Sometimes all traffic is speeding along, as in 5-10mph over the speed limit, and it looks like pack racing. I keep thinking, all it takes is one distracted driver and it’s a 30 car pile up.
When I was a kid the recommendation was 2 seconds (‘two Mississippi’) but that was when the speed limit was 55 mph on the interstate and cars weren’t as heavy as they are now. Glad to hear they bumped it up.
We also have much better brajes (discs and ABS) and tires (radials) now. So there’s much less stopping distance once you actually hit the brakes. But reaction times are the still the same.
I think the safety guidelines are 3 seconds of reaction time which comes out to about 1 car length per 10 MPH of speed.
But yeah, good luck with that because other drivers just see that as space they can merge.
Sometimes all traffic is speeding along, as in 5-10mph over the speed limit, and it looks like pack racing. I keep thinking, all it takes is one distracted driver and it’s a 30 car pile up.
When I was a kid the recommendation was 2 seconds (‘two Mississippi’) but that was when the speed limit was 55 mph on the interstate and cars weren’t as heavy as they are now. Glad to hear they bumped it up.
We also have much better brajes (discs and ABS) and tires (radials) now. So there’s much less stopping distance once you actually hit the brakes. But reaction times are the still the same.