Driving Tips: Follow 3 Second Rule For Safe Following Distance

Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle always carries some degree of risk. The odds of getting into a car crash increase by quite a bit when your following distance is too close to other vehicles. To help keep everyone safe on the roads and avoid car crashes, you should keep a safe following distance, which includes using the 3-second rule for following, which we will explain below in today's driving tips.

What Is Stopping Distance?

The reason why maintaining a safe following distance is so important is linked to your stopping distance, which means how far it takes your vehicle to come to a full stop in an emergency. The stopping distance uses two major factors to determine the actual distance required. First, your reaction distance to the other vehicle and second, your braking distance.

The reaction distance is determined by how far your car is between something happening ahead of you and how you react to it. Reaction distances can be as short as a millisecond or they can be several seconds long. If you are speeding, you will have a shorter reaction distance. For the braking distance, that refers to how far your vehicle travels after you've hit the brakes and come to a complete stop.

What Is A Safe Following Distance?

To maintain a safe following distance, you should try to keep a three-second or more following distance when possible. This will give you more time to react in case the vehicle in front of you slams on their brakes or hits another vehicle. Let's be honest, you never know what debris could be on the road, what construction is ahead, or if there's an accident that has occurred.

Yes, the 3-second rule should be the basic principle to follow, but the amount of time you need to react could be longer. The amount of time needed can change, especially if you're driving in inclement weather, the roads are icy or you're driving at night. If so, you should increase the space between you and the vehicle ahead of you.

How To Calculate The 3-Second Rule

You know you need to follow at least three seconds behind the vehicle in front of you, but how do you calculate it? By following this rule, you will always stay focused on the vehicle in front of you. You need to give more space for larger vehicles.

To calculate, you should always allow three full seconds between yourself and the vehicle in front of you. You can do this by using a specific point ahead, such as a sign that you see on the side of the road. Once the vehicle in front of you is at that specific point, you should start counting "one-thousand-one, one-thousand- two, one-thousand-three."

If you find that you have passed the sign before you finish counting the three seconds, then you are following the other vehicle too closely. Slow your speed down and try another point and see that it takes you three seconds to cover the distance. Besides the speed that you’re driving, the 3-second rule also considers that the other car in front of you needs a certain distance to come to a full stop. The rule gives you just a little extra time in case they hit their brakes unexpectedly.

The three-second rule is a great way to ensure that you're always maintaining a safe following distance. You should do your best to practice this rule every time you drive and eventually it will become second nature to you. Those three seconds will come in handy one day, as it gives you a constant safety net out on the road.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our friendly support staff. If you want to start your driver's training journey with Coastline Academy, make sure to sign up for Drivers Ed and book your driving lesson today.