What Is the Legal Distance between Two Cars at a Stop Light

I don`t do this at every traffic light, only at busy intersections, where I`m more likely to be run over by a drunk or reckless driver who hits me or the car behind me. The question of a driver`s ideal distance between his vehicle and the distance behind which he is at an intersection with a traffic light or stop sign has been raised many times over the years among readers of this column. The Florida State Transportation Act states that motorists must not follow another vehicle “more closely than reasonably and prudently, with due regard to the speed of such vehicles and traffic on the highway and the condition of the highway.” But it doesn`t mention how far away you should or shouldn`t stop at an intersection behind another vehicle. And as we all know, “reasonable and prudent” for one driver can be perceived by another as total madness; People have their own preferences, (sometimes wrong) beliefs, and persistent habits about it. What is the recommended distance between cars when they stop at a red light? – Teresa I always try to leave a car length in front of me at every red light, for several reasons: A gap of one or two car lengths gives you a buffer in case the car behind you doesn`t stop. The rule I learned as a new driver, and still follow today, is to stay far enough away from the vehicle right in front of me at a traffic light that I can see its rear tires on the sidewalk. This distance allows me to move my own vehicle in case of unforeseen circumstances, for example: An emergency vehicle approaching from behind, the car in front of me has a breakdown or some other reason to leave the lane quickly. It`s always best not to end up in a bumper-to-bumper situation at an intersection — especially in busy areas — if you`re worried about being able to maneuver safely if necessary. You may need to stop behind another vehicle at traffic lights, an intersection, a crosswalk, or in stop-and-go traffic during rush hour. How far should I stop behind the vehicle in front? The most common concern among drivers is the ability to get out of the lane if necessary. (What happens if the car in front of you suddenly breaks down?) Some drivers fear being involved in a chain collision that they believe can be avoided if they move far enough away from the vehicle they are sitting behind when stopped.

In response to the woman who asked why drivers leave two or three car lengths between cars at traffic lights, I have to admit that I am one. I do this myself at selected intersections, where there is only one lane and no left turn arrows. I`ve seen too many cars start through the intersection trying to turn into oncoming traffic (without turn signals) and blocking cars behind it. I have found that by placing a few feet between my car and the car in front of me, I can safely maneuver around the vehicle blocking the traffic lane. In the seventies and eighties, driving instructors told students to stop and only see the tires of the car stop in front of you. Drivers at Mount Vernon High School in Fairfax County (many years ago) told me by Mr. Foley learned that for several safety reasons, one should leave a length of car between cars parked at a traffic light: Some drivers stop at the traffic light near the cars in front of them because they think they can get through the traffic light faster if it turns green. If you think state laws regulate this sort of thing, the answer is that in most states, the law simply punishes “follow too closely,” which is usually supported by lazy and subjective language regarding maintaining a “cautious” distance. These laws are written far enough to give police a purported excuse to stop someone, but they are not often enforced at intersections when cars are stationary, unless an officer really wants to stop someone.

On the one hand, a police officer must be able to see the distance, and that is difficult to do unless he is on the left or right on a multi-lane road, and he is really interested in doing a traffic stop right on it. Although I didn`t see anyone “suddenly stuck on their brakes,” I did observe people start braking some distance from a traffic light, then drive slowly to at least a full car length from the car in front of them. Use the tire and asphalt method in light to moderate traffic on a flat or downhill road. If traffic is very heavy, stop-start and get off, use hood bumper technology unless you think it`s dangerous. First of all, this is a topic that is overlooked in most driving courses – all attention is paid to keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you as you move. But the issue of distance from red lights has become an interesting trend seen in various cities, especially in urban areas where every extra inch counts. The only thing worse than a “talker nearby” at traffic lights is a phone speaker that leaves two parking spaces in front of him and prevents others from queuing behind them. “In the 25 years I`ve done this, I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times this has happened,” Law said. “And if that happens, so what? Another car in front of me could extend my travel time by 20 seconds. Suspension with this safety pad is usually the best option. However, if everyone stopped like that, the rush hour would be much longer because fewer vehicles would pass through each phase of the traffic lights, and where traffic congestes between traffic lights, fewer vehicles can enter due to the larger gaps. This increases frustration, fuel consumption and pollution, and increases costs for businesses that depend on driving.

Some people say, “Well, if you`re going a long distance in front of you, you`ll have time to honk your horn when the car in front of you reverses.” This may be true if that car broke through the light and had to come back and you are the second car in line. But another argument we`ve heard about keeping a very short distance from the car in front of you is to prevent pedestrians and cyclists from passing through that space while holding on to a red light, which is a tactic used by some drivers in cities to prevent pedestrians from creating dangerous situations. “Back then, the hoods of most cars were a mile long,” Law said. “Now you can literally be almost above the car in the front and still see the rear tires.” “You can just keep the distance you had when you were driving at full speed,” Jonathan Boreyko, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech who co-authored the study, told Science Daily. “You don`t waste time, but you reduce the likelihood of an accidental rear-end collision. Because as soon as the traffic light turned green, the cars had to wait until the cars in front of them had a safe distance before moving. If you are stopped behind another car at a traffic light, so far it is so good. While it is true that the only space we can control in this situation is the space in front of us, and the desire to be careful is understandable, it is an exaggeration to set up a full car length or more distance between two vehicles at a traffic light. After reading your last article on plans to extend the left turn lane at the intersection of Park Boulevard and 113th Street, I was motivated to ask you a question: why do people leave so much distance between the vehicle in front when they stop at a red light or stop sign in traffic? Many people leave up to one and a half to two vehicle lengths between each stopped vehicle. Because a lot of space is unused, many vehicles behind stopped traffic cannot enter the right or left lanes. This causes a lot more congestion. When I stopped very close to the vehicle in front of me, some people leaned out of their car window and yelled at me to come back.

I`ve also noticed this tendency of drivers to leave exceptionally large spaces between themselves and the car at red lights. Think about it: in an urban area, if a traffic light can only accommodate five vehicles, and the second car in the row has empty space for one or two vehicles in front of it, only two or three cars will pass through an intersection in a green light cycle. If a traffic light contains a maximum of 10 vehicles due to the space and length of the traffic light, and each car has an entire car length space in front of it, this can contribute to traffic jams as only about five cars pass by, although there is room for nine or 10 vehicles if they were closer to each other. At least in theory. Mr. Foley`s suggestion to reach a car length at a stop was to be able to see the tires of the car in front of you on the sidewalk. But a 2017 Virginia Tech study found that cars took about the same amount of time to pass a light, stopping somewhere between 30 centimeters and 8 meters from the car in front of them. A recent study from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering suggests that nearby packaging is compensated by the space needed to accelerate from light. Reader Anna C. Martin of Falls Church asked why motorists sometimes stop two or three lengths from the vehicle in front of them at traffic lights. “I find this troubling and dangerous,” she wrote.

“What`s the philosophy behind that?” How much space do you usually leave between your front bumper and the car in front of you at the traffic lights? As you can see in this diagram, traffic stopped to let a pedestrian pass. The track above can accommodate an extra car for 5 on the adjacent lane. Thank you for your opinions. They made me re-evaluate my own conduct. From now on, I will try to leave half a length of car in front of me at the traffic lights. Tyres and tarmac are an option taught by the UK police, and that means you have to stop far enough behind the vehicle in front of you to see where their tyres touch the road.