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Safety Articles
THE MOST COMMON DRIVING ERROR
In Smith System’s fifty years of teaching safe
driving to over one hundred thousand fleet drivers, the most common poor
driving habit we see is inadequate following distance. Our studies show
most motorists maintain between one and two seconds behind the vehicle
in front of them.
Here are drivers ‘ most common reasons for this distance plus some
thoughts to consider:
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1. |
“I was taught the
2 second following distance when I first learned to drive. It’s
more than enough.”
Consider this:
This following distance has been abandoned by most state DMV’s
as well as the Department of Transportation. The 2 second recommendation
was derived from testing the stopping distance and reaction time of
drivers under ideal road, vehicle and driver conditions and was a
minimum. These ideal conditions rarely exist. Even more crucial is
the fact this formula never considered how this limited following
distance restricted our freedom to survey the complete traffic picture.
With two seconds or less, drivers can ill afford to take their eyes
off the vehicle directly in front to identify risks further ahead,
to the sides or behind. The resulting limited information often leads
to late, hasty reactions which expose drivers to unnecessary risk,
create a rough transport experience for any passengers and cause greater
wear and tear on the vehicle . |
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2.
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“ If I carry a larger following
distance other drivers will constantly cut in and force me to drop
back. This will happen again and again and soon I’ll be behind
schedule.”
Consider this:
A very common perception is that maintaining more than 1 to 2 seconds
will invite more drivers to cut in and thus cause us to be constantly
dropping back in traffic. The roots of this concern are more emotional
than logical. The truth is that when this happens, someone else usually
is leaving our lane farther up ahead. It all balances out. The net
difference rarely has any impact on our schedule. Here’s why…
Let’s assume that a driver who cuts in maintains a following
distance of 2 seconds and let’s be liberal and add another half
second to account for that vehicle’s length. That means this
infringement added 2.5 seconds to our schedule. Even if this occurred
as much as 40 times in a day’s driving (very high), it would
only add 100 seconds over the total day. And, that’s assuming
none of these vehicles ever leave our lane (most of them will).
So what is the proper following distance? We recommend at least four
seconds. Here’s how you measure it: When the vehicle in front
passes a fixed object such as a telephone pole or an overpass, count
one thousand one, one thousand two… You should get to at least
the count of one thousand four before passing that same fixed point.
This distance should be increased in poor road or weather conditions
or when driving heavier equipment.
The truth is the biggest barrier to maintaining our recommended following
distance is just our own pre-existing tendencies. It is instinctive
for most drivers to actively fill space, not create it. And, as a
shorter following distance is the habit for almost every driver, it
feels awkward to carry a greater distance. Try our four second rule
next time you are behind the wheel. You’ll be amazed by the
increased visibility and greatly reduced risk achieved for you and
your passengers.
If you agree with this perspective and wish to share it with your
fleet, consider our video “Following
Distance, Resolving the Debate”.
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