[luxpir]

Wait, what do they teach in North America? Never heard the term "following distance" before now. Sounds misleading.

In Britain at least we call it "braking distance" and you're supposed to leave 2 seconds at least between you and the person in front. Count it off a lamp post/sign etc.

In certain at-risk areas they use chevrons on the road and signs telling you to keep at least 2 chevrons between you and the car in front.

People definitely always get into my braking distance in slower moving traffic, so that happens here too of course. But when things are moving well I likely push the limit and am generally moving faster than most others: going by GPS speed vs speedo, pushing a little into the discretionary and unofficial +10% guidance etc. And weirdly enough I do this for safety and fuel economy.

I generally prefer to avoid other vehicles as much as possible in all situations. But I was a motorbike rider in my youth. Once a defensive driver...

From that perspective, following distance sounds way more like a gap I want to close up than braking distance does.

[rootusrootus]

> In Britain at least we call it "braking distance" and you're supposed to leave 2 seconds at least between you and the person in front. Count it off a lamp post/sign etc.

Indeed, that is the usual definition in the US for following distance. Along with a typical example of how to determine it for yourself.

We usually use the term braking distance to describe the distance that would be required to stop the car based on current conditions and speed. This is not necessarily going to be the same as the following distance.

[luxpir]

Thanks for the reply. So then how is following distance determined? It would have to be further than braking distance to be at least as safe?

[mnw21cam]

Braking distance and following distance are two distinct things.

Following distance is the rule that you should leave a 2 second gap in front of you. That is often less distance than the braking distance.

You should be always able to see that your braking distance is or will be clear, and that sets the maximum speed you should drive at as you approach areas with reduced visibility, like corners or the brow of a hill. You must learn braking distances for the driving test.