Safety distance while driving. Necessary safety distance.
The number of traffic accidents due to non-keeping safety distance is quite large. So the team of Top Rent A Car advise you not to drive faster than it is allowed and to keep enough distance.
For your safety and tranquility you need to know what should be the safety distance between two cars on the road, how to evaluate this distance, and how much time is needed to react.
The distance, you need to keep while driving, between your vehicle and the one in front of you is called safety. That distance should provide you with safe and trouble-free stop in case of sudden braking or deceleration of the vehicle in front of you.
But what should be the distance?
The safety distance depends on the speed of the vehicle. Therefore it is appropriate not to speak for meters but for seconds. This way will be easier for you to calculate the distances.
The recommended distance that must be followed is: 2 seconds in normal conditions and 3 seconds in adverse weather conditions (rain, snow or fog). I.e the distance that your vehicle travels for 2/3 seconds.
Factors that have influence on vehicle's braking
There are several factors that have influence upon vehicle's braking, and the driver's reflexes are not some of them.
For example: If you drive faster it will take more time to react and the distance should longer.
Statistics show that a person needs one second to react. Don't forget the braking time (the time from pressing the brake pedal to the complete stop of the vehicle), which also has an impact.
Another factors: road, weather, technical conditions and driver's behavior at that moment.
How to calculate the correct safety distance?
- Choose some benchmark on the road;
- Start to count when the car in front of you surpasses this benchmark (as follows): one thousand and one = 1 sec., one thousand and two = 2 sec., one thousand and three = 3 sec. etc.;
- If your time until you reach the selected benchmark is 2 seconds or more, the distance is long enough. If not, you will have to slow down for safety purposes;
Learn more tips here: Useful articles from Top Rent A Car