.aspx https://www.icbc.com/road-safety/crashes-happen/speed/Pages/... > Allow at least two seconds' following distance behind other vehicles in good weather and road conditions (three seconds on a highway). > Slow down for poor weather conditions or uneven roads and increase your following distance to at least four seconds. Remember that the distance required to stop increases in wet or slippery conditions.
mbreese 4y ago
In the event of a pileup, it doesn’t really matter how much distance you’ve left. If you end up hitting the car in front of you, you get cited for failure to maintain distance. Because, if you had left enough distance, you wouldn’t have hit the car in front of you. It doesn’t matter if you left 50, 75, or 100m. If you hit the car in front, you didn’t leave enough space. And the risk of someone else swerving into that gap doesn’t mean you’re not at fault, it just means you’re both wrong now.
- InitialLastName 4y ago
  > In the event of a pileup, it doesn’t really matter how much distance you’ve left. For legal liability, that might be true. In reality, if you've left yourself a safe amount of distance, you have more opportunity to react to events in front of you in such a way that you minimize damage and loss of life (thus mattering).
  - mbreese 4y ago
    If you’ve left enough room, you’re not part of the pile up. Kind of by definition…
    - InitialLastName 4y ago
      Even if you still crash, the extra second of braking time can take off ~10-15 mph [0], which at 60 mph V(t=0) is ~40% of the energy that would otherwise dissipate into your car and the cars you hit. [0] https://copradar.com/chapts/references/acceleration.html https://copradar.com/chapts/references/acceleration.html
- ClumsyPilot 4y ago
  > And the risk of someone else swerving into that gap doesn’t mean you’re not at fault, it just means you’re both wrong now. Sounds a lot like 'climate change is your fault', because there is nothong I can personally do, you are just shifting the blame

outworlder 4y ago

Right. Other people will see the gap and will insert themselves in it. What then? I try to keep a healthy distance, but I've never been able to reserve enough distance to account the car in front of me hitting a brick wall.

cecilpl2 4y ago
Then I just maintain the gap to account for them. I have never been unable to do this. It does mean sometimes I drive 1-2 kph slower than the average speed.