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What driving concept you feel that most drivers don't understand? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I’ll start. Stopping distance.

My commute is 95 miles one way to work, so I see a lot of the highway, in the rural part of the US. This means traveling at 70+ mph (112km/h) for almost the entirety of the drive. The amount of other drivers on the road who follow behind someone else with less than a car’s length in front of them because they want to go 20+ over the speed limit is ridiculous. The only time you ever follow someone that close is if you have complete and absolute trust in them, and also understand that it may not even be enough.

For a daily drive, you likely need 2-3 car lengths between you at minimum depending on your speed to accurately avoid hitting the brakes. This doesn’t even take into account the lack of understanding of engine braking…

What concepts do you all think of when it comes to driving that you feel are not well understood by the public at large?

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (3 children)

For a daily drive, you likely need 2-3 car lengths between you at minimum depending on your speed

It's not car lengths, it's seconds. You need roughly 2 seconds between you and the person in front of you. That gives you time to react and emergency brake if needed. At 70mph, 2 seconds is a little over 200 feet, not 3 car lengths. Average reaction time is about .75 seconds; you see something, and you start reacting to that thing--not you finish reacting--in .75 seconds. At 70mph, you will travel 75 feet before you can even realize that you need to get your foot off the gas and hit the brakes.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

2 sec is not practical in daily driving in busy city. It is correct if there is some car stopped there then you need completely stop. People take the risk and follow closer because usually everyone brake so give you more time/distance.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

But if there's a road hazard hidden by the vehicle in front of you, or a person/animal steps out onto the road, if something falls off the vehicle ahead of you (note that I have had an entire wheel go through my windshield when it fell off the car ahead of me; good times), then you just aren't going to have enough tie to do anything.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

This is true. When I say “minimum” I should have been more clear, I usually leave a pretty sizable amount of room in front of me. It’s also nice to not have to worry about people merging right in front of me at the last second due to them not being prepared

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean duh. People use car lengths because it's easier to visualise than seconds.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The trick I learned was to watch their shadow pass a stationary object, then count how long until you pass it. Way easier than trying to visualize two car lengths

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Say in your head "Only a fool, breaks the two second rule". Takes about two seconds to say