# Current recommendations re following distance **URL:** \ **Category:** Driving/Drivers\ **Created:** [May 29, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467 "2025-05-29T02:12:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tom-Nichol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5e9695/32.png) [@Tom-Nichol](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tom-Nichol)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/1 "2025-05-29T02:12:48Z")
With the traditional summer vacation time now well underway, it seems to me to be an excellent time to review some of the rules of driving safety, especially given the fact that a number of younger drivers will be out on the roads for the first time, and even more so given the fact that many drivers will be driving long distances. Here is a link to an excellent online article by the well-known firm of J.D. Power and Associates on the subjects of reaction times while driving and recommended following distances: [https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/when-driving-what-is-the-average-reaction-time](https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/when-driving-what-is-the-average-reaction-time). ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 2:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/2 "2025-05-29T02:46:12Z")
Not to be cynical here, but just how many drivers young, old or anywhere in between that really need this info, do you think will ever see this thread much less read it?? ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 4:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/3 "2025-05-29T04:26:39Z")
> [@davesmopar](#): > > do you think will ever see this thread much less read it?? Oh, c’mon Dave. Everyone is glued to JD Power website. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 12:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/4 "2025-05-29T12:06:30Z")
> [@davesmopar](#): > > but just how many drivers young, old or anywhere in between that really need this info, Everyone needs a reminder of safety info. When I worked in a steel mill, there was a safety meeting in every group at the beginnng of each shift. Young workers didn’t know and older workers knew so much that they didn’t need reminders. The daily meetings helped keep people focused on where they were and to keep thinking about personal safety. Even the older workers appreciated the reminder. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 12:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/5 "2025-05-29T12:46:13Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Everyone needs a reminder of safety info. … particularly in regard to tailgating. Surely I can’t be the only forum member who sees people tailgating _very closely_ while driving at expressway speeds. A friend of mine–now deceased–used to tailgate so closely that it was really scary to be a passenger in her Honda Pilot. On one occasion, she was tailgating a Mazda Miata so closely that I could clearly see the Miata’s speedometer. Trying to be diplomatic, instead of saying that she was tailgating, I simply said, “Don’t you think that you should drop back a bit, Carol?”. In response, she **screamed** , “I’m not tailgating!”. After that day, whenever we went anywhere together, I insisted that we take my car. That was a lot safer than driving in the car of someone who doesn’t recognize when they are tailgating. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/6 "2025-05-29T12:58:02Z")
@Tom-Nichol Well known firm of J D Power ? Your post reads like Spam made by A.I. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/7 "2025-05-29T12:58:13Z")
Tailgating seems to be a state-sport here in Florida… about 3 feet per 10 miles an hour seems enough, right? right? The local police and state troopers both tailgate… I put the blame on SUVs and trucks. Drivers don’t look ahead very far and those taller vehicles give people such a great view of the road 10 feet in front of them so… that’s what they drive to. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/8 "2025-05-29T13:08:19Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > I put the blame on SUVs and trucks. Yes, that’s true to a very great extent, but I see people in cars (particularly BMWs & VWs) tailgating too. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/9 "2025-05-29T13:25:04Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > see people in cars (particularly BMWs & VWs) tailgating too Around me, folks driving those cars usually are trying to excessively speed so they lean on the car in front in the left lane to get them to move over. The KNOW they are tailgating! Sometimes I seem them pulled over by the troopers a mile ahead! 😆 I know what type is behind me when I pull out of the left lane and the SUVs just stay there off my left rear corner! ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/10 "2025-05-29T13:33:46Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > > [@davesmopar](#): > > > > but just how many drivers young, old or anywhere in between that really need this info, > > Everyone needs a reminder of safety info. When I worked in a steel mill, there was a safety meeting in every group at the beginnng of each shift. Young workers didn’t know and older workers knew so much that they didn’t need reminders. The daily meetings helped keep people focused on where they were and to keep thinking about personal safety. Even the older workers appreciated the reminder. You seem to have missed the part after that, you kinda took it out of context… lol > [@davesmopar](#): > > need this info, **do you think will ever see this thread much less read it??** I am sure all those workers would have looked online if not for your work having the morning meeting right?? My point was as it reads, generally the ones needing this are not the ones looking for it… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/11 "2025-05-29T14:54:00Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > folks driving those cars usually are trying to excessively speed so they lean on the car in front in the left lane to get them to move over. The KNOW they are tailgating! I agree, but how does one explain the following phenomenon: I’m driving on a secondary road with one lane in each direction and no shoulder, and a posted speed of 45 mph. I am the last car in a line of… maybe… 5 or 6 cars that are following someone who is driving 10-15 mph below the posted speed. Then, someone in a BMW or a VW zooms up behind me and proceeds to drive a few feet from my rear bumper for the next _x_ number of miles. Unless my car had the ability to leapfrog over all of the slow cars in front of me, there is no way that I could drive any faster, and I can’t pull over because there is no shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/12 "2025-05-29T15:14:29Z")
Now that more cars have adaptive cruise control, I’ve been wondering if that feature helps to teach people what an appropriate following distance is. When I drive my wife’s car, which has adaptive cruise control, I’ve noticed that it matches my usual following distance when I’m driving my car, which is reassuring. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/13 "2025-05-29T15:21:30Z")
> [@lion9car](#): > > I’ve noticed that it matches my usual following distance when I’m driving my car, which is reassuring +1 That feature does seem to be programmed for safe following distances. Whether anyone learns proper driving behavior from that situation remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/14 "2025-05-29T16:03:23Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > someone in a BMW or a VW zooms up behind me and proceeds to drive a few feet from my rear bumper You can’t explain irrational behaviour! 😆 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 4:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/15 "2025-05-29T16:13:26Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > I am the last car in a line of… maybe… 5 or 6 cars that are following someone who is driving 10-15 mph below the posted speed. A couple years ago on a slightly snowy day I was the #2 car behind a woman who was driving 15mph in a 45mph zone. The roads were just wet (snow hadn’t started accumulating yet. Unfortunately, there was no place to pass. Everyone was honking at this lady to go faster or move over. Finally (after 10 miles) she turned off the street and there were 50+ cars in a line behind us. If you’re that scared to drive, then stay off the road or take an UBER. You should NOT be driving. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/16 "2025-05-29T16:29:57Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > If you’re that scared to drive, then stay off the road or take an UBER. You should NOT be driving. +1 A few years ago, I was in the exact same situation. Snow flurries, temp about 36 degrees, _zero_ accumulation on the road. I found myself in a long line of traffic that was moving at 15-20 mph. There must have been at least 10 cars in front of me, and as we inched along, the cars in back of me just kept accumulating. I had no idea who had created this rolling roadblock until the “lead” car pulled into a right turn lane and stopped for a red light while we continued, and then I was able to see that it was a middle-aged woman who looked totally terrified to be behind the wheel. Clearly, someone who should not be behind the wheel. I should add that, even though this woman had been driving at ~half the posted speed, every time that we came to a gentle curve, she braked until she was down to ~10 mph. But, I don’t think that anyone had honked at her. Just to lighten the mood, many years ago I was enrolling a transfer student, and she asked me if I could make sure that she got “under the wheel training”. With a straight face, I told her that–even better than “under the wheel”–I would enroll her in _behind the wheel_ training. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/17 "2025-05-29T17:05:46Z")
> [@lion9car](#): > > which has adaptive cruise control, I’ve noticed that it matches my usual following distance when I’m driving my car, which is reassuring. I absolutely love my ACC, and mine (I’m sure most all are like it) has 3 distance settings, I have it set to default to the furthest setting, but I soon realized that people would move over in front of me and the truck would slam on the brakes to keep from rear ending the idiot in front of me, so now I move it to the closest distance and it seems to work out great… Haven’t changed the default settings yet, but I will one day… lol So one reason people have learned to “follow to close” is because of the idiots that will jump in between you and the car in front of you, sadly… Now the tailgaters, well you can’t fix stupid… As far as those drivers doing 15-20+mph slower than the posted speed limit when it is safe to do, well they should legalize pit maneuvers in that case… 🤣 kidding!!! ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/18 "2025-05-29T23:32:48Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > someone in a BMW We returned from our 5yo grandson’s birthday party in Richmond Monday night. While riding north on I-95 we saw a large number of cars tailgating and weaving. Even a few 18-wheelers were engaged in tailgating. The worst instance was when there was a black Acura weaving between the center and left lanes. There was also a white BMW weaving between the center and right lanes. Maybe 200 feet in front of us they almost weaved into each other. They were tailgating the cars in front of them of course. To avoid an accident, the BMW weaved back right. He was already far too close to the car in front of him when he weaved left. When he careened back to the right, he had to brake hard to avoid hitting the car he was already following too closely. The good news is that I lived to tell this story. Yeah, it was that close. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/19 "2025-05-30T01:19:02Z")
I always seem to leave enough space so some wanker pulls in front of me thinking he can get somewhere faster. ---
**Author:** ![glasspilot](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/glasspilot/32/27886_2.png) [@glasspilot](https://community.cartalk.com/u/glasspilot)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467/20 "2025-05-31T15:18:15Z")
> [@davesmopar](#): > > I absolutely love my ACC, and mine (I’m sure most all are like it) has 3 distance settings, I have it set to default to the furthest setting, but I soon realized that people would move over in front of me and the truck would slam on the brakes to keep from rear ending the idiot in front of me, so now I move it to the closest distance and it seems to work out great… Haven’t changed the default settings yet, but I will one day… lol Yah, My Volt ACC has “Far, Medium and Near”. I usually keep it in Far but just like you in heavier traffic you get people passing and filling the gap in front of you. So I’ll go to Near for awhile. I don’t keep it in Near long 'cause it’s a little close for me. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/current-recommendations-re-following-distance/200467.md?page=2)