Vans and the 3-second rule

[Ungas]

It goes to show that some people aren't open minded to some simple & proper distance for safe driving. Either you choose the 3-sec rule or 1meter per 10km/h rule, proper distance should be followed and be wary of the vehicle your are driving. Bigger vehicle means more mass, more mass needs adequate space for stopping.

I know, someone will react over some brake rotors and pads that are bigger. Bigger brakes doesn't always imply that you have better braking than smaller ones.

[mikey177]

I learned early in life about the need for maintaining adequate distance. I was a hotshot college student taking my VW Beetle (the original kind) on a gimmick with my teammates. We were along elliptical road and I was tailgating a Cressida (I was very confident of my lighting quick reflexes) when it suddenly stopped. Ayun, naging snubnosed yung Beetle ko.

[Djerms]

Hehe...dito sa pinas, kahit na gaano kalapit ka sa ibang vehicles, hindi mo talaga mababasa ang plate numbers...burado kasi.

[rsnald]

Originally posted by Walter
Maintain 1 car length per 10 Km / hour speed.

eto rin ang naalala kong rule of thumb when tailing a vehicle, specially sa highways. The idea is not only to allow you some braking distance but to also give some space to make evasive maneuvers. Meron ako nabasa dati about driving na it's better daw to make evasive maneuvers than to slam on the brakes when the car in front of you suddenly stops or slows down. slamming on the brakes could cause your car to skid and loose control, net result - you'll still hit the car in front of you or worse, hit something else. ang kaso, pag sinunod mo eto, nak ng hwe... merong mga hinayupak ng sisingit sa gap mo :arghhh: ... kaya ako, semi defensive-offensive driving... pag alam kong sisingit, liliitan ko yung gap para di makasingit :D

[PROTREK]

Defensive driver din ako. i agree with pajerokid na mas madali mag estimate ng safe distance to brake than mag estimate ng time to break. True also with what rsnald said that with proper distance,may escape route ka when something bad happens... safe distance for me is 5 meters/10km/h. Since an average car needs(SUV,AUV,sedan) need 45meters to stop from 100km/h its a good investment to have 5 meters of room to spare.

[Walter]

It's 1 car length per 10 km/hour speed. More if it's raining or conditions are not good.

[Walter]

Most of the rules of safety are rather difficult to apply in this country. If you follow the safe distance rule, most cars will keep on switching to your lane especially during traffic.

Just try to use common sense when driving in this country.

[empy]

what if you're stuck in traffic? baka 5 minutes na, hindi ka pa umaabot dun sa landmark :bwahaha:


btw, i thought it was 2 seconds also - parang ang layo yata ng 5 seconds. the beauty of using time as your benchmark is that you automatically adjust your distance based on your speed - i.e. 2 secs at 100 kph is a much greater distance than 2 secs at 20 kph.

i couldn't do the 1 length per 10 kph because it involves math and estimating distances - too much for my simple mind to do while driving :D

[pajerokid]

IMO its simpler because you just use visual estimates and adjust accordingly. Youre already using your eyes to drive right?

Pag time kasi, you have to give some mental overhead pa (naks! parang computer ba? hehe).

Well, whatever!!!

Basta maintain your distance through your preferred method and keep safe.

[RafRaf]

Originally posted by badkuk
hmmm...assuming a sedan is about 3.5-4 meters...at 100kph, dapat 35-40 meters away ako?

(who am i kidding...my ave speed is 60kph B).

if you are traveling 100Kph, in 1sec you traverse 27.8m!... so 35-40m apart should be just right. You got at most a little less than 2sec to react or brake. Kung gagawin mo 3sec further (~80+ meters)... more time to react. Not just braking but avoiding/manuevering if possible. Note, what if your brakes suddenly fail (you can never be too sure). Make sense?

Kaya dapat tamang layo talaga. Not practical (maybe) but safe!

[Pencils]

In practical terms the vehicle in front of you will not be able to come to a complete stop suddenly unless he runs into a solid wall. Likewise as a good driver you do not look only at the vehicle in front, but rather as far ahead of him as practical or possible depending on the complications of the situation, so 40 meters is far from necessary in most situations even when driving at speed.

No rules are fixed but all are slightly modified by situation, the quality of the car you are driving and the condition of the driver. 5 car lengths or more is normally enough for me at speed, but I may add to that if I think the car in front, or one of them, is driving recklessly, or I'll just slow down enough to let them get away.

BTW, I try to give plenty of room to commercial truck drivers. Their trucks are too often poorly maintained and the drivers themselves are too often too long on the road to be safe.

[jim]

Well for me I'm more concerned with the vehicle at my back hehehehehehehe......... a meralco pickup hit me while i was driving at aguinaldo hway bacoor. the pickup was 10 meters away from me when i stopped at the end of the traffic line. i just saw the pickup from my rear view mirror come rushing (well nagaaway yung driver at asawa nya kaya di nya napansin na tumigil na ako). buti na lang di ko binibitawan ang brake kahit naka-stop na ako (kahit naka-engage ang hand-brake)or else i wud have hit the car in front of me (1 meter). My jeep only had scratches, thanks to my thick-gauged body hehehehe. the pickup well lubog ang harap at di na nya maisara ang hood nya (kawawa naman hehehehe).

We should be alert. I think the universally accepted method of 1 vehicle length per 10 kph is good enough. Pag mabigat ang sasakyan natin well adjust na lang. Basta ang importante wag makipag-away sa asawa habang nagda-drive!!! and keep our vehicles in tip top shape.(kung meron lang back-firing na busina it would help hehehehehe)