It’s important for drivers not to tailgate, which is just when they drive too close to the rear end of the next vehicle. Ideally, this is something that everyone will learn about in driver’s ed. But tailgating does still happen, which is why safety experts recommend following the three-second rule.
That rule essentially says that drivers should judge a minimum safe distance by looking at a stationary object along the road and make sure it takes your vehicle at least three seconds to pass it after the car in front of you did.
People often think in terms of how much space should be between each car and want an answer like “100 yards” or “three car lengths.” This is often hard to judge, especially when both vehicles are moving.
3 seconds is much better
The three-second rule works better than defining that physical distance. The reason for this is that the distance needed is dependent on a lot of factors such as:
- The speed limit
- The actual speed at which the vehicles are traveling
- The road conditions
- The weight of the vehicles
In other words, someone who is driving on a sunny day at 25 miles an hour needs a much shorter following distance to stay safe than someone who is driving through a rainstorm at 70 miles an hour. Defining the physical distance wouldn’t be helpful, but telling that driver that they should always maintain three seconds of spacing does help. This way, the amount of physical space is automatically adjusted based on speed and other factors.
Unfortunately, rear-end accidents still happen due to drivers failing to stay far enough behind each other. They can lead to catastrophic injuries and those who get hurt need to know about all of their legal options to claim compensation.
