Quote:
Originally Posted by 99metro
If you are a REALLY slow driver like me, and look at 99 out of 100 cars in the fast lane that are "bunched up", you will notice that they are completely comfortable driving less than 1/4 of a second behind each other. Sometimes they are traveling 65+ mph and are less than one vehicle length away from the next driver. There might be a line of 20 drivers with this distance between them. This is why there are 70 car pile-ups.
Even my 2 to 3 lengths behind a 55 mph semi could be considered too close. At 55 mph we are looking at about 80 feet per second. Two seconds is about 160 feet. I am probably at the edge of safety on the very best of days. Something to ponder anyway.
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well, believe it or not, I'm an ex cop and have handled a LOT of traffic accident investigations.
the VAST majority of them were failure to yeild right of way.
This means things like pulling out from an intersection into the path of an oncoming car, running a red light, changing lanes without looking, etc.
VAST majority.
Believe it or not, very few were from things like excessive speed or following too closely.
What you find with drivers following closely is that they have a heightened awareness...because they know the dangers...and as a result are not usually caught off guard.
Most accidents are from inattention, lazyness, etc... Not from people with heightened attention.
Also, unless some of you hypermilers have reduced the size of your brake rotors in an effort to save weight
you should have no problem outbraking a loaded semi truck.
Unless you arent paying attention
Today I followed a semi from about 60 ft back at 61mph. i could feel the pull assist...although wont have hard figures until I get my scangauge...and felt VERY safe at that distance.
Also I have been accident free since my 20th b day, and I'm 41 now...so I think I have a pretty good handle on what safe driving is and what isnt.
obviously we all have a comfort zone when it comes to driving, and mine is probably a little skewed since I road raced for so many years, and am used to "close" driving at elevated speeds
