Beep beep

I always heard "2 seconds of space" which is a lot more than a few car lengths, to give yourself time to react to both what's in front of you and to the sides, and account for if their brakes perform better than yours. Two seconds of distance is a lot, though, and kind of impractical in traffic.

Intelligent people leave a space of about two cars ahead of them on the freeway.

Stupid people think that space must be for them.

Lord I hate those fucking cunts who see two car lengths of space as an invitation. I'm going 85, you're going 75, don't suddenly hop in front of me because the clown in front of you is going 70.

Should be at least 5 car lengths on the highway

In Ontario, that space you just left will immediately get filled by tailgaters, meaning you have to slow down more, which lets in more tailgaters. You have to drive aggressively as fuck to get to where you want to go in Ontario because everyone else driving on the road barely has a drivers license and is also driving aggressive as fuck (we passed basically everyone who applied for a driving test during the pandemic and eliminated all manoevers and skill checks).

When i was 13 bill Clinton told me 1 car length per every 10mph i was traveling at. Ive been following that advice ever since

You can't do this in LA, but LA fucking sucks so fuck 'em haha.

I leave enough room for me to have time to react and give the person behind me enough time to react to my breaking. Because most people drive way too close to avoid a rear-end collision if I have to slam my breaks for an emergency. Sometimes that means I'm 4, 5 or 6 car lengths away from the car in front of me, but that has the added benefit of pissing off tailgators who will almost immediately choose to pass me which works out great for me. The less space the person behind gives, the more space I leave between me and the person in front.

3 seconds is the minimum safe distance, regardless of speed

I just moved to Michigan

I have never seen a group of drivers so committed to Tail Gateing .... Like it's the state sport

The gap you leave should be speed-dependent and about 2 seconds to allow for reaction time. Yes, this caps the highway's capacity to 0.5 cars per second per lane but roads are inherently inefficient.

If you're only two lengths away from the car in front of you while driving at highway speeds, you are tailgating. Back off. It's far more dangerous than speeding.

I think my biggest pet peeve about driving is when you come to a stop and the car behind you tries to shove their nose up your ass. Like bruh you don't need to ever be that close

If what you’re doing makes idiots angry, feel good about yourself and keep doing it.

nothing gets me more pissed off than when I'm driving the speed limit on an open road with an open passing zone, no one coming towards me or ahead of me, and some dipshit decides to ride my ass

My car's "smart cruise control" leaves what seems to be around a car length for every 10 mph, which is what I remember hearing in driving school. Feels a bit excessive in practice, but I also never feel like I'm being an asshole so I'm okay with it.

I leave 2-3 seconds following distance minimum on interstate highways.

I have a two lane road for most of commute every morning. What hate is when you pick up a buttplug. A buttplug is some dipshit who crawls up your ass and refuses to pass. They wont leave enough gap for the person behind them to pass without passing both of us and they wont pass themselves.

What is crazy about this is that person will usually stay there until every car behind them has passed. After that they usually pass almost immediately.

More space means less braking, reducing bunching up. Check this article on traffic waves out

When I leave two car lengths, four cars will go into it, and at least one of their drivers will throw a half empty beer can at me.

I've always followed the rule of 1 car length for every 10 miles per hour you're going.

yeah me too. i get a lot of rollerskaters squeezing into the space so i keep backing off til theyre all jammed ass to mouth like a human centipede. gotta keep my distance for when the chain binds. and it will

The simplified distance rule we learn in europe is: half your speed (km/h) in meters or as an equation, v/2000. E.g. you drive 120km/h, keep 60m distance.

Two car lengths? You absolute madman! That's positively grotesque!

For the purposes of this comment, I'm assuming that cars are about fifty feet long.

It's a nice thought, but it has so many modifiers it's pretty much worthless. Everything from road conditions, to time of day or night, to the size and weight and type of vehicle you are driving, to how old you are affects stopping distance and the interval you should be leaving.

Remember children - Driving should never be "relaxing." It's real work and demands your total concentration to protect yourself and everyone around you. So put the phone down and even turn off the radio. Put your head on a swivel like a fighter pilot. And have an escape plan for every inch you drive.

Robert Loggia and David Lynch have something to say about this:

https://youtu.be/nDilD3wAxt8?feature=shared

What I don't get is the current trend of leaving 1-2 car lengths at traffic lights. At first I thought it was maybe all the new cars with their assisted driving features. But I've seen older cars do it too.

I salute you good sir! That's plenty of space to squeeze past if necessary 😁 Just maintain a constant speed and you're a hero