Friday 2nd June 2006

Tyres 'n' tarmac tip from IAM

Create a buffer of safety around your car

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Leave enough room

The Institute of Advanced Motorists has come up with a useful tip: don't sit too close to the car in front even in stationary or near-stationary traffic. There's more:

In a car, it is too easy to stop too close to the vehicle ahead, especially in a slow moving queue of traffic. It doesn't seem to matter

if you are all "crawling" along anyway in a stop-start queue.  

Or does it?

In fact, there is a lot to be said for creating a "buffer of safety" between you and the vehicle in front, even at slow speeds. One key way we can do this is to remember the mantra "tyres and tarmac" as we bring the car to a halt in a queue. Can I see the rear tyres of the car in front? And can I see where they touch the tarmac as well?

If you can't, and all you can see is the back window of the car in front, you are potentially putting yourself and other road users at risk.

Imagine a typical high street environment; it's raining and you are about to join the back of a queue of cars. You have stopped in time, but a bit late - and you are tight up to the car in front. But the driver behind you has started a skid and slides into the back of your vehicle at about ten mph - enough to push you forwards. You are now the meat in the sandwich of a three-way crash.

If you had left a "tyres and tarmac" gap, at least you wouldn't be shunted into the vehicle in front. You would also have started to brake earlier, and more gently, and so have reduced the chances of rear end damage too.

Another scenario involves a slight incline, where the car ahead of you starts to roll backwards: if you have left a reasonable gap, there is less risk of an actual hit.

And if that car ahead of you stalls, or breaks down, you might need to change lanes to keep going. You can't do so if you are too tight up to it, and the reversing option may be dangerous. If you have left a "tyres and tarmac" gap, you will have room to manoeuvre away.

Sensible advice but a bit obvious. Or is it?

[Splodge s4]

It is obvious but people dont do it. My dad for example, HGV 1 driver & has been for about 40 years, in the truck or car he will pull right up to the car in front leaving about 6 inches.

Its good for security, if your stopped in trafic & someone tries your passenger door, if need be you can pull out & go... it pis#es me off when some one pulls in to your gap though...

[nisman]

Yes it's obvious but most people don't do it. It's taught as part of advanced driving and allows space to manouver if the car in front has stopped as well the safety mentioned in the article.

[pdV6]

Don't know about you lot but my bog standard BSM lessons back in the mists of time taught that little one.

[Trefhead]

Leave that much space down south,.... car behind will honk his horn, assuming you are asleep and the gap will be filled with two white vans and a girl in a 206 with pink fluffy steering wheel cover and a number plate distorted to read something unrecognisable.

[Dino D]

Trefhead said:

Leave that much space down south,.... car behind will honk his horn, assuming you are asleep and the gap will be filled with two white vans and a girl in a 206 with pink fluffy steering wheel cover and a number plate distorted to read something unrecognisable.

Funny but so true, especially on the M25. I always try to maintain a safe gap at any speed but all to often you get some muppet undertake to fill it.

[donteatpeople]

pdV6 said:

Don't know about you lot but my bog standard BSM lessons back in the mists of time taught that little one.

BSM were still teaching that in 2001. Useful advice, makes for a more relaxed drive.

[CharAp]

I always try to leave the two second gap on motorways and get frustrated as people pull into the gap I leave. I think basic driving common sense has just disappeared and replaced by a real f*** you attitude. This is worse in London and surrounding areas than in the South or South West.

[r5gttgaz]

Also if you are first at a railway level crossing give yourself plenty of room, I have seen too many cases of cars being shunted in to the path of an oncoming train.

Edited by r5gttgaz on Friday 2nd June 14:07

[Polarbert]

I always do this as well. Saw a 4 car shunt in a traffic jam on the M1 that obviously happened because of this.

[jimbro1000]

I know this one from personal experience. I've always tried to leave a safe gap and it has paid off on numerous occasions. Being at the back of a queue of traffic is the most dangerous and on several occasions I've had to take some very prompt action to move forwards when a car approaching from behind has failed to notice stationary traffic, locked the wheels and is on a collision course with the rear end of my motor. So far I've managed to avoid all of them although I have been guilty of pushing into the back of someone else (the reason why I learned to leave the gap in the first place).

[summit7]

PUT HEAD ABOVE PARAPIT - I am a driving instructor and teach stopping in a queue to see tyres and tarmac of car in front for two reasons :- as already stated if the car in front breaks down you can move around it BUT more importantly if an emergency vehicle needs to get through the traffic you have room to move out of its way. Lets suppose you were in an RTA/had had a heart attack do YOU want the ambulance coming to collect you to be held up because drivers can't get out of the way? Please can everyone who reads this leave tyres and tarmac in a queue so that emergency can get through.

[dogwatch]

summit7 said:

PUT HEAD ABOVE PARAPIT - I am a driving instructor and teach stopping in a queue to see tyres and tarmac of car in front for two reasons :- as already stated if the car in front breaks down you can move around it BUT more importantly if an emergency vehicle needs to get through the traffic you have room to move out of its way. Lets suppose you were in an RTA/had had a heart attack do YOU want the ambulance coming to collect you to be held up because drivers can't get out of the way? Please can everyone who reads this leave tyres and tarmac in a queue so that emergency can get through.

Muppets and (oncoming) emergency vehicles. Could rant on for hours but off-thread so will refrain.

Certainly worries me when the car behind is so close in a queue that all you can see is the windscreen, but not much you can do about it. You move forward an inch, they move forward an inch-and-a-half. Probably the same people who always seem to be behind me in a shop queue.

[cdp]

But if we stuck to this advice what would happen to the fun caused by a single broken down VW producing tailbacks right across the south of England?

The traffic annoucements on the radio would have to be trimmed so causing unemployment.

It's a bad idea.

[deva link]

I recall seeing on one of those Police Stop type programs, the baddies reversing into the Police car - came right up onto the bonnet, too, really scaring the WPC in the passenger seat.

Instructions went out *not* to leave gaps but to close right up.

Although in another similar program, the baddies jumped out and chased Bib, who reversed smartly down the road!

In a similar vein, surely if you close right up yourself, and someone punts you from behind, if you're practically touching the car in front it'll hardly do any damage?

[cdp]

Just buy a Chevy Suburban then you won't suffer any damage. Except at the pumps.

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pdV6 said:

Don't know about you lot but my bog standard BSM lessons back in the mists of time taught that little one.

My driving lesson with Alan's taught me that 10 years ago too!

[vipers]

Splodge s4 said:

It is obvious but people dont do it. My dad for example, HGV 1 driver & has been for about 40 years, in the truck or car he will pull right up to the car in front leaving about 6 inches.

Dare I say lorry drivers are good at that, getting right up your arse in traffic. If the vehicle in front stalls, or just wont go (it happens) try getting out?



P.S. Your dad should know better.

[vipers]

summit7 said:

PUT HEAD ABOVE PARAPIT - I am a driving instructor and teach stopping in a queue to see tyres and tarmac of car in front for two reasons :- as already stated if the car in front breaks down you can move around it BUT more importantly if an emergency vehicle needs to get through the traffic you have room to move out of its way. Lets suppose you were in an RTA/had had a heart attack do YOU want the ambulance coming to collect you to be held up because drivers can't get out of the way? Please can everyone who reads this leave tyres and tarmac in a queue so that emergency can get through.

I was taught that in 1969 on my HGV3 course. Hope some of our readers pick up on this, good one.

[do80]

I've always left the gap, it's always seemed to be common sense to try and maintain a safety buffer around the car where possible but try and explain the logic to the GF !
I'm sure it's not a male female thing, it's just her

[granville]

Many motorists simply do not, cannot or will not read the road.

Two second rule, t&t and limit point observations are just the basics - far more difficult is the 'guaging for muppetry' process as you peel orf for a sortie behind enemy lines.

It is critical to asume the maximum quotient of numptyism at all times and once around the oppressing obstacle, to employ the primary rule of the Italian Driving Code, "whatsa behind you, 'ee don' matter!"