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

submitted 1 year ago by TeckFire to c/cars

267 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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] 39 points 1 year ago (6 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.

[–] blackbirdbiryani -3 points 1 year ago (2 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

[–] Bandananaan 2 points 1 year ago

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

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