3 ms·

please get a "rules of the road" booklet from your local driver's services facility and read it. assuming you are in California: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/

• mlyle 4y ago
  I'm not sure why you sent this to me. That book was actually the source of: * The 3 second rule I cited: "To avoid tailgating, use the “3 second rule”: when the vehicle ahead of you passes a certain point, such as a sign, count “one-thousand-one, one-thousand- two, one-thousand-three.” This takes approximately 3 seconds. If you pass the same point before you finish counting, you are following too closely." https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-handbook/visual-search/ https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-han... * Real-world stopping distances being longer than 3 seconds (3 seconds * 55MPH = 242 feet) -- "Assuming you have good tires, brakes, and dry pavement: At 55 mph, it takes about 400 feet to react and bring your vehicle to a complete stop." Of course, all this is orthogonal to my main point: If someone dives and brakes in front of you, with a slower starting speed and equivalent or better brakes: you're a-gonna hit them. And no one seriously proposes that you should never drive faster than the lane next to you, which would be the only way to avoid this.