Am I crap?

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

kaf said:

There is no such thing as being 'too far' from the car in front.

Nobody has ever died as a result of being too far back from the car they are following.

At the risk of going a bit off-topic, I might disagree with this.

In free-flowing traffic, 2s is good and 3-4s is better. However, more than 4s can start to look like an inviting gap, and the chances of other road users attempting to pull into or cross through that gap increases. Less of a problem on a Motorway, but a real issue on busier two-way roads.

I'm convinced that being too far back is more risky than keeping a sensible gap, and try to drive accordingly.

[Nigel_O]

I see your point, but the gap you maintain should not be dictated by the chance that other road users may overtake you - it should be purely down to what is appropriate for the road, the speed and the conditions.

If you decide that 4 seconds is appropriate and somebody slots into the gap, roll off the throttle and reinstate the 4 second gap.

Don't forget that Roadcraft suggests a minimum of two seconds - if conditions aren't perfect (and that includes the condition of the driver) then the gap should increase accordingly

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

I wasn't thinking about overtaking - more about vehicles emerging from side roads or pulling away from the kerb.

Having a vehicle travelling in front of you affords a little protection from this kind of thing, which decreases the further back you get. Not enough protection to justify following too close, but enough to be worth seeking it out if possible.

[Toltec]

Interesting extra angle to gap sizing there, could be looked as part of your communication with other drivers. At some point you start to tell them that this gap is big enough for them to use.

Brings in the more difficult issue of how big a gap you need when there is a speed differential. How small a gap do you allow while they accelerate and what your speed profile should be. The steady state stuff is trivial and easily analysed mathematically, this is much more interesting to solve.

[kaf]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

I wasn't thinking about overtaking - more about vehicles emerging from side roads or pulling away from the kerb.

Why is this a problem?

If there is room for them to pull out that's fine, I can just ease off the gas and reinstate the gap that I want.

[BertBert]

I think there's a lot to be said for being moderately assertive in your driving. My wife who is as poor at driving as I am (but in different ways) has a wonderful knack of getting into real pickles as she mooches about terribly. So other drivers can't quite work out what she's about and pull out in front of her all the time.

So yes if you are driving along and leave a tempting gap between you and the car on front, people will be tempted to use it. If it's a marginal gap you have invited risk where by driving differently there wasn't risk.

Bert

[davepoth]

You don't need a huge gap before people start piling into it. Certainly on the motorway two seconds is sufficient for a couple of repmobiles to squeeze in; as a result I'm usually going a little bit slower than the rest of the traffic in the lane to continuously increase my gap as it gets filled.

[StuartGGray]

OP's first statement is that his wife says his driving is crap. It all stops there. Nothing to answer. What the fk does a wife know?

[lgw]

StuartGGray said:

OP's first statement is that his wife says his driving is crap. It all stops there. Nothing to answer. What the fk does a wife know?

[Z.B]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

I wasn't thinking about overtaking - more about vehicles emerging from side roads or pulling away from the kerb.

Having a vehicle travelling in front of you affords a little protection from this kind of thing, which decreases the further back you get. Not enough protection to justify following too close, but enough to be worth seeking it out if possible.

I agree. There is a certain range of following distance (especially in busy traffic) that can invite misplaced optomism from emerging drivers. Best to either close down the distance, or else be covering the brakes in anticipation. Indecision is an underestimated risk.